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Aoun rejects Israel's threats, says Lebanon keen on negotiations

President Michel Aoun on Monday said that Lebanon rejects Israel’s latest threats while stressing that the country is keen on the resumption of talks over sea border demarcation.

“We reject the threats of the Israeli enemy, which is acting in violation of international laws and resolutions,” Aoun said, in a meeting in Baabda with reformist MPs Melhem Khalaf, Ibrahim Mneimneh, Rami Fanj, Mark Daou, Waddah al-Sadek, Yassine Yassine and Najat Aoun.

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Macron consoles Tamara who lost her father in helicopter crash, her mother in Beirut blast

French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed his condolences to Tamara Tayah, the daughter of Tarek Tayah, one of the two Lebanese victims of a helicopter that crashed in northern Italy, days ago.

Tamara had met with Macron in Lebanon after she had lost her jeweler designer mother in the massive Beirut port explosion.

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Beirut Public Prosecutor recuses himself from Salameh's lawsuit

Beirut Public Prosecutor Ziad Abu Haidar recused himself Monday from looking into Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh's lawsuit, media reports said.

Lebanon had opened a probe into Salameh's wealth last year, after the office of Switzerland's top prosecutor requested assistance in an investigation into more than $300 million which he allegedly embezzled out of the central bank with the help of his brother.

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Bassil warns against Line 29, says won't name Miqati as PM

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has warned against adopting Line 29 as it may result in "a political, media and perhaps military confrontation."

Bassil said that President Michel Aoun and Caretaker Prime minister Najib Miqati have agreed on an approach before negotiating with U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein who is due in Lebanon on Monday.

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EU seeks Israeli gas as Lebanon protests extraction in disputed field

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi were headed to Israel Monday as the EU seeks to wean itself off Russian fossil fuel imports. 

Von der Leyen and Draghi are due to hold energy talks in Israel, which has turned from a natural gas importer into an exporter in recent years because of major offshore finds.

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Israel warns of 'overwhelming force' in next war with Hizbullah

Israeli Army Chief Aviv Kochavi has warned that overwhelming force would be used in Lebanon in the next potential war with Hizbullah.

"The attack force will be unimaginable, like nothing you have witnessed before," he said, advising local Lebanese residents to leave "from the beginning of tensions and before the first shot is fired."

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Reformist MPs meet Aoun, demand amending Decree 6433

President Michel Aoun met Monday with seven reformist MPs and discussed with them the maritime border dispute issue, al-Jadeed reported, as U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein is expected in Lebanon today.

The MPS urged Aoun to protect Lebanon's resources by adopting Line 29 and amending Decree 6433, the report said.

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UN in Lebanon demands security guarantees after troops 'threatened'  

The U.N.'s mission in Lebanon has called for the country's military to guarantee the security of its peacekeepers, alleging personnel were "threatened" by armed men.  

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has long been deployed in the country's south -- a stronghold of Hizbullah -- to maintain a barrier with Israel, as the two countries technically remain at war. 

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Al-Rahi blames 'all officials' for collapse, urges 'corrected popular uprising'

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi blamed Sunday "all officials, be them in power or in the opposition," for the "horrific collapse."

"The opposition forces could not manage to reach an agreement, while the rulers put Lebanon and the Lebanese at the mercy of foreign projects," al-Rahi said.

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2 Lebanese industry executives among 7 dead in Italy helicopter crash

Seven bodies, including those of two Lebanese citizens, have been found in the wreckage of a helicopter that disappeared in the mountains of northern Italy two days ago, with no survivors, emergency services said.

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