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Syria's Ambassador Meets Hariri: Doors to Damascus Open for Hariri

Syria's ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel Karim Ali on Wednesday said the doors to Damascus are open for Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

His comments came following a meeting with Hariri at the Grand serial.

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March 14 is Adamant to Give Saudi-Syrian Initiative Chance to Succeed

The March 14 general-secretariat criticized on Wednesday efforts aimed at targeting the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and the indictment that will be issued in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination case.

“Some politicians continue to make news conferences that do not bring anything new to (efforts aimed at) targeting the indictment and the international tribunal,” the general-secretariat said following its weekly meeting.

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Qaouq: U.S. Vetoing Syrian-Saudi Effort, False Witnesses File

Hizbullah official Sheikh Nabil Qaouq said Wednesday that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon was being exploited to compensate for the Israeli defeat in the July 2006 war on Lebanon.

Qaouq pointed out that Hizbullah did not need the latest Wikileaks documents to know that the U.S. was controlling all aspects of the STL decisions.

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Suleiman: Lebanese Nationalism-Arab Belonging Important in Nation Building

President Michel Suleiman said Wednesday that the choice of Beirut as host of the Arab Thought Conference is an acknowledgment of Lebanon’s role in the service of Arab culture.

“The Lebanese challenge to allow all sects to participate in decision-making … increases our responsibilities” amid efforts by some people to thwart such attempts, Suleiman said during the opening of the conference at the Phoenicia intercontinental hotel in Beirut.

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Sfeir: Things Will Get Better Thanks to People’s Sacrifices

Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir appeased fears about a worsening situation, saying conditions will get better thanks to the people who are making sacrifices to salvage the nation.

“We hope Lebanon would become better than it was,” Sfeir told a student delegation on Wednesday.

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Gemayel: We Reserve Ourselves the Right to Move Away from Isolation

Phalange party leader Amin Gemayel announced on Wednesday that he would accept an invitation to visit Iran following coordination with the Iranian leadership.

While lauding Iranian-Lebanese ties that have witnessed a major leap forward, Gemayel considered Premier Saad Hariri’s visit to Tehran an “important sign.”

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Raad says STL Violation of Constitution, Accuses UN Investigators of Procrastination

Hizbullah MP Mohammed Raad on Wednesday said the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is a violation of the Lebanese Constitution and accused U.N. investigators of procrastination.

He said some the concerns raised by Hizbullah to the U.N. Hariri investigation committee during a March 2010 meeting were not answered.

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WikiLeaks: Saudi Proposed Arab Force to Fight Hizbullah

Saudi Arabia proposed setting up an Arab force to fight Hizbullah militants in Lebanon with the help of the United States, U.N. and NATO, a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable said.

In a meeting in May 2008 with U.S. ambassador to Iraq David Satterfield, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said a "security response" was needed to the "military challenge" posed to Beirut by the Iran-backed militants.

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WikiLeaks: Syrian Security Services Blamed Each Other for Mughniyeh’s Murder

Syrian officials were stunned by the assassination of senior Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus two years ago, triggering a blame game between rival security services, according to WikiLeaks cables published by The Guardian newspaper.

U.S. reports from February 2008, revealed by WikiLeaks, described how the Assad regime was shocked when Mughniyeh was murdered by a sophisticated bomb planted in his car.

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Israeli Minister: No Physical Partition of Ghajar

Israeli Minister Yossi Peled has promised Ghajar residents there will be no physical partition in the village despite Israel's decision to withdraw from its northern part.

His promise was made during a meeting with head of the Ghajar council, Ahmed Fatali, and village representatives on Tuesday.

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