Lebanon
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Govt. formation process: Latest developments

President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam are “not opposed to giving the finance portfolio to the Shiite community, but not to the Shiite Duo,” MTV reported on Friday.

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Netanyahu confirms Israel to stay in Lebanon beyond 60-day period

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday confirmed that Israel will keep its army in south Lebanon beyond the 60-day deadline mentioned in the ceasefire agreement, accusing Lebanon of not fully implementing its part of the arrangements.

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Israel prepares for possible Hezbollah fire, residents may force their way into towns

The Israeli army is preparing to face “symbolic gunfire” by Hezbollah toward the occupied Shebaa Farms in response to the Israeli army’s decision to keep its forces in south Lebanon’s eastern sector past the Sunday deadline, Israeli media reports said.

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Kuwaiti foreign minister visits Lebanon to express support

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Abdullah al-Yahya began an official visit Friday to Lebanon, after the country elected a new president and appointed a PM-designate.

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Emirates airline to resume flights to Beirut

Emirates airline will resume flights to Beirut on February 1 after a four-month suspension triggered by conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, a statement said on Friday.

The Middle East's biggest airline will first offer a daily return flight and scale up to two services per day from April 1, the statement said.

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Israel hints it wants to keep forces in Lebanon past the ceasefire deadline

Israel may seek to delay pulling all of its troops out of southern Lebanon, which would violate the terms of a ceasefire it reached with Hezbollah.

An Israeli government spokesperson said Thursday that Israel wants the ceasefire agreement to endure, however he hinted that the Lebanese army wasn't deploying fast enough to secure areas.

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Lebanese from devastated Naqoura return home, only to find ruins

Residents returned Thursday to the town of Naqoura near the Lebanon-Israel border, which hosts the headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping force, after Israeli forces withdrew from the area.

Long lines of cars, some waving Hezbollah flags, inched along the coastal road. The Lebanese Army and U.N. peacekeepers had reopened roads, cleared mines and removed unexploded ordnance from residential neighborhoods.

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Hezbollah stresses role of state and int'l community if Israel stays in south

Hezbollah said Thursday that it will be the responsibility of the Lebanese state to act and press the countries sponsoring the ceasefire agreement should Israel delay its military pullout from south Lebanon.

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Report: Aoun, Salam won't bow to political pressures in govt. formation

President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam have identical viewpoints regarding the formation of “an extraordinary government” that is not based on a “distribution of quotas” among the political parties, informed political sources said.

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Visiting Saudi FM says 'greatly confident' in Aoun and Salam's ability to reform

Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat said on Thursday he believes crisis-hit Lebanon’s newly elected president and his prime-minister designate are capable of spearheading long-sought reforms.

"We are greatly confident in the ability of... the president and the prime minister to initiate reforms necessary to bolster Lebanon’s security, stability and unity," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said after meeting President Joseph Aoun in Baabda, during the first high-level Saudi visit in more than a decade.

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