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Cabinet Agreements on Verge of Collapse as Hizbullah Seeks to Mediate

Hizbullah will reportedly make a new initiative to put back the cabinet formation efforts on track after the latest deal on the name of retired Internal Security Forces Maj. Gen. Marwan Charbel collapsed.

An Nahar daily said Tuesday that Hizbullah might move in the next few days to find a consensual exit to the government impasse.

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Lebanon to Turn in 3 Syrian Soldiers to their Authorities as Refugees Continue to Flood to North

The Lebanese military is about to hand in three Syrian enlisted soldiers to their authorities after they fled Syria’s crackdown to northern Lebanon from the village of Tall Kalakh, An Nahar newspaper reported on Tuesday.

“One of the enlisted soldiers is being treated for injuries he suffered after being shot at along with the other two soldiers,” the daily said.

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Jumblat Holds onto Miqati but Does Not Reject Nomination of Bahia Hariri or Tabbara

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has informed the March 8 forces that he continued to hold onto the nomination of Najib Miqati as premier-designate, informed sources said.

The sources told al-Liwaa newspaper that Jumblat told members of the new parliamentary majority that Miqati should remain prime minister-designate because no alternative is ready but stressed that he might accept the nomination of MP Bahia Hariri or former lawmaker Bahij Tabbara.

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Anti-Assad Regime Meeting Postponed

Around 300 Lebanese officials, affiliated with the March 14 camp, were invited Tuesday to a meeting in support of anti-Assad regime demonstrators at 4:00 pm, but the conference was later postponed for unknown reasons and organizers said the location and the timing will be announced at a later date.

The Bristol Hotel was supposed to host on Tuesday two antagonist meetings; the first was in support of the Syrian people, while the other would reportedly be held to announce backing for the Syrian regime.

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Miqati Challenges Wahhab to Find Legal Way to End his Nomination

Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati’s circles have challenged Tawhid movement leader Wiam Wahhab to find legal methods to end the billionaire businessman’s nomination.

“Let them inform us when they find the legal way,” Miqati’s circles told several dailies in response to a question on the statement made by Wahhab on Monday.

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March 8, Syria Say ‘No Alternative’ to Miqati

The March 8 forces and Syria continue to hold onto Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati despite an announcement by Tawhid movement leader Wiam Wahhab that he was mulling legal ways to end the nomination of the billionaire businessman, high-ranking sources said.

The sources from the new parliamentary majority told An Nahar daily in remarks published Tuesday that the March 8 forces continue to back Miqati although the cabinet formation process shook ties between several members of the coalition.

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Williams Shocked by Number of Deaths, Use of Disproportionate Force by Israel in Maroun al-Ras

United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams has expressed “shock” at the number of deaths in the border town of Maroun al-Ras when Israeli forces opened fire on demonstrators on Nakba Day on Sunday.

“I am shocked by the number of the deaths and the use of disproportionate, deadly force by the Israeli Defense Forces against apparently unarmed demonstrators,” Williams said Monday after holding talks with Premier-designate Najib Miqati.

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U.S., France Condemn Violence on Lebanon Border, Urge Restraint

The White House said Monday it regretted the loss of life on the Lebanese-Israeli border and urged "maximum restraint" among all parties but said the U.S. ally has the right to thwart unauthorized crossings.

"We regret the loss of life and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of those killed and wounded," spokesman Jay Carney told reporters aboard President Barack Obama's official Air Force One airplane.

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Phalange: Nakba Day Incidents Should Drive World to Assume Responsibilities in Pushing for Peace

The Phalange Party condemned on Monday the ongoing political crisis in Lebanon, saying that it is “starting to kill the country.”

It said in a statement after its weekly politburo meeting: “As Arab people are demanding to topple the regimes in their countries, the Lebanese should demand that the system in their country be saved seeing that solutions to the crisis will not be reached any time soon.”

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Estonians Still Alive, May Be Held Captive at Wadi al-Aswad

The seven Estonian cyclists kidnapped in Lebanon in March are still alive, said a security source to the Central News Agency on Monday.

This information comes as a relief to security forces that have still not yet determined their where they are being held captive, it added.

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