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OEIL: Oueidat requested to interrogate auditors of BDL accounts

The Observatoire Européen pour l’Integrité du Liban has said that General Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat has received a request to interrogate several individuals responsible for auditing the accounts of the Central Bank.

A European judicial delegation from France, Germany, and Luxembourg had started to arrive in Lebanon this week to probe the country's Central Bank governor and dozens of other individuals over suspected corruption.

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Higher Judicial Council fails to meet as Port victims' families rally

Families of the port blast victims gathered Thursday in front of the Justice Palace after some judges asked the Higher Judicial Council to meet to discuss the requirements of the judicial probe into the case of the Beirut port blast.

Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat left the Justice Palace after quorum was not secured.

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European legal team arriving in Lebanon in corruption probe

A European judicial delegation from France, Germany, and Luxembourg has started to arrive in Lebanon to probe the country's Central Bank governor and dozens of other individuals over suspected corruption, the justice minister said Wednesday.

Five European countries are probing the embattled governor, Riad Salameh on allegations of laundering public money in Europe. Switzerland first opened a probe two years ago, followed by France, Germany, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein.

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Mikati says cabinet to convene regardless of any boycotts

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Wednesday that a caretaker Cabinet session will be held early next week to approve an electricity loan regardless of who may attend or boycott it.

“There is no possibility to grant a loan to Electricite du Liban except through a Cabinet decree and there can be no actions that contradict with the public accounting law,” Mikati told Annahar newspaper in an interview.

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Berri postpones presidential vote after death of ex-speaker

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday postponed a presidential election session scheduled for Thursday over the death earlier in the day of former parliament speaker Hussein al-Husseini.

Mourning Husseini, his predecessor, Berri described him as “one of Lebanon’s major figures” who “dedicated his life to defending the country and its people, territorial integrity and national and pan-national identity.”

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Draft agenda of cabinet session sent to ministers

The General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers on Wednesday sent ministers a memo informing them of the draft agenda of Cabinet’s upcoming session ahead of setting a date for it, state-run National News Agency said.

The move comes “based on a request from the (caretaker) prime minister and in line with articles 62 and 64 of the constitution,” the General Secretariat said.

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Khoury: No attack on sovereignty if European teams respect norms

Caretaker Justice Minister Henri Khoury on Wednesday noted that “any international judicial cooperation that takes place according to the legal norms is not considered an attack on Lebanese sovereignty,” referring to the European judicial teams that have started arriving in Lebanon to question banking and financial officials in a case related to Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh and possibly the port blast case.

“We will confront any breach of norms,” Khoury added, at a press conference.

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Judges ask Higher Judicial Council to meet Thursday over port case

Higher Judicial Council judges Habib Mezher, Dany Chebli, Mireille Haddad and Elias Richa on Wednesday announced that they have decided to invite the Higher Judicial Council to convene Thursday to “address a sole topic, which is discussing the requirements of the judicial probe into the case of the Beirut port blast.”

The judges said their decision is aimed at “preserving the proper conduct of justice and the regularity of the work of the judiciary,” adding that they are keen on “all rights” and that their move is based on “Article 6 of the judiciary’s law.”

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Report: Mikati met with Berri and Nasrallah aides over cabinet session

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has met with Speaker Nabih Berri’s political aide, Ali Hassan Khalil, and Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s aide, Hussein al-Khalil, al-Jadeed TV reported.

The meeting took place on Sunday afternoon and discussed limiting the government's agenda to two main items regarding the electricity file, the TV outlet said.

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Judge reverses decision not to facilitate European teams' probe

Attorney General Judge Ziad Abu Haidar on Wednesday reversed a previous decision taken by him and tasked Judge Raja Hamoush with facilitating the work of a German judicial delegation seeking to look into the corruption case of Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, LBCI TV reported.

According to LBCI, Abu Haidar had initially refused a request from State Prosecutor Judge Ghassan Oueidat to facilitate the delegation's mission.

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