U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has said that “the Middle East is an easier problem to handle than what's happening with Russia and Ukraine.”
Full StoryAn Israeli drone targeted Thursday the square of the town of Khiam, reportedly killing one person and injuring another, a day after Israeli troops withdrew from the strategic town, handing it back to the Lebanese army.
The Lebanese army had warned civilians to stay out of Khiam until it can clear the area of any unexploded munitions. The strategic hilltop town, located less than 5 kilometers from the border with Israel, saw some of the most intense fighting during the war.
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Independent MP Neemat Frem of Keserwan on Thursday officially announced his presidential nomination.
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Four separate air strikes by Israeli forces, which killed at least 49 civilians and decimated entire families in Lebanon during the latest war, must be “investigated as war crimes,” leading international rights group Amnesty International said on Thursday.
Full StoryLebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has said that he is willing to announce his nomination for the presidency “if there is an acceptable number of parliamentary blocs that are willing to endorse this nomination.”
“Nominating oneself is not heroism,” he noted, an in interview with the Hala London TV.
Full StoryParliament Speaker Nabih Berri has received "positive and encouraging signals" from the ambassadors of the United States, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt.
Envoys from the five countries who met with Berri Wednesday have been working for months to facilitate the election of a president, as crisis-hit Lebanon has been without a head of state for more than two years amid deadlock between pro- and anti-Hezbollah blocs in parliament.
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Syria’s new Islamist-led administration “respects the sovereignty of the Lebanese state over its territory,” its political affairs spokesman said.
Full StoryCaretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati met Wednesday with his Spanish counterpart in Madrid. The two prime ministers discussed the relations between the two countries and the latest developments in Lebanon and the Middle east.
Mikati stressed the need for Israel to commit to a U.S and French-brokered ceasefire in Lebanon, to withdraw from southern towns where its troops are still present, and to fully implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701.
Full StoryThree civilians were killed in an Israeli drone strike that targeted the southern town of Bint Jbeil on Wednesday evening, media reports said.
Machinegun fire also targeted the town.
Full StoryThe ambassadors of the five-nation group on Lebanon, which comprises the U.S., France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt, met Wednesday with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh.
Egyptian Ambassador to Lebanon Alaa Moussa said the presidential election session on January 9 will be open with consecutive rounds until a president is elected.
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