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S. Korean Leader in Saudi on 1st Leg of Gulf Tour

South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak arrived on Tuesday in Riyadh at the start of a two-day visit to the OPEC kingpin which comes as Seoul seeks to diversify its oil sources.

"South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak arrived with his delegation in Riyadh today in an official visit to the kingdom," Saudi state news agency SPA reported.

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Nasrallah Rules Out Govt. Collapse, Urges 'Real' Dialogue in Syria

Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday stressed that “there will be no new government in Lebanon,” noting that contacts were underway to resolve a cabinet crisis that could force the collapse of Premier Najib Miqati’s government.

“We are keen on the survival of the government,” Nasrallah said in a televised address commemorating the birth of the Prophet Mohammed, adding that the current cabinet was providing political stability and security during this period.

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Mustaqbal: Meddling with Distribution of Power Will Not Solve Govt. Dispute

The Mustaqbal bloc condemned on Tuesday the government’s practices and the ongoing “struggle for power” among its members.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “Meddling with the delicate distribution of power that has been designated by the constitution will not solve the dispute.”

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Aoun: Suleiman, Miqati are Violating Our Rights in Administrative Appointments

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun criticized on Tuesday President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s practices, saying that they are violating the Change and Reform bloc ministers’ efforts to exercise the rights they have been granted by the constitution.

He said after the Change and Reform bloc’s weekly meeting: “Suleiman and Miqati are violating our rights in the administrative appointments.”

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Jumblat: If Only Iran Ambassador would Stop Making Statements on Syria Crisis

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Tuesday stressed that the “sweeping popular revolutions in several Arab countries, topped by Syria, do not need lecturing from anyone.”

“If only the Iranian ambassador (to Lebanon, Ghazanfar Roknabadi,) would disassociate himself from making statements about the Syrian crisis, he would perhaps help alleviate the Syrian people's suffering,” Jumblat said.

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Phalange Party Slams Govt. over 'Nepotism in Appointments'

The Phalange Party on Monday slammed Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s government over the issue of administrative appointments, accusing it of “nepotism.”

“It has become clear and evident that the dominant approach is the approach of nepotism, at the expense of the national interest,” the party’s political bureau said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting.

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Serra Hails UNIFIL-Army 'Strategic Partnership'

UNIFIL’s newly appointed Force Commander Major-General Paolo Serra on Monday lauded the cooperation between the Lebanese army and the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, saying it has “brought substantial improvement in the security environment in the South.”

“I am intent on taking this strategic partnership forward.” Serra said following talks with President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Miqati.

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Jumblat Asks State to Aid Syrian Refugees instead of Flexing Military Muscle in North

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Monday described the rare double veto used by Russia and China to block a resolution condemning Syria as a “slap in the face of the Syrian people,” urging the Lebanese state to “aid the Syrian refugees” instead of staging “airborne military parades in the northern border areas.”

In his weekly column in al-Anbaa newspaper, his party’s mouthpiece, Jumblat said the vetos “destroyed what’s left of the Arab League’s initiative which tried to find a political solution to the crisis in Syria.”

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Miqati Meets Berri: Cabinet Sessions Will Only Resume if Govt. Becomes Productive

Speaker Nabih Berri held talks on Monday with Prime Minister Najib Miqati as part of efforts to resolve the government crisis, reported the National News Agency.

Miqati said after the half-hour meeting: “If we are certain that cabinet will be productive, then we will resume cabinet sessions."

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Grenade Blasts Rock Rival Tripoli Neighborhoods

An Energa-type rifle-launched grenade was fired on Sunday at an area located between the rival Tripoli neighborhoods of Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh, state-run National News Agency reported.

Only minutes later unidentified assailants tossed a hand grenade at the stream of the nearby Abu Ali River, NNA said.

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