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A Lebanese judge has asked central bank chief Riad Salameh to appear before visiting European investigators, a judicial official said, part of a multinational probe into his personal wealth.
Salameh "has been summoned to appear at 10:00 am (0800 GMT) on Wednesday" before investigators from France, Luxembourg and Belgium, the Lebanese judicial official told AFP on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Full StoryThe Lebanese pound sank to a historic low against the dollar on the parallel market Tuesday, foreign exchange dealers said, as banks in the crisis-hit country resumed an open-ended strike.
The Lebanese pound, officially pegged at 15,000 to the dollar, was trading at 100,000 against the greenback, dealers said -- a dizzying plunge from 1,507 before the economic crisis hit in 2019.
Full StoryParliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Monday defended the Shiite Duo’s nomination of Suleiman Franjieh for the president post.
In a meeting with a delegation from the Press Syndicate and the Press Editors Syndicate, Berri reminded that Franjieh had also been a candidate “when the term of president Emile Lahoud was extended.”
Full StoryHezbollah central council member Sheikh Nabil Qaouq on Monday stressed that his party and its allies are “not awaiting any foreign settlement -- neither bilateral nor among five parties -- that would impose on the Lebanese characteristics and names for the presidency.”
“Hezbollah, the Amal Movement, the allies and the friends have opened a horizon for resolving the presidential crisis through domestic consensus, away from foreign vetoes and specifications. As for the election of a challenge and confrontation president, this now belongs to the past, and we’re talking about the present and the future,” the Hezbollah official added.
Full StorySaudi Ambassador Walid Bukhari met Monday with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tine.
As he left the meeting, Bukhari told reporters that there is "certainly" something positive for Lebanon.
Full StoryThe Observatoire Européen pour l'Integrité du Liban said Monday that French judge Aude Buresi will arrive in Lebanon in the upcoming hours to question Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh.
The interrogation will take place in the presence of First Investigative Judge of Beirut Charbel Abou Samra, the observatory said.
Full StoryLebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea met Monday with Maronite Archbishop of Antelias Antoine Bou Najem over the presidential crisis.
Assigned by Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, Bou Najem had started last month to meet Christian leaders in an attempt to secure Christian consensus over the presidential file.
Full StoryCaretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Monday urged those who consider cabinet meetings as illegitimate to go ahead and elect a president.
Mikati's statement came after a meeting with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, during which they discussed the Taif Agreement, the presidential file and Mikati's visit to the Vatican.
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Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday rejected that a president be “imposed” on the Lebanese as well as “vetoes” on presidential candidates.
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Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri is preparing to visit Riyadh in the coming period, should circumstances allow him to carry out such a visit, highly informed sources have said.
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