French special presidential envoy for Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian has met in Jeddah with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, a day after representatives of France, Saudi Arabia, the U.S., Qatar and Egypt met in Doha to discuss the Lebanese file.
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The Central Bank’s four vice governors – Wassim Mansouri, Bashir Yakzan, Salim Chahine and Alexander Mouradian – on Tuesday met in parliament with a number of MPs.
“We’re awaiting the list of demands that they want from the government,” MP George Adwan said after the meeting.
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Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab met Tuesday with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea to discuss with him the possibility of holding a dialogue between parties or parliamentary blocs over the presidential file.
"Geagea is open to any consultation, communication or agreement with all parties without exception," Bou Saab said after the meeting. But the LF leader is not convinced of a "traditional" dialogue table, he added.
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The five-nation group on Lebanon has threatened “measures” against the Lebanese parties who are “blocking progress” in the stalled presidential election file, in a statement issued after a meeting in Doha.
"Today, representatives from Egypt, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United States met to discuss the urgent need for Lebanon's leadership to expedite presidential elections and implement imperative economic reforms in order to fulfill their responsibilities to their citizens. Rescuing the economy and securing a more prosperous future for the Lebanese people rests on their actions," the five nations said in a joint statement.
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Free Patriotic Movement MP Ibrahim Kanaan asked Tuesday caretaker Finance Minister Youssef al-Khalil for a copy of the Alvarez & Marsal forensic audit report.
The Finance Ministry had last month denied accusations that it has “hidden” the report, claiming that the report is just a draft, that it belongs to the Lebanese government and not the Finance Ministry and that it is confidential.
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Central Bank governor Riad Salameh showed up Tuesday for an interrogation session at the Justice Palace before Judge Charbel Abu Samra.
Last week, Abu Samra questioned Salameh and adjourned the interrogation until this week.
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The caretaker Cabinet will hold successive sessions to discuss the draft state budget, the National News Agency reported on Monday.
The first session will be held next Monday, NNA said.
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The Finance and Budget Parliamentary Committee held a session Monday to discuss the issue of the creation of an oil and gas sovereign fund.
“We discussed the report of the sovereign fund subcommittee and endorsed its content in terms of the commitment to the independence of its management and the transparency of its accounts and foreign investments,” Committee chief MP Ibrahim Kanaan said after the meeting.
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Central Bank Third Vice Governor Salim Chahine has confirmed that there will be no “mass resignation” of the bank’s four vice governors.
In remarks to Annahar newspaper published Monday, Chahine also said that the vice governors will not accept to “keep using depositors’ funds to cover the expenses of the state and the Sayrafa platform.”
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Former General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim has confirmed that U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea had visited him days ago and that the discussions “tackled the situations in the South and the issue of the tents” erected by Hezbollah inside and near the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms.
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