A delegation from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare’s office will visit Beirut soon to meet with General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza, Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi and Interior Minister Marwan Charbel, al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The daily reported that the delegation is expected to inquire the Lebanese officials about the exerted efforts to detain four Hizbullah suspects indicted in ex-PM Rafik Hariri’s murder, and the difficulties hindering the implementation of the international arrest warrants.
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The cabinet is set to discuss on Wednesday the controversial decrees proposed by Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas on the wage boost to Lebanon’s employees in the public and private sectors.
While the participation of Nahhas along with the other Free Patriotic Movement ministers in the session is not clear yet, the salary raise is on the meeting’s agenda.
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Premier Najib Miqati has met with President Michel Suleiman to discuss the agenda of Wednesday’s cabinet session as Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun is expected to announce whether the ministers loyal to him would attend the meeting or not.
Suleiman’s sources told As Safir daily that the session should be held on time, saying the people’s needs should be prioritized rather than obstructing the government work.
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U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, who will arrive in Beirut on a two-day visit on Wednesday, is expected to hold talks with senior Lebanese officials over matters concerning the security and political situation in the country.
“Feltman will focus (in his talks) on the security and political situation in Lebanon and the regional situation especially in Syria,” a U.S. diplomatic source told As Safir newspaper on Tuesday.
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Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui on Monday accused Abdul Monem Youssef, head of the OGERO telecom authority and the ministry’s director general of investment and maintenance, of seeking to suppress the truth about a mobile phone station allegedly operating outside state control.
At a press conference he held to announce the findings of a technical team tasked with probing the activities of the station, Sehnaoui said Youssef refused to grant the technical team information it had repeatedly requested concerning the controversial mobile station’s activities.
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President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati held talks Monday in Baabda on the latest developments and the agenda of the cabinet session scheduled for Wednesday, state-run National News Agency reported.
Wednesday’s session comes a week after Miqati announced the postponement of the previous cabinet meeting and the transfer of Lebanon’s annual share of funds to the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
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Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel urged on Monday political leaders to stop getting embroiled in petty disputes that distract them from major developments in Lebanon and the region.
He said after holding talks with Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin: “The Lebanese leaderships should fortify Lebanon against the unrest raging in the region.”
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An al-Qaida-inspired group has denied claiming responsibility for a recent rocket attack from southern Lebanon against Israel, instead blaming a group linked to Hizbullah, a U.S. monitoring group said Monday.
In a statement issued on jihadist forums, the Brigades of Abdullah Azzam said the November 29 attack should be seen as a warning to the West and Israel from embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the SITE Intelligence Group said.
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The Registrar of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Herman von Hebel, will be answering questions from Lebanese citizens and the general public on Wednesday, December 7 from 3 to 5 pm Beirut Time, announced the STL in a statement.
Questions directed to the Registrar should contain the hashtag #STLRegistrar, it explained.
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U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon ad interim Robert Watkins stressed on Monday the importance of maintaining peace and stability in Lebanon at this time of dramatic changes in the region.
He said after holding talks with Speaker Nabih Berri at Ain al-Tineh: “In that regard, I very much welcomed the role that the speaker played last week in finding a solution to the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. His role was very much appreciated by the United Nations.”
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