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French FM to Visit Lebanon in Early March

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has stressed to Prime Minister Najib Miqati in their meeting in Munich that he would visit Lebanon in early March, a French diplomatic source said.

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New Lawsuit Filed against Judge Looking into Bitar Recusal Request

The lawyers of MPs Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zoaiter on Monday filed a new lawsuit before the Court of Cassation against the head of the court’s First Chamber, Judge Naji Eid, the National News Agency said.

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Miqati Reportedly Asks Oueidat Not to Sue Salameh

Prime Minister Najib Miqati has called State Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat and asked him not to file a lawsuit against Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, after reports said that Oueidat intends to sue him on Tuesday or Wednesday, media reports said.

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Parliament OKs Audit, Competition Laws, Returns Judiciary Bill to Committee

Parliament on Monday approved a host of draft laws during a legislative session at its temporary venue at the UNESCO Palace in Beirut.

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Israel's Gantz Issues Direct Threat against Hizbullah after Drone Incursion

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz has accused Iran of "undermining" Lebanon’s "governance" through Hizbullah, as he issued a direct threat against the Tehran-backed group.

“Just this week, in Israel we saw a number of Hizbullah attempts to violate Israel’s sovereignty. In this context, I have a clear message for Hizbullah: Their operatives are familiar with the noise made by our aircraft engines, and with their capabilities. If we are required to respond and to attack in order to defend ourselves, we will do so and we will cause great damage to the terror organization and its surroundings,” Gantz said in remarks at the Munich Security Conference.

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Qaouq Says 'Hassan' Drone is 'Very, Very Significant Message' to Israel

Senior Hizbullah official Sheikh Nabil Qaouq stressed Sunday that “the resistance in the year 2022 is at its strongest historic phases in terms of quantity and quality.”

“No one can threaten its existence, not through war nor through other means,” Qaouq said.

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Berri Rejects Prosecution of Salameh without 'Evidence'

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has warned against stirring clashes between security agencies in connection with the latest standoff over the enforcement of the subpoena issued against Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh.

“Despite the circumstances that Lebanon is going through, there is something that is very good, which is security, but creating problems between security agencies is something very dangerous and will certainly affect the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund,” Berri said in an interview with Egypt's al-Ahram newspaper.

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Lebanon's 'Zombie Banks' Downsize to Weather Crisis

Once the economy's crown jewel, Lebanon's banks are shutting branches and laying off employees in droves, resizing to the bleak reality of a crisis they are widely blamed for.

Before the onset in 2019 of a financial collapse deemed one of the world's worst since the 1850s by the World Bank, the small country had an oversized but prosperous banking sector.

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Geagea on Hizbullah Drone: Shameful to Put Lebanon in Danger

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Saturday criticized Hizbullah for sending the ‘Hassan’ drone deep into Israel, saying such a move pushes Lebanon into “impending dangers.”

“The Lebanon we want is not the Lebanon of drones and it shameful to push Lebanon into impending dangers as is happening today,” Geagea said at a ceremony to announce the re-nomination of MP Pierre Bou Assi for one of the Maronite seats in Baabda.

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Israeli Jets Overfly Beirut at Very Low Altitude after Hizbullah Sends Drone over Israel

Two Israeli warplanes overflew Beirut and its suburbs at a very low altitude in a mock raid on Friday, minutes after Hizbullah claimed responsibility for a drone that overflew northern Israel for 40 minutes.

The buzzing of the fighter jets jolted residents, rattled windows and set off some car alarms.

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