Lebanon
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Saqr: Hizbullah's Deadline is Aimed at Intimidation, It's a Message to Those Sponsoring Settlement

Lebanon First MP Oqab Saqr called on the Hizbullah leadership to immediately retract MP Mohammad Raad's recent statements in which he set a deadline for the Saudi-Syrian initiative to yield its results.

Saqr told the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat Sunday that such statements "harm the ongoing Lebanese settlement aimed at protecting Lebanon's security."

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Raad Denies he Had Placed a 3-4-Day Deadline to End Crisis

The head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Mohammad Raad denied on Sunday media reports that had quoted him as saying that he had given a three or four-day deadline for the Saudi-Syrian initiative to yield results.

He said in a statement that the reports were “inaccurate”.

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Saudi-Syrian Initiative Places Priority on Lebanese Consensus

The Saudi-Syrian initiative to end the Lebanese political crisis has placed priority on Lebanese consensus on foreign efforts to end the internal disputes because any external solution is bound to be met with challenges.

These efforts coincided met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's statements in Paris that called for the Lebanese to reach an agreement among themselves before receiving the Saudi-Syrian assistance.

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Hizbullah Raises Tone against STL: Resistance is Much Too Noble to Be Harmed by Anyone

The head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Mohammad Raad warned on Saturday that "Lebanon's image would automatically change if the indictment is released without a settlement being reached in the country."

He added: "Everyone must assume the responsibility of their actions."

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Cabinet Convenes Wednesday amid Concern over Possible Vote on False Witnesses File

Cabinet is set to convene at the Baabda palace on Wednesday for the first time since November 10, with 300 articles set to be discussed, the main one being the false witnesses file.

Sources close to Prime Minister Saad Hariri told the pan-Arab daily Ashraq al-Awsat Sunday that the March 14 forces ministers will refuse to subject the case to a vote if there are no legal justifications for referring it to justice council, as the opposition is demanding.

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One Dead as Storm Wreaks Havoc in Lebanon

The much anticipated storm that lashed Lebanon on Saturday caused considerable damage to public property and one casualty as a result of strong winds and heavy rain.

In the northern city of Tripoli, a woman was killed when an uprooted palm tree landed on her car.

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Rainfall, Strong Winds Wreak Havoc in Lebanon

The much anticipated storm that lashed Lebanon on Saturday caused considerable damage to public property as a result of strong winds and heavy rain.

The meteorological department of the Civil Aviation Authority said there was heavy snowfall at an altitude of 1,400 meters. Even heavier snowfall is expected Sunday night, at an altitude of 1,200 meters.

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Nasrallah: We Read the WikiLeaks Cables and we Will See Greater Conspiracies

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said during an Ashoura council that the party would be targeted by greater conspiracies than the plots unveiled by the cables released by whistleblower WikiLeaks.

Addressing those at the council, Nasrallah said western organizations had carried out studies after the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbullah when homes were being destroyed and 1 million Lebanese were displaced as a result of the Israeli aggression.

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Biden Reaffirms to Hariri U.S. Commitment to Lebanese Sovereignty

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has assured Prime Minister Saad Hariri of U.S. support as a U.N. tribunal probes the 2005 assassination of his father stoking tensions in Lebanon.

Biden "spoke by phone today (Friday) with... Hariri to discuss recent developments in Lebanon and the region," the White House said in a statement, adding the vice president "reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence, and stability."

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Aoun: We Question the Way Karam is Being Investigated, Rifi Spoke of an Illusory Battle

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun told Al-Jazeera TV that investigations with retired General Fayez Karam violated the criminal trial law, saying that this allows for demanding that the investigations be re-launched.

These violations, he said, include torture and preventing the accused from meeting with his lawyer in private.

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