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No successor to Salameh: Cabinet session canceled due to lack of quorum

A cabinet session to appoint a new central bank governor was cancelled Thursday due to a lack of quorum.

Only several ministers showed up at the Grand Serail and held a consultation meeting.

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Justice Ministry says to seek naming BDL interim director

The Justice Ministry announced Wednesday that it is preparing to submit to the State Shura Council a request for naming an interim director for the Central Bank, days before the expiry of the term of long-serving Governor Riad Salameh.

The Ministry said its move comes “in light of the developments that might arise over the next two days, to avoid any vacuum in the Central Bank’s governor post and to secure the proper functioning of the financial and monetary facility.”

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September consultations: Possible breakthrough in Lebanon's impasse

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Wednesday after meeting French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian in Maarab that the French diplomat did not discuss presidential names with him.

"We did not discuss new names," Geagea said, stressing that the talks are confidential.

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Le Drian proposes 5-nation-backed solution in talks with Bassil

French presidential envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian’s talks with Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Wednesday were characterized by “positive honesty,” the FPM's media department said.

“The French envoy proposed an idea backed by the five nations that had recently met in Doha, under which Le Drian would return in September to restart consultations, from square one and within a rapid and specific timeframe, in order to agree the presidential program that Lebanon needs,” the FPM added.

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Mikati meets BDL vice-governors at Grand Serail

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati met Wednesday morning with central bank vice-governors, Wassim Mansouri, Bashir Yakzan, Salim Chahine and Alexander Mouradian, in an attempt to find a solution to a looming leadership crisis at the central bank.

Minister of Finance Youssef Khalil, who attended the meeting, said that so far the vice-governors are not inclined to resign.

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Le Drian arrives in Beirut for talks with Lebanese leaders

French special presidential envoy for Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian arrived Tuesday in Beirut on a several-day official visit.

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Berri urges cabinet to appoint new BDL governor as crisis looms

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri met tuesday with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in Ain el-Tineh and discussed the looming leadership crisis at the central bank.

Berri stressed during the talks "the need to hold a Cabinet session to appoint a new Central Bank governor."

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Geagea says fighting battle to win country back

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Tuesday that his party is fighting a battle, along with its allies, "to win back the country from its hijackers."

"If the Axis of Defiance manages to take control of the presidency, this would lead to a continued deterioration of the economic and financial situations and would aggravate the suffering of the Lebanese," Geagea added.

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Cabinet begins successive sessions to pass 2023 state budget

The caretaker Cabinet convened Monday at the Grand Serail to discuss the much delayed 2023 state budget.

The Council of Ministers’ General-Secretariat received the budget draft law from the Finance Ministry last week, and cabinet will hold successive sessions to discuss and approve it.

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Qaouq: Hezbollah keen on consensus to halt collapse, save country

Hezbollah central council member Sheikh Nabil Qaouq on Monday stressed that his party is “keen on consensus, because Hezbollah’s priority is halting the collapse and deterioration and saving the country.”

“But the other camp’s priority is employing the collapse and exploiting it for political objectives,” he added.

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