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Report: Suleiman in Yarze Friday on Occasion of Liberation Day

President Michel Suleiman is expected to visit the defense ministry compound in Yarze on Friday to give a speech on the occasion of Liberation Day.

According to As Safir newspaper published on Tuesday, the president, accompanied by Caretaker Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn, will hold talks with Army commander Maj. Gen. Jean Qahwaji and senior officers.

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Aoun: 1960 Law Will Impose Itself on Us, Extension is Unconstitutional

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Monday noted that the 1960 electoral law “will impose itself on us,” rejecting the extension of parliament's term.

“I don't have a choice and something will impose itself on us and in this case it is the 1960 law, as extension is unconstitutional,” Aoun said during an interview on MTV.

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FSA: Mustafa Badreddine Leading Hizbullah Operations in Qusayr

The rebel Free Syrian Army on Monday claimed that Hizbullah elusive commander Mustafa Badreddine -- who is accused of involvement in former premier Rafik Hariri's murder – is leading the group's operations in the Syrian town of Qusayr.

“It has been confirmed that Mustafa Badreddine is present on Qusayr's front where he is leading Hizbullah's operations,” said a statement issued by the FSA.

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Obama in Phone Call with Suleiman Warns against Hizbullah Role in Syria, Urges Timely Elections

U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday expressed to President Michel Suleiman in a telephone call his concern about the role of Hizbullah in Syria, the White House said in a released statement.

"President Obama stressed his concern about Hizbullah's active and growing role in Syria, fighting on behalf of the (President Bashar) Assad regime, which is counter to the Lebanese government's policies," said the statement.

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Families of Aazaz Pilgrims Sneak into Turkish Cultural Center, Detain its Director

The families of the Lebanese pilgrims held in Syria's Aazaz region sneaked into the Turkish Cultural Center in downtown Beirut on Monday to protest the ongoing abduction of their loved ones, reported LBCI television.

They then headed to the office of the center's director, where they said that they would keep him locked up until the building is shut down.

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Charbel Extends Deadline for Parliament Nominations to May 27

Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel announced on Monday the extension of the deadline for submitting candidacies to the parliamentary elections to May 27, after President Michel Suleiman had signed in April a draft law to suspend the nominations.

Charbel had stated in an interview to As Safir newspaper published on Monday that if the rival MPs did not reach consensus over an electoral law, "they wouldn't have any other choice but to resort to the 1960 law."

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Jumblat Calls for Granting Centrists Greater Power in Cabinet: No Party Should Overpower Other

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat stressed on Monday the need to form a new government in Lebanon that “can help restore the role of constitutional institutions in Lebanon.”

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa website: “No party should overpower the other in a new cabinet.”

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Hariri Slams Official Silence over Hizbullah Fighting in Syria, Urges Agreement on Vote Law to Avoid Vacuum

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri criticized on Monday President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri, caretaker Premier Najib Miqati, and the Lebanese army command's silence over Hizbullah fighting in Syria alongside the country's regime forces, while urging officials to reach an agreement over a parliamentary electoral law.

He wondered in a statement: “Where is the national, constitutional, and moral responsibility towards the crime being committed by a major Lebanese faction through meddling in the internal Syrian war?”

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Suleiman Denies Receiving Direct Warning from Israel

President Michel Suleiman denied on Monday receiving a warning from Israel that it would destroy Lebanon in case of a Hizbullah attack on the Jewish state.

Suleiman's press office said that the president hasn't received such a warning “although Israeli threats and violations of Lebanese airspace never stop.”

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Harb Rejects Paralysis of State, Urges Agreement over Electoral Law

March 14 independent MP Butros Harb slammed on Monday attempts to paralyze constitutional institutions, urging parliamentary blocs to swiftly agree on a new electoral law.

“If circumstances obliged us to extend the tenure of the parliament then it must be for few months,” Harb said after talks with President Michel Suleiman at the Baabda Palace.

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