Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides voiced hopes on Tuesday that Lebanon agrees on a new electoral law for its parliamentary elections in order to overcome the obstacles.

“We hope that a new vote law is reached soon in order to help solve the problems that Lebanon is suffering from,” said the Minister in a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart Jebran Bassil.

Judge Ziad Abou Haidar indicted on Tuesday Mohammed al-Ahmar and his associates for the deliberate murder of Roy al-Hamoush and the file was referred to the first investigative judge, media reports said on Tuesday.

Al-Ahmar and his two associates, H.M. and A.Gh., were arrested last week in two separate operations after killing Hamoush overnight last Wednesday in the Karantina area.

Lebanese Forces deputy leader MP George Adwan emphasized that political parties have no choice but to agree on a new parliamentary electoral law because it has become “impossible to turn back,” al-Joumhouria daily reported on Tuesday.

President Michel Aoun held a meeting on Monday with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades at the Baabda Palace, where talks focused on the bilateral relations between the two countries and the means to strengthen them at various levels.

Education Minister Marwan Hamadeh said on Monday that an agreement on an electoral law is the responsibility of the Free Patriotic Movement now, as he urged against coming up with new “surprises” that only hinder an accord.

In an interview with VDL (100.5), Hamadeh threw the ball in the FPM's court and said: “The representation of expatriates is very important, but the manner of their representation is still disputed. I do not see the need to make it a controversial issue.”

As political parties wrangle to finalize some details related to the electoral law mainly a suggestion to allocate six parliamentary seats out of 128 for the expats' representation, Speaker Nabih Berri stressed that the suggestion is “not applicable,” al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday.

Defense Minister Yaacoub al-Sarraf concluded an official trip to Cyprus where he met with senior officials, and was informed about a Cypriot grant to the Defense Ministry worth 15 million Euros, the National News Agency reported on Saturday.

During his visit, the Defense Minister held talks that focused on the situation in the region, the bilateral relations between the two countries and the military cooperation agreement signed between the two nations in 2016, NNA said.

Speaker Nabih Berri adjourned until June 16 a parliament session that was scheduled to convene on Monday to address Lebanon's parliamentary electoral law.



Another “four-party” meeting was held in the evening on Friday at the Foreign Ministry where discussions about the electoral law resumed and focused on the “new ideas” that were suggested during Wednesday's gathering between the same parties, al-Akhbar daily reported on Saturday.

General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim said on Saturday that the new factor in the latest “qualitative” security forces' operation that resulted in foiling terror schemes, was the presence of four Yemenis in the terrorist group, pointing out that it was the “first time that Yemenis were arrested.”

“The targets planned by the terrorist group, including Tripoli and Nabatieh, showed that there was an intention to create strife and mobilize people against each other,” said Ibrahim in an interview to Ad-Diyar daily.