Lebanon
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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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Monaco clears Mikati and family members of money laundering allegations

A Monaco investigation into caretaker PM Najib Mikati and his family has been concluded, resulting in the dismissal of all allegations and closure of the case, a press release issued by the Mikati family said.

Following a comprehensive investigation, Monaco’s Judicial Police confirmed on August 23 that there was no evidence of any wrongdoing regarding money laundering allegations made more than three years ago, the press release said.

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Lebanon loses 70-109 to Latvia in World Cup opening game

Latvia turned its first FIBA World Cup game into an easy 109-70 win over Lebanon on Friday despite a late-game surge by the Lebanese team.

Rolands Smits had 17 points for Latvia, which had a 10-point lead midway through the first quarter and kept pulling away.

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Jumblat: We must sit with Nasrallah for Lebanon's future

Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has lamented that “no one today wants a settlement” in the country.

“But it is the thing we need the most. A settlement for the sake of the country and not for the sake of any party in this or that camp,” Jumblat added, in an interview with al-Akhbar newspaper published Friday.

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