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Berri Likely to Present Draft Law on Adopting Proportionality for Electoral Law

Speaker Nabih Berri will likely propose a “solution” to the dispute over the parliamentary electoral law next week.

Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil told al-Manar television on Saturday that the solution entails adopting proportional representation for the law.

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Miqati Heads to Brussels Wednesday on Official Visit

Prime Minister Najib Miqati is scheduled to travel to Brussels on Wednesday after holding a cabinet session at the Baabda Palace, headed by Presidents Michel Suleiman, reported the daily An Nahar on Sunday.

The premier is expected to hold talks with his Belgian counterpart Elio Di Rupo and a number of high-ranking officials, including some from the European Commission.

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Lebanese Man Killed in Venezuela, Mansour Demands Swift Investigation

A 22-year-old Lebanese man was killed in Carabobo state in Venezuela during an attempted robbery, which angered the residents of the Baysour area in Lebanon on Saturday who demanded that the government to launch an immediate investigation in the case.

The Lebanese government “should follow up on the crime to punish those who are guilty and bring them to justice in order to protect our expatriate children,” the residents of Baysour said.

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Authorities Release Two Activists Detained for Pro-Syrian Revolution Graffiti in Beirut

Two young Lebanese men who have been detained for daubing graffiti on Beirut walls in support of the uprising in neighboring Syria were released, media reports said on Saturday.

Fadi Tawfiq, a writer and rights activist, told Agence France Presse Ali Fakhri and Khodr Salameh were detained on Friday night for painting the flag used by rebels in Syria and "The revolution continues" in a district considered supportive of the Damascus regime.

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UNHCR Says More than 22,000 Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

Nearly 22,000 Syrian refugees had fled the crackdown in their country to Lebanon according to a report issued on Saturday by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

According to the report “the UNHCR and its NGO partners are working in cooperation with the (Lebanese) government, local authorities, and international agencies to aid more than 22,000 Syrian refugees across the country.”

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Suleiman Returns after 6-Day Visit to Australia

President Michel Suleiman and his accompanying delegation returned to Beirut on Saturday following a six-day official visit to Australia.

In remarks to al-Liwaa daily on Saturday, Suleiman expressed relief at the situation in Lebanon, stressing however “this doesn’t mean we should leave it alone and not take care of it.”

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5 Injured in Knife and Fistfight Attacks in Sidon

Five people were injured after several youths battled with knives and fists in the southern city of Sidon, the National News Agency reported on Saturday.

NNA said the youth were involved in a car chase and then engaged in fistfight and knife attacks, leaving five people, including one severely injured, at the southern entrance of Sidon on Friday night.

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Gasoline Prices Reach Record Highs in Lebanon

Energy Minister Jebran Bassil signed the weekly fuel price update on Saturday after a four-day delay, which saw the price of the 98-graded fuel skyrocket to LL40,000.

Bassil, who usually signs the price update each Wednesday, procrastinated in his signature over fears of a backlash due to an additional LL300 rise in the price of gasoline.

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Miqati’s Sources Deny U.S. Trying to Hamper Cooperation with Iran

Sources close to Premier Najib Miqati denied that a visit made by U.S. Ambassador Maura Connelly to the Grand Serail on Friday was aimed at thwarting meetings scheduled to be held by the Higher Lebanese-Iranian committee next month.

In remarks to As Safir daily published Saturday, the sources said: “We are not aware of any such move and the U.S. ambassador’s visit to the Serail had nothing to do with it.”

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Pietton: Protection of Lebanon from Regional Developments Vital after Geagea’s Attempted Murder

French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton said Saturday that Lebanon would have been placed in a very dangerous situation if Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea was killed.

In an interview published in An Nahar daily, Pietton expressed concern at the situation in Lebanon after Geagea escaped an assassination attempt as he was walking in the garden of his fortified residence in Maarab.

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