Lebanon
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State Security agents suspected of torturing detainee to death arrested

Lebanese authorities have arrested five State Security agents on suspicion of torturing to death a Syrian detainee, in the latest abuse allegation against the security services, a judicial source told AFP.

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Change MPs launch presidential initiative, threaten protests

The 13 MPs of the so-called change bloc on Saturday launched their long-awaited presidential initiative, which calls for the election of a reformist president who is not part of the polarization between the traditional political forces in the country.

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Qassem from Iran: Hezbollah helped change region's equations

Hezbollah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem has announced from Tehran that Hezbollah “has contributed to changing the equations of the region.”

“The course shifted from consolidating the usurper entity (Israel) to the course of liberating Palestine, and from deep-rooting subordination to the West to people’s independence, and from surrender to resistance and dignity,” Qassem said at the Seventh Session of the General Assembly of AhlulBayt in the Iranian capital.

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Report: Hochstein seeking gas solution that gives impression Israel has won

U.S. border demarcation mediator Amos Hochstein is studying with the French “a solution format that would give the impression that Israel has won,” a Lebanese media report said on Friday.

Al-Akhbar newspaper added that such a solution might come at the expense of the profits of the gas drilling companies, seeing as “Lebanon will not accept to give up any part of the Qana field nor any commercial or operational partnership at the level of the exploring and drilling companies.”

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Government deadlock: Latest developments

President Michel Aoun and the Free Patriotic Movement's demands regarding the new government are "heavy", sources said.

The sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper, in remarks published Friday, that Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati will not accept Aoun's demands, supported by what Speaker Nabih Berri said on Wednesday, that "parliament is the only side entrusted with interpreting the constitution."

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Assassinations in Beirut: Israel's response to 1972 Munich massacre

The killing of 11 Israelis at the 1972 Munich Olympics prompted Israel to turn to a strategy which endures to this day: deploying secret operatives abroad to assassinate its enemies.

Ever since the Mossad intelligence service embarked on its Operation "Wrath of God" to hunt down senior militants it blamed for the Munich bloodbath, it has covertly targeted Israel's enemies overseas.

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Lebanese currency crashes below 35,000 against dollar

The Lebanese pound hit a new low against the U.S. dollar on the black market Friday, as it crashed below 35,000, reaching 35,500.

For decades, the Lebanese pound was pegged to the dollar at 1,500.

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UN appoints Imran Riza deputy special coordinator, resident coordinator for Lebanon

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has announced the appointment of Imran Riza of Pakistan as his Deputy Special Coordinator and Resident Coordinator for Lebanon. Riza will also serve as Humanitarian Coordinator, the UN said in a statement.

"Mr. Riza succeeds Najat Rochdi of Morocco, who recently completed her assignment and to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her accomplishments and wishes her continued success in her new appointment as Deputy Special Envoy for Syria," the statement said.

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Hochstein to return on Sep. 7 as Total Energies demands 'security guarantees'

U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein has postponed his visit to the region until September seven, al-Akhbar newspaper said Thursday.

The daily added that Hochstein has held an online meeting with Israeli officials after having met in Greece with Israeli delegates and the leadership of the Greek gas exploration company, Energean.

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Lebanese families file lawsuit against army for boat sinking

Survivors and families of the victims of a sunken migrant boat off the coast of Lebanon on Thursday said they have filed a lawsuit accusing the military of detaining two missing survivors.

The boat that sank in April carried dozens of Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians trying to migrate by sea to Italy. It went down more than five kilometers (three miles) from the port of Tripoli, following a confrontation with the country's navy.

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