Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri announced Tuesday that his country supports any dialogue initiative that could pave the way for electing a new Lebanese president, “regardless of the events in the region.”
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia believes that the priority that Lebanon needs at the moment is enhancing unity among its citizens,” Asiri said after meeting Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain al-Tineh.
Full StoryHizbullah managed Tuesday to secure the release of one of its fighters who had been in the custody of Syrian groups in the mountains of the Qalamun region near Lebanon's border, which has been witnessing fierce clashes in recent months.
“The captive Imad Ayyad was freed at noon following weeks of negotiations with the abductors,” Hizbullah's media department announced in a statement.
Full StoryForeign Minister Jebran Bassil ruled out any foreign interference in the presidential elections amid the regional developments, stressing that Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea's agreement to run in presidential race that includes him and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun isn't enough to resolve the country's lingering crisis.
“We don't need foreign agreements to elect a president. We are seeking to elect a president according to local balances,” Bassil said in an interview with the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Tuesday.
Full StoryHizbullah on Thursday dismissed Saudi Arabia's call for the U.N. Security Council to label the Lebanese party as a “terrorist” group, shrugging it off as a “sonic bubble.”
“The Saudi envoy's remarks at the U.N. Security Council served Israel's interests,” Hizbullah sources told al-Mayadeen television.
Full StorySaudi Arabia on Wednesday asked the U.N. Security Council to put Hizbullah on its list of "terrorist organizations," although the Lebanese group was not included in the terror blacklist recently issued by the kingdom.
"We call on the council to place Hizbullah on the list of terrorist organizations," Saudi envoy to the Security Council Abdullah al-Muallemi said.
Full StorySpeaker Nabih Berri is still exerting efforts to launch dialogue between al-Mustaqbal movement and Hizbullah, amid “good intentions” from the two parties and support from centrist leader MP Walid Jumblat.
Berri will maintain “his coordination with MP Walid Jumblat for launching dialogue between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal movement, because that would reflect positively on the general situations,” MPs quoted the speaker as saying after the weekly Wednesday meeting in Ain al-Tineh.
Full StoryThe March 14 General Secretariat condemned on Wednesday the recent clashes in the eastern Bekaa town of Btedei, saying it was a sign that the “state is incapable of seizing control of security.”
It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “The government should implement a security plan in the Bekaa similar to the one adopted in the North.”
Full StoryA shepherd was injured on Sunday when a suspicious item exploded in the southern town of Kharayeb, the state-run National News Agency reported.
The NNA said that the shepherd sustained injuries after the suspicious item exploded. He was admitted to Jabal Amel Hospital for treatment.
Full StoryHizbullah secretary-general's political aide Hussein Khalil announced Thursday that Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun can be considered a “consensual” presidential candidate, describing the disagreement between the party and the movement over the extension of parliament's term as a “minor” issue.
“Our meeting today was aimed at reiterating that the relation between Hizbullah and the FPM has surpassed the memorandum of understanding to become an 'existential relation',” said Khalil after meeting Aoun in Rabieh.
Full StoryThe army on Sunday dismantled an explosive device that was placed near a Ashura gathering in the predominantly Shiite Sidon suburb of Haret Saida.
“The army defused an armed explosive device weighing 500 grams that was found on the Haret Saida road,” state-run National News Agency reported.
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