President Michel Suleiman called on the military and security forces to exert efforts to detain those who are breaching the nation’s security, the National News Agency reported on Friday.
“The military and security forces should exert efforts and investigations to arrest those who are manipulating (Lebanon’s) security wherever they are,” Suleiman stressed.
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Beirut Examining Magistrate Ghassan Owaidat postponed on Friday the questioning of al-Natour brothers to March 19, the National News Agency reported.
Owaidat interrogated Suleiman al-Natour, while his brother Samih’s questioning was adjourned until he presents his “formal argument.”
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Pope Benedict XVI will visit Lebanon in September to preach peace and unity for Christians in the Middle East, a senior religious figure said Friday a day after meeting with the pontiff.
"The pope will come to support Christians so that they are united," said Gregory III Laham, the head of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, adding that the visit would take place September 14-16, the I.Media religious news agency reported.
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Judge Sir David Baragwanath was unanimously reelected on Tuesday as the Special Tribunal for Lebanon president and Presiding Judge of the Appeals Chamber, announced the STL in a statement.
The Appeals Chamber also voted unanimously to reelect Judge Ralph Riachi of Lebanon as the vice president, it added.
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Four Lebanese soldiers were wounded on Friday in a traffic accident in the Baalbek district in the Bekaa valley, reported the National News Agency.
It said that their black Honda skidded off the international road in al-Safri region as a result of the slippery conditions caused by the storm and snow.
President Michel Suleiman received on Thursday United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon’s “strategic revision” of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, reported the daily An Nahar on Friday.
It said that the six-page report is aimed at guaranteeing that the international force will be able to complete its peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.
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Speaker Nabih Berri threatened on Friday to debrief the cabinet if it didn’t carry out its tasks regarding Lebanon’s offshore oil wealth project, As Safir newspaper reported.
“The cabinet should assign the committee tasked with administrating the oil sector and set the tenders to kick off the offshore natural resources exploration,” Berri stressed.
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The army intelligence bureau in the South demanded the Palestinian factions and the Islamic parties in Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp to detain Abu Mohammed Toufiq Taha and hand him over to the Lebanese judiciary, As Safir newspaper reported on Friday.
“The issue is very dangerous and the army can’t allow anyone to manipulate its security,” a security source told the newspaper.
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Cypriot Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis stressed on Friday that her country will not modify its agreement with Israel over the Exclusive Economic Zone, which Beirut and Tel Aviv are bickering over.
“We have already signed a deal with Israel, we would be very happy if Lebanon and Israel agreed on the matter, which would facilitate implementing our deal with Israel,” Kozakou-Marcoullis told As Safir newspaper.
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U.S. Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen is expected to visit to Lebanon next week to hold talks with a number of high-ranking officials, including Bank of Lebanon Governor Riyad Salameh, reported An Nahar daily on Friday.
Concerned circles did not reveal the purposes of the visit, but it has been understood that the U.S. official will tackle the financial sanctions against Syria and Iran, and Lebanon’s commitment to them, added the daily.
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