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Connelly Meets Suleiman, Hails Resumption of National Dialogue

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly praised on Wednesday the resumption of the national dialogue between Lebanese foes under the sponsorship of President Michel Suleiman.

According to a statement issued by the U.S. embassy, Connelly met with Suleiman at the Baabda Palace and lauded his efforts in re-launching the all-party talks “to strengthen the national unity and stability in Lebanon.”

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Plumbly Meets Miqati, Hails Political Parties’ Commitment to National Dialogue

U.N Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly welcomed on Wednesday the outcome of Monday’s national dialogue meeting.

He said after meeting Prime Minister Najib Miqati: “The commitment on the part of the different political movements in the country to continue dialogue is in itself important, as is their reaffirmation of the commitments made in the Baabda Declaration to restraint, to support for the army and to Lebanon’s neutrality with regard to regional conflicts.”

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Al-Rahi Heads to Turkey, Says People are Fed up with Divisions

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi said on Wednesday that “people are fed up with divisions” and reiterated support for Lebanese from all sects and parties.

“People are fed up with divisions and we are always with all Lebanese from all sects, moods, movements and parties,” al-Rahi said at Rafik Hariri International Airport ahead of travelling to Turkey on a pastoral trip.

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Report: Lebanese-U.S. Citizens who Vote for Hizbullah Might Violate Law

Lebanese Americans who are willing to participate in the upcoming 2013 parliamentary polls might face difficulties in voting for Hizbullah candidates, An Nahar newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The U.S. law prevents any individual from conducting any form of transactions or contact with Hizbullah, which is considered a terrorist organization by the authorities, but the law doesn’t mention if voting for Hizbullah is considered an illegal act.

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Berri, Miqati Agree to Consolidate Government Activation Deal

Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Miqati have agreed on the need to consolidate an agreement reached between the different parties to improve the government’s performance, As Safir daily reported on Wednesday.

The newspaper said that both officials, who held talks in Ain el-Tineh on Tuesday, stressed the importance of giving a fresh impetus to the deal reached between the president, the speaker and the PM earlier in the month on the consolidation of the government’s work.

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Report: Farrell Says No Death Certificates for 4 Suspects in Hariri Murder

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Norman Farrell submitted to the Trial Chamber a document revealing that the Lebanese authorities didn’t find any death certificates for the four suspects in the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri.

“The prosecution asked the competent Lebanese authorities on May 25 to present any document, including death certificates, for any of the four accused,” Farrell said, according to An Nahar newspaper published on Wednesday.

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Reports: Members of Resistance Brigades Attacked al-Jadeed, Planned Assault on Future

The attacker of al-Jadeed TV, who was arrested after setting tires ablaze outside the station’s headquarters, is connected to the Hizbullah-linked Resistance Brigades and was part of a group planning another attack on Future TV station, security sources told several newspapers published Wednesday.

The preliminary investigation revealed that Wissam Alaeddine was tasked with burning tires and then throwing a Molotov cocktail on al-Jadeed headquarters in Beirut’s Wata al-Msaitbe to set it ablaze on Monday night.

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Miqati Lauds Charbel’s Efforts to Preserve 'Stability' as Security Plan Goes Underway

Prime Minister Najib Miqati lauded the efforts exerted by Interior Minister Marwan Charbel to maintain stability amid the difficult situation the country is passing through.

“I hope this would be considered as the basis for fortifying the security situation in the long term,” Miqati told As Safir newspaper on Wednesday.

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Mustaqbal Blames al-Jadeed Attack on 'Hizbullah-Sponsored Illegal Arms'

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday condemned the attack on al-Jadeed television’s building, rejecting “the sectarian rhetoric from whichever side it comes” and blaming the incident on “the proliferation of illegal arms which is sponsored, protected and supervised by Hizbullah.”

“The use of the sectarian rhetoric, tools and expressions is rejected and condemned, from whichever side it comes, as our country needs a calm, reasonable and uniting rhetoric instead of insults and provocation,” the bloc said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting.

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Aoun Accuses Officials of Inciting Security Unrest: We Will No Longer Respond to Jumblat’s Insults

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun stressed on Tuesday the need for the security forces to intervene to contain the recent unrest in Lebanon.

He accused after the Change and Reform bloc’s weekly meeting “officials of being complicit in the unrest.”

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