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Change MPs to head to 'besieged' Ghajar village

Change MPs Melhem Khalaf, Najat Aoun, Elias Jradi and Firas Hamdan will head Sunday to the Ghajar village “that is besieged by the Israeli enemy,” they said in a statement.

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North MPs threaten protests if Qlayaat airport not reopened

The MPs of the northern National Moderation Bloc have given the government two months to give an answer regarding the reopening of the Qlayaat airport – currently a military airbase – to civil aviation.

“We have given the government a two-month deadline. If the answer turns out to be positive, we will salute it, but if it comes out negative, we are preparing for major popular protests,” MP Walid al-Baarini said in an interview with the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper.

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UK defense senior advisor visits Lebanon, raises UK flag at UNIFIL

The British Embassy in Lebanon welcomed the UK Defense Senior Advisor to the Middle East and North Africa (DSAME) Air Marshal Martin Sampson to Lebanon from 5 to 6 July.

Sampson met Army Commander General Joseph Aoun), caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister Abdallah Bou Habib. He was accompanied during his visits by Charge D’Affaires Camilla Nickless and the Defense Attaché Lt. Colonel Lee Saunders.

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Baroud sounds alarm over possible vacuum at BDL

The term of embattled three-decade chief Riad Salameh ends this month with no successor in sight, setting the stage for a leadership crisis at the central bank nearly four years into Lebanon's severe economic meltdown.

Lebanon since last year has been governed by a caretaker cabinet with limited powers and without a president, and naming a high official could take months of political horse-trading.

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Israel's Gallant makes threats after Lebanon border flare-up

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has threatened to respond to any “violation” of Israel’s “sovereignty,” hours after Israel shelled open areas in south Lebanon in response to mortar fire.

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Amal MP calls for publishing of A&M audit report, says Berri wants that too

Amal MP Ali Hassan Khalil has called on behalf of Amal and Speaker Nabih Berri for the publishing of an audit report submitted by the Alvarez & Marsal international auditing firm.

The Finance Ministry had denied last week accusations that it had “hidden” the forensic audit report.

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Vice governors 'threaten to quit' if no Salameh successor named ASAP

The Central Bank’s four vice governors – Wassim Mansouri, Bashir Yakzan, Salim Chahine and Alexander Mouradian – on Thursday stressed “the need to appoint a governor as soon as possible as per Article 18 of the Money and Credit Code,” warning that they would “take the appropriate measure” in the absence of that.

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Mikati condemns 'sectarian exploitation' of presidential void, calls for swift election

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati called Thursday anew for the election of a president in order to put an end to the "sectarian exploitation" of the presidential vacuum.

The Free Patriotic Movement ministers have been boycotting the caretaker cabinet sessions, claiming that cabinet can not convene without a president.

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Israel strikes Lebanon amid tensions around Kfarshouba

The Israeli army said Thursday it was conducting strikes on southern Lebanon after a mortar launched from its northern neighbor exploded in the border area between the two foes.

The latest military action was launched three months after the two countries saw their worst cross-border fire in years.

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Report: Grillo in contact with 'all parties' ahead of Le Drian's upcoming visit

French Ambassador Anne Grillo is holding talks with all political forces in Lebanon and will prepare next week for French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian's visit to the crisis-hit country, a local media report said.

Ad-Diyar newspaper also claimed Wednesday that the relation between France and Hezbollah has not been severed.

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