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Suleiman Denies Decision to Suspend Cabinet Sessions, Says Dispute Will be Resolved

President Michel Suleiman expressed optimism on Monday that the cabinet members will be able to resolve the dispute among each other soon.

“The rift between the cabinet members is on minor issues,” Suleiman told As Safir Newspaper.

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Huge Fire Erupts at Aluminum Factory in Zouk Mosbeh

Firefighters managed to extinguish a huge fire that erupted in an aluminum factory in Zouk Mosbeh on Monday.

The National News Agency said that the fire erupted at 6:30 am in an aluminum factory for Paul Mekhashen.

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Grenade Blasts Rock Rival Tripoli Neighborhoods

An Energa-type rifle-launched grenade was fired on Sunday at an area located between the rival Tripoli neighborhoods of Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh, state-run National News Agency reported.

Only minutes later unidentified assailants tossed a hand grenade at the stream of the nearby Abu Ali River, NNA said.

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Turkey Slams Lebanon for Not Condemning Syria Crackdown

Turkey on Sunday criticized the Lebanese government, saying it has not voiced “a single word” to condemn the Syrian regime’s deadly crackdown on dissent.

“Has Lebanon voiced a single word to express its solidarity with our Muslim brothers who are being slaughtered? No, only Turkey has raised its voice,” Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said.

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Al-Rahi Slams Politicians 'Coma, Policies of Destruction and Poverty'

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday voiced regret over “the coma the Lebanese politicians are going through and the political practices that lead to destruction and poverty.”

In a sermon he delivered at a mass held in the Northern Metn town of Beit Mery, the patriarch noted that “the political authority is entrusted with the public money.”

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Girl Drowns in Frozen Lake in Kfardebian

Hiba Rmeid, 17, drowned on Sunday in a frozen lake in Kfardebian, reported MTV.

According to witnesses, Hiba and her brother Ahmed were practicing photography in the area when she fell through the ice on the frozen lake.

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Pro- and Anti-Russia Demonstrations Held in Beirut

Two demonstrations were held on Sunday in front of the Russian Embassy in Beirut over Russia’s position on Syria at the United Nations Security Council, reported the National News Agency.

One demonstration, comprised of Syrian nationals, advocated the European state, while the other, organized by the Jamaa Islamiya, condemned it.

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Bellemare Informed Saniora that 2nd Indictment in Hariri Case to Be Complete in Feb.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Judge Daniel Bellemare held a “secret meeting” with the head of the Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc MP Fouad Saniora during the former’s latest visit to Beirut, reported Kuwait’s An Nahar newspaper on Sunday.

High-ranking political sources told the newspaper that Bellemare was confident in the evidence he had acquired in the case of the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri, revealing that he will complete the second indictment in the case before the end of February.

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Abducted Syrian Businessman Released

A Syrian businessman, who was kidnapped in the Bekaa on Wednesday, has been released on Sunday, reported the National News Agency.

It said that Mohammed Ghayyath al-Jabi was released on the Riyaq-Baalbeck road after a ransom was paid to the kidnappers.

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Hizbullah Will Defend Syrian Regime Even at Price of Sparking War with Israel

Lebanon must not hesitate in supporting the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, because backing it has major “strategic and fateful” repercussions, sources close to Hizbullah told the Kuwaiti al-Rai newspaper in remarks published on Sunday.

They said: “Hizbullah will not allow the fall of the Assad regime even if it means launching a war with Israel.”

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