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Harb: March 8 Forces are Attempting to Stage a Coup against the Institutions

Minister of Labor Butros Harb noted on Monday that the March 8 forces are seeking to stage a coup against the state institutions.

He told Voice of Lebanon radio that it aims to transfer the false witnesses file to the justice council, a matter that would take years for it to handle.

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Crisis Worsens over False Witnesses: Cabinet, Dialogue Not Likely to Convene Due to Ongoing Dispute

Difficulties facing efforts to hold a Cabinet meeting without a Government split reflected the real problem the national unity government was facing.

A source from President Michel Suleiman's ministerial bloc told An-Nahar newspaper in remarks published Monday there were no new developments regarding the false witnesses' issue.

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Geagea: The Other Camp Will Take to the Streets, But Street is Not the Solution

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Friday that the delicate situation Lebanon was going through warranted the Christian meeting in Bkirki.

"We are facing challenges, most importantly the explosive situation in the region which will leave an impact on us as Lebanese it we do not act," Geagea told reporters following the meeting held under Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir.

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STL Witnessing 'Tug of Rope War' between Cassese, Bellemare

Naharnet Special Report – Leidschendam:

Special Tribunal for Lebanon President Antonio Cassese succeeded in conveying an "indirect message" of hope to Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare, even at the expense of the credibility of Lebanese journalists who heard Cassese repeatedly saying, in three different ways, that he hoped an indictment would be issued in the 2005 assassination of ex-Pm Rafik Hariri.

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Security Council to Address Ongoing Threats against STL During Closed-Door Talks

Informed sources at the United Nations Security Council revealed that the council is set to discuss the ongoing threats against the functioning of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon during closed-door consultations on Friday.

The meetings were scheduled after internal consultations in Lebanon failed to ease the tensions on the matter, while Cabinet session was postponed and the majority of opposition members boycotted Thursday's National Dialogue session.

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Naharnet with One of Bellemare's Assistants: Stability Concerns us, But We'll Say the Truth as we Reach it

Naharnet Special Report – Leidschendam:

Attorney General at the office of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare, Eckhard Vihopf, sufficed with replying that the "indictment will be issued in the near future" when asked when the indictment in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri will be announced.

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Christian Meeting Declares Lebanon in 'Grave Danger,' Urges International Community to Implement its Commitments Toward it

A Christian meeting held in Bkirki under Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir on Friday declared Lebanon in "grave danger" and called on the International Community to implement its commitments toward it.

The meeting included officials from the March 14 coalition and independent figures.

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March 14: Lebanon Cannot be Taken over So Easily, Hizbullah Should Return to the State

The March 14 Secretariat General condemned on Wednesday the "intimidation campaign against the Lebanese that called them to boycott the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and the international investigators."

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: "Those behind this campaign believe they can force the Lebanese to back down from their principles and surrender to Hizbullah's conditions, which is the side leading this campaign."

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Geagea: Hizbullah Will Not Resort to Violence if Indictment Accused Some of its Members

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea ruled out the possibility that Hizbullah would resort to violence if the indictment would accuse some of its members.

He told the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa newspaper to be published on Thursday: "The party will only reap negative repercussions from violence and it will not yield a single positive outcome."

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National Dialogue Convenes Thursday without Jumblat, Gemayel, Franjieh, and Aoun

The National Dialogue is set to resume on Thursday in the absence Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat, and Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh.

Gemayel, Franjieh, and Jumblat are unable to attend because they are traveling abroad, while Aoun announced on Tuesday that the failure to hold Cabinet session on Wednesday and discuss the false witnesses file has prompted him not to participate in the National Dialogue.

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