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Aoun: Threatening to Form Neutral Government Makes it Unconstitutional

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun rejected on Tuesday President Michel Suleiman's suggestion to form a neutral government, saying that nonpartisan ministers “have no opinions.”

He said after the Change and Reform bloc's weekly meeting: “Threats to form a neutral cabinet make it unconstitutional.”

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Suleiman Condemns Linking Cabinet to Presidential Vote: Why Can't Lebanese Have a Neutral Govt.?

President Michel Suleiman on Monday condemned attempts to link the cabinet formation process to the May presidential election, wondering why can't the Lebanese have a “neutral government” after 10 months of political vacuum.

“Should we fail to form an all-embracing political cabinet, don't people have the right to contribute to the formation of a neutral government? In the absence of consensus on an inclusive cabinet, do we have to stay without a cabinet?” Suleiman wondered in a televised speech he delivered at the Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture in Beirut.

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Video Shows Movement, Explosion of Haret Hreik Booby-Trapped Car

Al-Manar television on Friday broadcast a video showing how the booby-trapped Grand Cherokee exploded Thursday in the middle of a street in Haret Hreik.

The video, which was captured by a security camera in the area, shows how the car's driver was moving forward in a hesitant manner. At a certain point, he swiftly steers left after making a right turn.

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Flames, Smoke Seen from Akkar as Syria Gas Pipeline Blown Up

Residents of several border towns in Akkar on Friday heard the sound of a powerful explosion that came from across the frontier with Syria.

“The sound of the blast was very strong and plumes of smoke have engulfed the area in a horrific way,” Akkar residents told Naharnet.

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Shelling on Arsal's Countryside Wounds Nine Syrian Fighters

Shelling from Syria Thursday wounded nine Syrian fighters on the Lebanese border who had fled fighting in their country, a security source said.

"Nine Syrians were wounded as a result of cross-border artillery shelling from Syria that struck the area of Khirbet Dawoud in the Arsal countryside," the source told Agence France Presse.

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Top Officials Stress 'Same Terrorist' behind All Blasts in Lebanon

President Michel Suleiman stressed on Thursday that the same terrorists that carried out the blast in the Beirut neighborhood of Haret Hreik earlier in the day, are the ones planting terrorism, killing and destructing all Lebanese regions.

Suleiman's comments came shortly after a deadly explosion hit Beirut's Dahieh neighborhood, killing at least 4 people and wounding over 70 others.

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U.S., UK Embassies Condemn Bombing in Haret Hreik

The United States and the United Kingdom's embassies in Lebanon condemned on Thursday the “terrorist” bombing in Beirut's southern suburbs.

“We condemn today's terrorist bombing in (the Beirut neighborhood of) Dahieh,” the U.S. embassy said via its account on the social networking website Twitter.

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Local Leaders Condemn Thursday's Blast: Hariri Says Dahieh Victim of Terrorism, Jumblat Urges Cabinet Formation

The deadly explosion that hit Beirut's southern neighborhood of Haret Hreik on Thursday afternoon drew a wave of condemnation by local political leaders that considered that terrorism is targeting all Lebanese people.

The blast killed at least 4 people and wounded 75 others.

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5 Dead, 77 Hurt as Car Bombing Rocks Haret Hreik in Likely Suicide Attack

At least five people were killed and 77 others wounded in a car bomb attack that rocked the Beirut southern suburb of Haret Hreik on Thursday.

After state-run National News Agency said six people were killed and 75 others wounded in the blast, caretaker Health Minister Ali Hasan Khalil confirmed to several media outlets that the final casualty toll stood at 4 dead and 77 injured.

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Ghosn Denies Making Statements on Arrest of Abdullah Azzam Brigades Chief

Caretaker Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn denied on Wednesday that he had made any statements to any media outlets, said his press office in a statement.

The statement was issued after Agence France Presse said that he had confirmed the arrest of Majed al-Mjaed, the "emir" of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, the Al-Qaida linked group that claimed a double suicide bombing at the Iranian embassy in November.

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