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Mikati meets Erdogan in Turkey

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati met Wednesday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara and discussed with him the latest developments in Syria and south Lebanon.

Mikati was accompanied by a ministerial delegation, the Lebanese Army representative, and Lebanon's ambassador to Turkey.

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Ceasefire monitoring committee meets in Naqoura

Representatives of the United States, France, UNIFIL and the Lebanese and Israeli armies met Wednesday in Naqoura.

The U.S.-led committee that also includes France, UNIFIL, Lebanon, and Israel, was formed to monitor the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel that took effect in late November. This was the committee's second meeting.

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Jumblat to meet Jolani as nations reach out to new Syria

Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat will travel Saturday with a delegation to Syria to meet with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani who now prefers to be called Ahmad al-Sharaa, a local media outlet said.

Al-Jadeed TV channel said Jubmlat, along with MPs from the Democratic Gathering bloc and Druze religious figures, will congratulate al-Sharaa for ousting Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

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Jumblat tries to convince Berri of Army chief, and other presidential developments

Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has tried to convince Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri of electing Army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun as president, several local media reports said.

Jumblat had met Berri on Monday and both said they were optimistic that a president would be elected in a session scheduled for January 9.

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Israel army says settlers crossed into Lebanon's Maroun al-Ras in early Dec.

A group of Israeli settlers have briefly crossed the border into Lebanon before they were removed by troops, the military acknowledged Wednesday.

The settlers who crossed the border came from the Uri Tzafon movement, a group calling for Israeli settlement of southern Lebanon. Photos posted by the group online Saturday showed a small group of settlers holding signs and erecting tents inside Lebanon while Israeli soldiers were present.

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UN special coordinator for Lebanon meets religious and community Leaders in Tripoli

United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert visited Tuesday Tripoli in north Lebanon.

At the Maronite Archdiocese in Tripoli, the Special Coordinator met with the Archbishop of the Maronite Archdiocese of Tripoli Bishop Youssef Soueif, the Mufti of Tripoli and the North Sheikh Mohammad Imam, the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Tripoli Archbishop Aphram Kyriacos, the President the Islamic Alawite Council in Lebanon Sheikh Ali Mahmoud Qaddour, MP Ashraf Rifi, MP Elias Khoury, MP Jamil Aboud and security officials.

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Khamenei says Israel delusional to think it is besieging Hezbollah

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei said Tuesday that the impression of the U.S., Israel and some of their allies about "the end of the resistance" is "a totally wrong impression."

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Mikati says violations to be stopped 'soon' as Israel strikes Majdalzoun

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati vowed Tuesday that Israel's ceasefire violations will soon be stopped, as Israel targeted a car in the southern town of Majdalzoun.

Israel has launched near-daily strikes, mostly in southern Lebanon, that have killed at least 29 people and wounded 27 others since the ceasefire took effect on Nov. 27. Still, the shaky truce appears to be holding. It says a truce deal with Lebanon gives it the right to use military force against perceived ceasefire violations.

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Berri says no 'trap' in Jan. 9 session

Speaker Nabih Berri has said that he is still optimistic regarding the presidential file, noting that he had called for the Jan. 9 electoral session more than a month prior to its date to give everyone several weeks to conduct discussions and reach agreements.

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MP urges state to step in, protect Lebanon, without Hezbollah's help

As Israel kept violating a U.S.-French brokered ceasefire, weeks after it was reached, Hezbollah accused it of taking advantage of a 60-days time limit, describing the Lebanese state's efforts to stop Israel's violations as unsuccessful.

As part of the ceasefire deal, Israeli troops have 60 days to withdraw from Lebanon, while Hezbollah will have to pull its heavy weapons away from the border area to north of the Litani river.

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