Lebanon
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Hochstein to return to Beirut in early September

As part of the developments related to the beginning of drilling for gas in Lebanon’s offshore Block 9, U.S. Special Presidential Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security Amos Hochstein is expected to return to Beirut in early September, media reports said.

“On the surface, his mission will be to oversee the exploration process, but it has been reported that he is carrying a plan for addressing the problem of the Lebanese border with occupied Palestine in a manner that meets some Lebanese demands over the contested points,” al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Monday.

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Finance and Budget Committee convenes over forensic audit

The Finance and Budget Parliamentary Committee convened Monday to discuss the Alvarez & Marsal preliminary forensic audit report and question the government and the central bank governor about financial reform laws.

Minister of Finance Youssef al-Khalil and Interim Central Bank Governor Wassim Mansouri attended the meeting. Minister of Justice Henry Khoury also attended the meeting to give answers about the judicial course of the audits.

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Report: Le Drian's dialogue to be held within days despite possible boycotts

The dialogue that French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian has called for will be held “within a few days” despite the “pessimistic atmosphere” that is still surrounding it, informed sources said.

“The dialogue will still take place and it has not been affected by the objections of the Lebanese Forces party and some parties and components of the camp that calls itself sovereign and pro-change opposition,” the sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Monday.

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Bassil urges new president through dialogue or successive sessions

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has noted that “the election of a president alone is not the solution.”

“The crisis will be repeated every six years as long as our constitution remains the same,” Bassil said in a speech in Bsharri.

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Can parliament legislate? Berri warns of constitution 'misinterpretation'

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has said that Parliament can legislate, even though Lebanon has been without a president for more than eight months.

After 12 attempts to elect a president failed amid major political disputes, opposition MPs decided to boycott all parliamentary sessions, as they considered them "unconstitutional" amid a presidential void.

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Lebanon eliminated from Basketball World Cup after 128-73 loss to Canada

Lebanon has been eliminated as Canada, Latvia, Montenegro, Lithuania and Germany all headed to the round of 16 of the Basketball World Cup.

Debutants Latvia beat Lebanon in their opening game and sent heavyweights France crashing to a shock Basketball World Cup first-round exit on Sunday, while Canada underlined their title credentials in a blowout win over Lebanon.

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Al-Rahi urges border control, slams presidential vote obstructors

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday called on security authorities to “enhance the protection of Lebanese border crossings.”

“We are praying for officials to rise above their private interests,” al-Rahi said in his Sunday Mass sermon.

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Lebanon arrests '2 Russians' who tried to spy on Hezbollah for Israel

General Security acting Director-General Maj. Gen. Elias Bayssari has announced the arrest of two individuals at Beirut’s airport who are suspected of having ties to Israel.

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Assafir founding editor Talal Salman dies at 85 after long illness

Journalist Talal Salman, who founded one of Lebanon's largest Arabic-language independent newspapers, died Friday after a long illness, the state-run National News Agency said. He was 85.

An Arab nationalist whose role model was late Egyptian President Gamal Abdul-Nasser, Salman devoted much of his writing to the Palestinian cause and calls for Arab unity.

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4 Arab Israelis arrested for 'obtaining arms from Hezbollah'

Israel’s internal security agency, the Shin Bet, has said that four Arab Israeli citizens have been arrested in a joint operation with the police and the Israeli army over the possession of a large amount of "high quality" Iranian-made weapons including two explosive devices.

One of the men had been in contact with an operative of Lebanon-based Hezbollah, the agency said.

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