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Waste Incineration 'Serious Choice' as Ministerial Panel Holds 1st Meeting

A ministerial committee tasked with devising a new waste management plan on Wednesday held its first meeting at the Grand Serail under Prime Minister Saad Hariri, as a panel member said the incineration waste treatment approach has surfaced as a “serious” alternative to landfills.

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Mashnouq: President, PM Say New Electoral Law before End of February

President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri told ministers during Wednesday's Cabinet session that “the new electoral law will be finalized before the end of February,” Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq said.

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EU Envoys Urge 'Consensual' Electoral Law, Say 'Technical' Delay Must be Brief

The Ambassadors of the European Union and EU Member States held talks Wednesday with Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq to discuss “the advancement of preparations for the forthcoming elections,” an EU Delegation statement said.

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UNIFIL and Lebanese Army Conduct Live Firing Exercise

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) on Wednesday carried out a joint exercise combining armored assets, machine gun and small arms live fire in an area one kilometer south of the UNIFIL Headquarters in Naqoura, southern Lebanon, UNIFIL said.

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Border Security Meeting Tackles Reopening of Lebanon-Syria Crossings

A security meeting was held Wednesday at the al-Qaa border post between Lebanese General Security officers and others from the Lebanese and Syrian customs authorities in the presence of a representative of the Higher Syrian-Lebanese Council, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.

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Gemayel Meets Saudi Minister, Says Keen on Lebanese-Saudi Ties

Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel held talks Wednesday with visiting Saudi State Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan, who has met with several senior leaders in recent days.

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Cabinet Dedicates Next Session to Budget, PM Says Saudi-Lebanese Panel to be Formed

The Cabinet held an ordinary session Wednesday at the Baabda Palace during which it decided to dedicate next week's session to studying the draft state budget.

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Report: Contentious Supervisory Committee to be Raised at Cabinet Despite Aoun's Decline

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq will raise a contentious issue during the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, related to appointing a committee to supervise the parliamentary polls, which was strongly rejected earlier by President Michel Aoun for linkage to the controversial 1960 electoral law, al-Joumhouria daily reported.

Ministerial sources told the daily that Mashnouq might raise the issue today because the parliamentary electoral legal framework compel him to do so. Adding to that are the looming electoral deadlines, they said.

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Saudi Minister Says Kingdom Keen on 'Distinctive' Ties with Lebanon

Saudi Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan stressed that Saudi Arabia is keen on Lebanon's unity and seeks “distinctive” political relations between the two countries, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday.

“Lebanon is one of the important countries for the kingdom which is keen on having distinctive political ties, similar to relations between the Saudi and Lebanese people,” al-Sabhan told the daily in an interview.

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Khalil: Budget Will be Approved without New Taxes

In light of a cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday to discuss the state's fiscal budget, Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil said there are genuine intentions to approve the budget this year after Lebanon failed to approve one since 2005.

“As the result of a joint will between political parties, for the first time in years the budget will be discussed with the intention of approving it,” Khalil told al-Joumhouria daily in an interview.

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