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FPM denies remarks attributed to Bassil on Baroud, Azour

The Free Patriotic Movement has denied remarks attributed to FPM chief Jebran Bassil by al-Jadeed TV as “totally baseless” and “misleading.”

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Report: Aoun told Assad he doesn't believe Azour will be president

Ex-president Michel Aoun told Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in their meeting on Tuesday that the Free Patriotic Movement’s rapprochement with the Lebanese Forces, the Kataeb Party, the Progressive Socialist Party and the Change bloc is not aimed at securing the election of Jihad Azour as president but rather at diminishing Suleiman Franjieh’s chances, a media report said.

The longer-term objective is to “agree later on a third candidate,” al-Akhbar newspaper quoted Aoun as telling Assad.

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After meeting Jumblat, Bkerki delegation meets Berri in Ain el-Tineh

Bishop Paul Abdel Sater and bishop Maroun Ammar met Friday in Ain el-Tineh with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, on behalf of Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi.

Abdel Sater and Ammar had met Thursday with outgoing Progressive Socialist party leader Walid Jumblat and Abdel Sater had earlier met with Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

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Hope despite pain: Retrospective exhibition by Majd Kurdieh starts in Beirut

A retrospective exhibition by Artist Majd Kurdieh has started in Beirut, presented by Fann à Porter in collaboration with Zaat.

On the old walls of Assafir building in Hamra, visitors can follow nine years of the artist's creative journey.

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Berri: No candidate will get 65 votes in first round

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has stressed that the June 14 presidential election session will be held and that all scenarios will be possible during it, in remarks to his visitors published Friday in al-Akhbar newspaper.

Asked about the Democratic Gathering’s announcement that it would vote for Jihad Azour, Berri said that he was told Monday that the Gathering would cast blank votes, voicing surprise over the new stance.

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Geagea: MPs who won't vote for Azour or Franjieh would be choosing vacuum

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea accused Friday those who don't want to vote for one of the two competing presidential candidates in June 14 session of participating in keeping the presidential vacuum.

"Those who want real elections must choose one of the two candidates, otherwise they'd be voting for presidential vacuum," Geagea said.

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Israeli troops fire tear gas at protesting Lebanese citizens on border

Israeli soldiers fired tear gas to disperse scores of Lebanese protesters who pelted the Israeli forces with stones along the border with Lebanon Friday, leaving some Lebanese demonstrators and troops suffering breathing problems.

The tension on the edge of the Lebanese border village of Kfarshouba began earlier this week over the Israeli military digging in the area that Lebanon claims.

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Democratic Gathering nominates Azour for presidency

The Democratic Gathering bloc of the Progressive Socialist Party has officially nominated ex-minister Jihad Azour for the presidency, noting that “ex-MP Walid Jumblat was the first to propose his nomination as part of a package of names that he discussed with the various political forces.”

Jumblat’s aim was to reach “consensus and end the approach of confrontation,” the bloc said in a statement issued after a meeting in Clemenceau attended by Jumblat and his son MP Taymour Jumblat.

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UNIFIL appeals for restraint near Blue Line to decrease tension

UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Aroldo Lázaro has chaired a regular Tripartite meeting with senior officers of the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Israeli army at a U.N. position in Ras al-Naqoura.

“During the last couple of months, there have been a number of concerning developments along the Blue Line” he said. “Despite these events, active engagement has contributed to the prevention of potential escalation and helped maintain stability.”

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Presidential nominee Azour temporarily steps away from IMF role

International Monetary Fund official Jihad Azour, who has been nominated for the long-vacant Lebanese presidency, has "temporarily relinquished" his responsibilities at the lender, an official at the body said.

"In order to avoid any perception of conflict of interest, the director of the Middle East and Central Asia department has temporarily relinquished his responsibilities at the IMF," said the organization's director of strategic communications Julie Kozack, referring to Azour.

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