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Geagea Won't Take Part in Hariri Commemoration: There's a War on Sunnis in Lebanon

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stated on Wednesday that there is “unannounced war on Sunnis in Lebanon”, revealing that he will not take part in the March 14 commemoration of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination on Thursday.

“There is an attempt to accuse Sunnis of terrorism and of being behind all operations on the military institutions,” Geagea said in an interview with Future TV, accusing the Free Patriotic Movement of taking on the task to attack Sunnis in the “war against the Shiites”.

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Aoun Rejects Any Electoral Law that Does Not Ensure Election of 64 Christian MPs

Free Patriotic Movement MP Michel Aoun renewed on Tuesday his rejection of a parliamentary electoral law that does not guarantee the election of 64 Christian MPs, while warning against handing over telecommunication data to security agencies.

He said after the Change and Reform bloc's weekly meeting: “We have the right to take our case to the constitutional council if our demand for a law that ensures the election of 64 Christian lawmakers is not met.”

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Rebels Launch Fierce Assaults on Syria Troops

Syrian rebels launched fierce assaults on regime troops in several parts of the country Sunday, including near Deir Ezzor where they used tanks to shell an army brigade, a watchdog and activists said.

The rebels used tanks to shell Brigade 113 just north of the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, which they have surrounded for weeks, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

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Al-Rahi, Meqdad Exchange Words during Yazigi's Enthronement in Damascus

Greek Orthodox leader Youhanna X Yazigi was on Sunday enthroned in Damascus during a ceremony that was attended by Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and the Syrian deputy foreign minister.

The ceremony took place at the Church of the Holy Cross in Qassaa, a central neighborhood of the conflict-hit Syrian capital.

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March 14 to Commemorate Hariri's Assassination at BIEL

The March 14 opposition alliance plans to commemorate the 8th anniversary of the assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri at the Beirut International Exhibition and Leisure Center BIEL on Feb 14 in a massive rally, media reports said.

Prominent political figures and MPs representing all parties of the alliance including cadres of al-Mustaqbal movement would participate in the event, reports quoted the secretary-general of the movement, Ahmad Hariri, as saying.

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Israel Vows Justice Day after Claim Hizbullah Behind Bulgaria Blast

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told relatives of victims of last year's attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria that those responsible for the killings "will pay the price."

Netanyahu's office said Wednesday in a statement that the head of Israel's counterterrorism bureau told the victims' families in his name that "Israel will do everything so that those responsible for the crime will pay the price."

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EU to Discuss 'Measures' after Bulgaria Implicates Hizbullah in Israeli Bus Attack

The European Union now faces the difficult task of dealing with demands to designate Hizbullah as a terrorist organization after Bulgaria announced Tuesday that the Lebanese party was behind a bomb attack in July that killed five Israeli tourists and one Bulgarian.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement that the EU should “respond robustly to an attack on European soil.”

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Geagea Urges Arsal Residents to Cooperate with Army, Says Judicial Council Must Act against Madi's 'Farce'

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea urged on Tuesday the residents of the Bekaa town of Arsal to hand over the suspects in the killing of Major Pierre Bashaalani and First Sergeant Ibrahim Zahraman.

"Despite the imperfections in the administration, the security forces and the judicial bodies, Lebanon is a democratic state and there are other references in the country,” Geagea said in an interview with Future Television.

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Reporters Without Borders Urges Lebanon to Drop Journalist Rami Aysha's Court-Martial

An international media watchdog on Tuesday urged the Lebanese military court to withdraw all charges against journalist Rami Aysha, who faces trial by court-martial.

"We call not only for this military court to declare itself incompetent to try him but also for the withdrawal of all the charges," Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) head Christophe Deloire said in a statement.

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Jumblat Says No Agreement with Hariri on Small Districts: We Both Reject Orthodox Draft

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat revealed on Saturday that no accord has been reached with former Prime Minister Saad Hariri on the electoral law draft proposed by the March 14 coalition.

“We both, however, agreed on rejecting the Orthodox Gathering's draft law for its unconstitutionality,” Jumblat said in an interview with Future TV.

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