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Jumblat: Feltman Visited Beirut to Coordinate Efforts to Issue U.N. Resolution on Syria

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has unveiled that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman sought during his visit to Beirut last week to coordinate with Lebanese officials attempts to issue a U.N. Security Council resolution against Syria.

Jumblat told Hizbullah’s al-Manar TV on Monday night that he disagreed with Feltman on his view and stressed to him that “any decision to isolate Syria would not do any good.”

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Anti-Hizbullah Clergyman Suspected of Collaborating with Israel

The army intelligence has detained the secretary-general of the Arabic-Islamic Council after suspecting that he collaborated with the Israeli Mossad, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Mohammed Ali H., who is a clergyman, was moved to the ministry of defense in Yarze from his home in the southern port city of Tyre for interrogation, the daily said.

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Miqati Rejects Cabinet of ‘Cantons’ amid Freeze in Contacts

Premier-designate Najib Miqati has stressed that he would not form a government of “cantons” or grant portfolios to political parties in order to turn them into “feudal” entities.

“I told everyone without exception and not only the general (Michel Aoun) as is being rumored, to give me lists of portfolios that they are seeking and lists of names that they suggest so that I would distribute the portfolios on the names in accordance with my authorities and the authorities of the president,” Miqati was quoted as saying by al-Akhbar daily on Tuesday.

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Qassem Says No Cabinet Deadlock, Liberation was a Leap towards Israel’s Downfall

Hizbullah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem has said on the occasion of the Liberation Day that the resistance proved its ability to impose changes in the region.

“The Liberation caused a strategic leap that indicates the beginning of the fall of Israel … With liberation the time of victories began,” Qassem told As Safir newspaper on Tuesday.

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PSP Calls for Ending Cabinet ‘Joke,’ Laments Lost Opportunity

The circles of Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat have stressed that the Druze leader has repeatedly called for an end to the government “joke.”

In remarks to As Safir daily on Tuesday, the circles said: “It seems that no one has heard” Jumblat’s cry.

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U.S. Couple Pleads Guilty in Hizbullah Funding Case

A married couple pleaded guilty Monday to charges that they planned to ship money to Hizbullah, which the United States lists as a terrorist organization.

The plea deal will spare Hor and Amera Akl from potential life sentences.

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Pro, Anti-Assad Demonstrators Stage Rival Rallies in Hamra

Dozens of supporters of Syria's Bashar al-Assad gathered in Beirut Monday to express support for the embattled president, drowning out a nearby vigil in memory of those killed in two months of unrest.

"God, Syria, Bashar" and "Sarkozy, Obama, you brutes, you will never enter Syria," chanted some 50 men in the Hamra district of Beirut amid heavy security.

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Phalange: Caretaker Government Must Convene to Tackle People’s Needs

The Phalange Party called on the caretaker government to convene in order to tackle the citizens’ concerns, dismissing some proposals to address these issues, which it described as a “joke.”

It said in a statement after its weekly politburo meeting: “Given that the government crisis has entered its fifth month, some constitutional mechanisms must be reviewed in order to address some urgent matters given that the country is being ruled by a caretaker Cabinet.”

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Raffarin Delivers Message of Support from Sarkozy to Suleiman: Government Formation is Internal Affair

French Senate deputy leader Jean-Pierre Raffarin stressed on Monday the autonomy of the Lebanese government, stressing that France respects Lebanon’s sovereignty.

He hoped after holding talks with President Michel Suleiman that the Lebanese government would be formed soon in order to resume cooperation between the country’s various ministries.

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Williams Meets Suleiman, Berri, Stresses Need to Form Government to Avoid Lost Opportunities

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams stressed on Monday the need to form a new government as there are many problems in Lebanon that need to be addressed.

He said after holding talks with President Michel Suleiman: “There are many problems before Lebanon, problems of economy, problems of security and these problems are growing by the day.”

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