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Syria Thwarts Infiltration of ‘Terrorist’ Group from Lebanon

Syrian authorities thwarted on Monday night the infiltration of an “armed terrorist group” from Lebanon into Syria, reported SANA news agency on Tuesday.

It said that the group was attempting to enter Reef Homs in Syria from northern Lebanon.

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146 Dead in Syria as Rights Group Says Crackdown Killed More Than 10,000

Some 146 deaths were reported on Monday as Syrian forces pressed their crackdown on dissent, pounding rebel bastions mainly in the restive north which also left many hurt, monitors said.

The Local Coordination Committees, the main activist group spurring protests on the ground, reported the 146 deaths, which included 75 bodies that were found at a hospital in the central province of Homs.

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Jumblat: Resistance in Lebanon Must Join the Syrian People’s Resistance

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat saluted on Monday the Syrian people in their ongoing uprising against the ruling regime.

He noted in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: “The resistance in Lebanon must join the Syrian people’s resistance against the regime.”

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Baragwanath in Beirut for Talks with Lebanese Officials

Judge Sir David Baragwanath, President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, arrived Sunday in Beirut from Frankfurt for talks with several officials, state-run National News Agency reported.

In March, sources told Al-Akhbar newspaper the STL president will ink a “memorandum of understanding” with the heads of the Bar Associations in Beirut and Tripoli.

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Geagea Says Revolt in Syria Will Not End, Calls on Christians to Cling to their Land

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea called on Saturday the national community and Arab countries to sponsor a “sincere” referendum in Syria as “ending the revolution would be an illusion,” reiterating that safeguarding the Christians in the region isn’t by “throwing them in the hands of repressive regimes.”

“There will be many difficulties and obstacles ahead of us… but these difficulties will not deter us from reaching our goals,” Geagea said during a rally at Biel in Downtown Beirut.

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Nasrallah Urges Govt. to 'Work Night and Day', Says Syrian Regime Won't Fall

The government must “work night and day” and in a “serious” manner even if its survival depended on the political factors and the developments in Syria, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday, calling on some parties to “reevaluate” their calculations “given that the general course of things in Syria has become clear.”

“It is true that there are some details and problems and that the security situation needs some time (to return to normalcy) in Syria … but the inclination is clear and thus there’s no need for futile bets,” Nasrallah said in a televised address on the occasion of the inauguration of the Hizbullah-affiliated Sayyeda Zainab Complex in Haret Hreik.

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45 Dead as Protesters Rally across Syria and Annan Urges Instant Ceasefire

Deadly clashes raged and anti-regime protesters rallied across Syria on Friday to denounce the Arab League’s inaction in the face of a bloody crackdown on dissent after the annual Arab Summit only urged dialogue to resolve the crisis, as U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan urged the regime to immediately implement a ceasefire.

The Local Coordination Committees, the main activist group spurring protests on the ground, said security forces killed 45 people across the country: nine in Daraa, 14 in Deir al-Zour, three in Aleppo, 12 in Homs, four in Idlib, two in Damascus and one in Hama.

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Online Privacy, Mobile Banking Issues Raised in Arabnet 2012

SolidPass CEO Selahaddin Karatas raised the issue of online privacy, user’s identity, security of passwords and mobile banking during the Arabnet summit 2012 held in Beirut Thursday.

On virtual banking, Raffy Karamian from Bank Audi highlighted the digital services provided by the bank, mainly the Novo technology. “40,000 banking operations and 19,000 video consultations have been conducted since the launch of Novo is citymall earlier this year,” he said.

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Miqati Says Bassil 'Most Competent Minister', Denies Rift with Safadi

Prime Minister Najib Miqati on Thursday described Energy and Water Minister Jebran Bassil as the “most competent minister” in his government, denying the presence of a dispute with Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi, his main ally in the 2009 parliamentary elections.

“I’m a man of compromises and I propose compromises in a positive spirit,” Miqati said in an interview on LBC, in reference to the latest controversy over the issue of leasing power-generating vessels.

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Arabnet 2012: Wikipedia Calls on Arab Community to Boost Arabic Content on The Website in

Following the Opening Ceremony for the Arabnet 2012 Summit held in Beirut, an interesting panel on hot trends in web and mobile kicked off Thursday with TechCrunch editor MikeButcher, National Net Ventures CEO Rashid AlBallaa, Angel Investor Hussein Khanji, CMEA’s Saad Khan and Hummingbird Venture’s Pamir Gelenbe.

According to AlBallaa, mobile youtube in Saudi Arabua is the second worldwide. “The Middle East market is hugely growing and most of start-ups tend to evolve around entertainment or e-commerce, entertainment because a huge percentage of the population in the Middle East is young.”

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