Lebanon
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STL Spokesman Confirms Bellemare has Additional Evidence

Special Tribunal for Lebanon spokesman Marten Youssef stressed on Thursday that the indictment has a supplement that wasn’t released to keep the identity of witnesses and the investigation confidential.

“There is a part of the indictment that the pre-trial judge (Daniel Fransen) decided to keep confidential, especially in the matters that would affect the witnesses, investigations and the victims,” Youssef told al-Okaz Saudi newspaper.

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Abducted Syrians Found in Hawrtaala, Captors Chased in Brital

Security forces managed Wednesday to locate Syrian nationals Mohammed Ayman Bashir Ammar and Nour Jamil al-Hajj Qaddoura in the northern Bekaa town of Hawrtaala, after they were kidnapped five days ago on the Barelias-Bekaa highway.

A statement issued by the General Directorate of General Security said that “after search and investigations, a General Security unit managed to locate the two abductees, who were handed over to the relevant judicial authorities in order to unveil the case’s circumstances.”

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One Dead as Dispute Erupts into Gunfire in Miyyeh-w-Miyyeh

One person was killed in a personal dispute that erupted into gunfire in the Palestinian refugee camp of Miyyeh-w-Miyyeh, near the southern city of Sidon, state-run National News Agency reported.

“While Rami Aql was passing by Mohammed Adwan on his motorcycle, a dispute broke out between the two before erupting into gunfire,” NNA said.

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Berri: Issue of Resistance Not Up for Discussion

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed Wednesday that “the issue of resistance” against Israel is “not up for discussion.”

“AMAL Movement, the founder of Lebanese resistance, believes that the issue of resistance is not up for discussion because the (Israeli) aggression is still ongoing,” said Berri, during a mass rally held in Baalbek to mark the 33rd anniversary of the disappearance of Imam Moussa Sadr and his two companions.

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Maronite Bishops Urge Officials to Unify Ranks, Rebuild the State

The Council of Maronite Bishops on Wednesday expressed fear over divisions among Lebanese officials urging them to unify their ranks and rebuild the state on the foundations of equality and justice.

Following their weekly meeting under Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in his summer residence of Diman, the bishops lamented that divisions among politicians were paralyzing government work and preventing it from carrying out its duties towards the nation and citizens.

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March 14: Hizbullah is in a State of Confusion over Syria

March 14 general-secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid said Wednesday that Hizbullah is in a crisis and would put itself in a confrontation with the whole world if it continues to support the Assad regime.

“The Syrian regime is choking,” Soaid told LBC TV network. “The international community is sending signals that the regime in Syria has collapsed.”

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Ghosn Criticizes Verbal Attacks Against Army

Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn slammed on Wednesday verbal attacks on the Lebanese army by certain people he refused to name, stressing that it is the only institute that is able to safeguard the Lebanese people.

“This is the only institute that will guarantee (the security of) the Lebanese and will safeguard them,” Ghosn said in an interview with al-Manar channel.

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Geagea Says Cabinet Paralyzed, Dominated by Hizbullah and Syria

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stressed that the Lebanese government is dominated by Hizbullah and the Syrian regime that were behind the toppling of the cabinet led by former PM Saad Hariri.

“The President (Michel Suleiman) and the Premier (Najib Miqati) are the ones who supervise the formation of the government… they had a strong tendency to form a technocrat cabinet… However, the result was the opposite,” Geagea told al-Ekhbariya Saudi channel.

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Jumblat Informs Nasrallah his Stance from Electricity Draft Law is Technical

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has reportedly informed Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah that his stance from an electricity draft-law is purely technical and has no political motives.

Jumblat told Nasrallah’s assistant Hussein Khalil that his stance is aimed at improving the conditions of the implementation of the electricity project which is based on allocating $1.2 billion to Energy Minister Jebran Bassil to generate 700 Megawatts of electricity.

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Bassil Reportedly Approves Proposal to End Electricity Standoff

A ministerial meeting aimed at finding a solution to the electricity crisis is expected to be held at the Grand Serail on Monday after allegedly progress was made on a proposal to end the standoff.

Ministerial sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Tuesday that during a previous meeting under Premier Najib Miqati at the Grand Serail, several suggestions were made to end the dispute on a draft law proposed by Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun that calls for allocating $1.2 billion to Energy Minister Jebran Bassil.

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