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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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Report: Banks Threaten to Shut Down if Salameh Arrested

The main commercial banks in Lebanon have warned the relevant officials that they would shut down their operations and that their CEOs would leave Lebanon should Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh be arrested, informed sources said.

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Aoun Stresses Elections to be Held on Time, Dismisses 'Rumors'

President Michel Aoun reiterated Friday that the parliamentary elections will be held on time on May 15 as he signed a decree referring to parliament a draft law for earmarking a budget for the polls in the 2022 state budget.

Aoun hoped parliament will approve the draft law as soon as possible to enable the Interior Ministry to continue the necessary preparations for the elections.

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Bou Habib Warns of Civil War if Lebanon Disarms Hizbullah

Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said "we do not want another civil war," commenting on the Gulf demanding Lebanon to implement the U.N. resolution 1559.

The minister told al-Joumhouria newspaper, in remarks published Friday, that “all U.N. resolutions need a mechanism beyond Lebanon's capability."

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