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12 Wounded in Clash over Basketball Game in Deir al-Qamar

Twelve people were wounded on Friday when clashes broke out between supporters of the Deir al-Qamar and the Tawheed basketball teams, reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Sunday.

Knives and guns were used in the clash that first started as a fistfight between the two sides.

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Jumblat: Lebanon Cannot Escape Funding STL

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat stated on Saturday that Lebanon has made a pledge to implement international resolutions and it cannot avoid these obligations.

He said: “Lebanon therefore cannot escape funding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.”

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Suleiman, Berri, Miqati, Jumblat Reach Agreement on Electricity File, Await Aoun’s Reply

President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Najib Miqati, and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat have reached an agreement over the dispute over the electricity file, revealed the daily al-Mustaqbal on Sunday.

The solution calls for allowing the government to control the funding of the draft law that was proposed by Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun.

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Miqati’s Pledge to Fund STL to Create New Govt. Crisis

Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s recent statements that Lebanon will continue on funding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will likely cause a governmental crisis given that Free Patriotic Movement ministers believe that such a decision cannot be taken by the premier, but by the ministers themselves, the majority of which oppose the tribunal, reported the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat on Sunday.

Ministerial sources told the daily that Lebanon is obligated to fund 49 percent of the tribunal’s funds according to United Nations Security Council 1757.

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Karam’s Conviction Proves Credibility of Intelligence Bureau as FPM Slams Verdict

Retired Brigadier General Fayez Karam’s conviction of spying for Israel has demonstrated the credibility of the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau in light of the “harsh political campaign that was launched against it by the Free Patriotic Movement”, reported the daily An Nahar on Sunday.

Informed sources told the daily however that his sentence to two years on charges of collaborating with Israel is short in comparison to other individuals who have been given life sentences for the same charges.

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Lebanese Sheikh Killed in London Mosque

Sheikh Maymun Zarzur, a Lebanese imam, was killed after leading prayers at the Muslim Welfare House in London, the Islamic center said Saturday.

Zarzour was found dead on Friday after leading the early morning Muslim (Fajr) prayers at the Islamic community center, Muslim Welfare House said.

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Berri Says Lebanese National Defenses in Danger

Speaker Nabih Berri slammed some officials in the state without naming them, stressing that they don’t want to continue the establishment of Lebanon’s national defenses.

Berri statements came after Israeli press reported that their country began establishing a military strategy to secure the oil fields disputed over with Lebanon.

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Syrian Refugees Continue Fleeing to Lebanon, Numbers Reach 2600

Syrian refugees fleeing the unrest in their country to Lebanese border towns since the uprising in Syria against President Bashar Assad regime reached 2600, the Central news agency reported on Saturday.

“The numbers of refugees reached 2600, distributed in areas near the border especially in Wadi Khaled,” Security forces told the news agency.

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Suleiman Calls for Modern Electoral Law that Improves Democratic Performance

President Michel Suleiman said Saturday that the improvement of the country’s democratic performance should start by the adoption of a modern electoral law.

Suleiman told delegations visiting him at his summer residence in Beiteddine palace that the electoral law should provide the right representation to all Lebanese and their right role in decision making.

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ISF, Hizbullah Clash Over Spy Networks

The Internal Security Forces leadership snapped back at Hizbullah mouthpiece al-Manar TV station over accusations that the Intelligence Branch had neglected its duties in arresting Mossad agents.

Without naming al-Manar, the ISF general directorate said in a communiqué on Friday that unlike the TV report that no spying network was arrested in the past year, the Intelligence Branch had arrested 4 rings, the latest in June 2001.

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