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Wahhab from Rabiyeh: We are Discussing Legal Means to Withdraw Confidence from Miqati

Tawhid movement leader Wiam Wahhab said Monday that he was mulling along with Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun ways to withdraw their confidence from PM-designate Najib Miqati.

Following talks with Aoun at his residence in Rabiyeh, Wahhab said that the two politicians were searching for new and legal formulas to withdraw their confidence from Miqati.

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Suleiman Discusses Nakba Day Clashes with Connelly, Calls on Security Council, U.S. to Hold Israel Accountable

President Michel Suleiman held talks on Monday with U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly on the security and political repercussions of Sunday’s Nakba Day clashes between Lebanon, Syria, and Israel.

He called on the United States to urge the Jewish state to respect international laws and agreements, once again condemning its attack against unarmed civilians.

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Hearing in Sayyed’s Case against Mehlis Set for May 18

Former General Security chief Jamil Sayyed’s press office announced on Monday that a French court had set a hearing in his lawsuit against former chief U.N. investigator investigator Detlev Mehlis on May 18.

Sayyed had filed a defamation lawsuit against Mehlis after the latter had adopted testimonies of false witnesses in the investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which led to his imprisonment in 2005 for nearly four years.

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More Syrians Cross into Northern Lebanon as Army Warns Against Instability

Around 300 Syrians, including several wounded people, crossed the illegal Munjaz Noura crossing into Lebanon’s northern district of Akkar on Monday to escape the violence in Syria, Voice of Lebanon radio station reported.

Among the injured was a woman who was taken to Rahhal hospital in the area, VDL said.

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Israel Files Complaint against Lebanon and Syria over Nakba Day Incidents

Israel filed a complaint with the U.N. Security Council on Monday against Lebanon and Syria over the Nakba Day incidents that took place on Sunday.

Spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry told Agence France Presse: “We filed a complaint to the Security Council and U.N. Secretary General because Lebanon and Syria should be held responsible for violating our borders, international agreements, and U.N. resolutions.”

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Border Region Quiet as Palestinians Bury Victims of Israeli Shooting

The Israeli army said Monday that Israel's frontiers were quiet, as thousands of bereaved Palestinians in camps across Lebanon laid to rest victims of a cross-border Israeli shooting and shops and schools in the camps closed for a day of mourning.

"Today is a day of general strikes in the camps in mourning for the victims who were killed by the enemy," Fatah commander in Lebanon Munir Maqdah, who is based in the notorious refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, told Agence France Presse.

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Roumieh Inmates Continue Hunger Strike until Amnesty Achieved

Prisons chaplain Father Marwan Ghanem denied on Monday reports saying that the inmates at Roumieh prison have ended their hunger strike.

“The inmates are ongoing with their hunger strike until their rightful demands are achieved,” Ghanem said.

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Hizbullah Mediates: Aoun Eying Jumblat’s Public Works Ministry

Hizbullah is reportedly mediating between Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun and Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat after the FPM asked for a “services ministry” alleging that it has no such portfolio as part of its shares in the new cabinet.

Sources involved in the consultations aimed at forming the government told al-Akhbar daily in remarks published Monday that Hizbullah made no major progress yet in its mediation efforts.

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Ban Urges Arab-Israeli Peace, Williams Regrets Loss of Lives

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Sunday that Israelis and Arabs must show "utmost responsibility" to ward off new hostilities after a day of clashes in which at least 12 people were killed and hundreds wounded, a U.N. spokesman said.

Ban said there had to be a new effort to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks after the fighting along Israel's borders with Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, his spokesman Martin Nesirky said.

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Deal on Distribution of Shares Threatened over Disagreement on Interior Minister’s Affiliation

A deal to form a 30-member cabinet in which the March 8 forces would get 19 ministers, while 11 ministers would be allotted to the president, the premier-designate and the Progressive Socialist Party, is now under threat after the dispute over the interior ministry portfolio did not abate.

March 14 sources told An Nahar daily in remarks published Monday that practically March 8 would get 20 ministers while the remaining 10 would go to President Michel Suleiman, PM-designate Najib Miqati and PSP leader Walid Jumblat.

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