Spotlight
The commander of the U.N. peacekeeping force deployed on the tense Lebanon-Israel border has relayed an Israeli request to remove a tent set up by Hezbollah in a disputed area.
The commander of the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL, Maj. Gen. Aroldo Lázaro, met Monday in Beirut with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Full StoryParliament Speaker Nabih Berri said Monday that a caretaker government can convene to find a solution for the leadership crisis at the central bank after the term of its governor Riad Salameh ends.
"There is a constitutional text that describes what caretaking is, and it does not mean descending into vacuum," Berri said.
Full StoryParliament Speaker Nabih Berri reiterated Monday his call for dialogue, as he stressed that "internationalizing" it needs first a domestic agreement.
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi had called last week for an international conference on Lebanon after Lebanese officials failed to hold a dialogue.
Full StoryThe United States has proposed a solution for the latest border dispute between Israel and Hezbollah, media reports said.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, the proposal is based on Hezbollah’s dismantling of two tents that Israel alleges are in Israeli territory in return for Israel’s halt of the construction of a security fence in the Ghajar village.
Full StoryQatar has invited the countries of the five-nation group on Lebanon -- the U.S., France, KSA, and Egypt -- to meet in Doha on Thursday, Nidaa-al Watan newspaper reported Monday.
The daily claimed that France preferred to postpone the meeting until September, so that its presidential envoy, Jean Yves Le Drian, could complete his mission in Lebanon, while another country of the group suggested to postpone it until next week.
Full StoryCaretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has stressed that he “will not request the extension of the term of Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh nor the appointment of a successor,” because he does not want to “deepen the rift between the Lebanese.”
“The solution for filling the vacuum in the Central Bank governorship upon the expiry of Salameh’s term is the implementation of the law that allows his deputy (Wassim) Mansouri to carry out his missions,” Mikati said in an interview with Asharq al-Awsat newspaper published Monday.
Full StoryCaretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib on Monday met in Beirut with UNIFIL chief Maj. Gen. Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz amid tensions with Israel on the southern border.
“We discussed the security situations in the South and they relayed to us the Israeli side’s demand that the tent (that Israel says Hezbollah erected in Israeli territory) be removed. Our response was that we want them to retreat from northern Ghajar, which is considered Lebanese territory,” Bou Habib said after the talks.
Full StoryA Lebanese depositor broke into BML bank in Beirut on Monday to demand his trapped savings.
After storming the bank, Omar al-Awar held the branch manager hostage until he received his entire savings, a sum of $6500.
Full Story
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.
Full Story
A U.N. envoy of American nationality who is in charge of the Israeli file at the United Nations will visit Lebanon to carry out discussions related to the developments on Lebanon’s southern border, diplomatic sources said.
Full Story