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Salameh: LBP 15,000 exchange rate to be applied as of February

The official exchange rate for the Lebanese lira against the dollar and circulars 151 and 158 of the central bank will be hiked to LBP 15,000 as of February 1, 2023, Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh has confirmed.

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Macron to discuss Lebanon with Biden; Bassil didn't propose solution

French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss the Lebanese file with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden during an upcoming visit to Washington that will take place in two weeks from now, a senior French source said.

Asked whether Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil had proposed any solution for the presidential election crisis during his latest visit to Paris, the source told Annahar newspaper that Bassil did not suggest any exit.

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Wahhab says Hezbollah has begun 'dialogue' with army chief

Dialogue between Hezbollah and Army chief General Joseph Aoun has started, Arab Tawhid Party chief Wiam Wahhab said overnight.

The “dialogue” began with a meeting last week in Yarze between Aoun and Hezbollah Coordination and Liaison Officer Wafiq Safa, Wahhab told MTV, noting that the meeting was of a “political and not security nature.”

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World Food Program donates $5 billion to Lebanon

The United Nations World Food Program has agreed to disburse $5 billion in aid of Lebanon over the next 3 years, Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Monday.

He added that an agreement has been reached with the WFP to increase the number of Lebanese benefiting from the organization's food assistance.

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Joint parliamentary committees resume debate over capital control law

Depositors and activists rallied Monday near Parliament to protest a capital control law as joint parliamentary committees discussed it today.

The committees had convened last week to discuss the law, completing six clauses. They decided to resume the talks today, Monday.

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Franjieh: I won't conspire against resistance nor against its rivals

Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh has stressed that he “will not conspire against the resistance nor against its rivals and enemies,” days after Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah openly announced that his party wants a president for Lebanon who “would reassure the resistance.”

“I’m ready for all possibilities. For the presidency and for failure to reach it. Others are fighting over it today as if it is a lottery prize whereas in fact it is a real ball of fire,” al-Akhbar newspaper quoted Franjieh as telling sources informed on his stance.

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Bassil denies seeking deal with Berri behind Hezbollah's back

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil's office said Friday in a statement that a meeting he had with Speaker Nabih Berri was not behind Hezbollah's back.

Al-Jadeed TV had reported Friday that Bassil had tried and failed to make a presidential deal with Berri in a meeting on Tuesday.

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Bassil: We hope to find an extended hand because we are really seeking a solution

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil did not run for presidency because he did not want to further complicate things, he told France 24 in a televised interview.

Bassil said Thursday that he opposes that Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh becomes a president because he does not agree with him on the same political program regarding reforms and building the state.

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Bassil slams Franjieh, says there can be no president without FPM

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has stressed that the FPM will not endorse the presidential nomination of Marada Movement leader Suleiman Franjieh, even if all other parties agree on him.

“The FPM would not lose if Suleiman Franjieh becomes president… and he does not represent a threat to us,” Bassil is heard telling supporters in a leaked audio recorded during his ongoing visit to Paris.

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Berri says 1990 troika better than 'Aoun-Bassil-Jreissati' era

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's press office said Thursday that the situation in 1990 was better than the Aoun-Bassil-Jreissati era of the past six years.

Bassil had said in a leaked audio from Paris that electing Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh as a president will bring Lebanon back to the nineties.

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