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Lebanese Officials Denounce Barcelona Attack

President Michel Aoun along with other politicians denounced on Friday the Barcelona attack that left 13 individuals dead and 100 others wounded.

Aoun sent a cable of condolences to King Felipe VI of Spain and to Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy condemning the terror attack that “targeted innocent civilians” in Barcelona.

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Member of Joint Palestinian Security Forces Killed in Ain el-Hilweh Clashes

Cautious calm prevailed on Friday at the southern Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh following armed clashes that left two dead and several wounded, the National News Agency reported.

The clashes, that saw the use of bombs and sniper shooting in al-Fawqani street, subsided early Friday.

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Israel Says it Hit Nearly '100 Hizbullah' Arms Convoys in 5 Years

Israel's military army has carried out nearly 100 strikes in the past five years on convoys carrying weapons to Hizbullah and other militant groups in Syria and elsewhere, an Israeli general said Thursday.

Former air force commander Amir Eshel told Haaretz newspaper that "since 2012, I'm talking about many dozens of strikes... the number is close to being three digits".

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Cabinet Convenes at Baabda, Aoun Invites for 'Speedy' State Budget Approval

The cabinet convened on Thursday at the Babada Palace to tackle 66 items on the agenda including the state's budget and address a number of thorny issues mainly the controversial leasing of power generating ships, and a suggestion to rehabilitate the telephone network.

At the beginning of the session, President Michel Aoun stressed the need to accelerate the approval of the state budget, pointing out that the government is “determined to present the 2018 budget withing the constitutional deadlines.

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Lebanon Prepares for Syria's Post-War Construction Windfall

The port of Tripoli in northern Lebanon wants the world to know it's ready for business.

British safety managers are training local hires to operate heavy machinery and Chinese technicians are running diagnostics on two new container cranes that tower over the harbor, just 28 kilometers (18 miles) from the Syrian border.

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Report: Lebanese Ministers in Syria 'In Their Personal Capacity'

Three Lebanese ministers leading an accompanying delegation traveled to Syria “in their personal capacity” to take part in the opening of Damascus International Fair, media reports said on Thursday.

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Army Scores Advancements in Outskirts, Kills Six IS Militants

Lebanon's army have bombarded the posts of Islamic State group extremists on the outskirts of Ras Baablek and al-Qaa inflicting casualties among their ranks.

Army troops continue to tighten the siege on the militant group entrenched on Lebanon's eastern border near the border with Syria, the Army Command Directorate of Orientation said in a communique.

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Infamous Australian-Lebanese IS Fighter Reported Dead in Syria

Canberra said Thursday there was a "high probability" a notorious Islamic State fighter born in Australia to Lebanese migrant parents and two of his children had been killed in a US airstrike in Syria.

Reports said Khaled Sharrouf and his sons Abdullah, 12, and Zarqawi, 11, were killed last Friday while driving near the IS bastion of Raqa.

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Parliament Scraps Controversial Rape-Marriage Law

The parliament approved on Wednesday the annulment of a controversial law allowing rapists who marry their victims to go free, after a high-profile campaign for its repeal.

Article 522 of the penal code, which exempts the rapist from punishment in the event of his marriage to the victim, was scrapped during a legislative session held at Nejmeh Square.

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Parliament OKs New Governorate as Protesters Spell Out Demands

In line of a legislative session set to convene on Wednesday at Nejmeh Square in Downtown Beirut, a number of protesters rallied adjacent to the parliament building in a bid to pressure the authorities into approving their demands, as lawmakers approved the establishment of a new governorate.

Civil Defense volunteers gathered in Beirut's Riad al-Solh Square demanding the parliament to sign a decree that makes them full-time employees. They also demand that the retirement age be raised.

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