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Hizbullah, Amal 'Won't Return to Cabinet' if Bitar Row Not Resolved

Hizbullah and the Amal Movement refuse to put behind their backs the reasons that led to their boycott of Cabinet sessions, sources from the two parties said.

“The exit is present in a number of solution ideas that had been proposed by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, before he reiterated them in his talks with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, who agreed to them and endorsed them,” the sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Thursday.

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Lebanese Businesses Pay Steep Price for Standoff with KSA

A Lebanese DJ was days away from moving to Riyadh to play for a month in one of the newest entertainment centers in Saudi Arabia's capital when a brief, polite WhatsApp message informed her that the contract won't go through.

The head of a Beirut-based communications agency had been negotiating to revive a two-year-old contract derailed by the pandemic for hundreds of thousands of dollars. After two days of silence her Saudi client, in an apologetic call, said now is not the time.

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Lebanon on Macron’s Agenda in Riyadh, ‘Only if Kordahi Resigns Before Dec. 4’

Prime Minister Najib Miqati affirmed that France has informed him that Information Minister George Kordahi must resign before French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Riyadh, al-Akhbar newspaper said.

“If Information Minister George Kordahi doesn’t resign before December 4, Lebanon will not be on the agenda of French President Emmanuel Macron’s scheduled talks in Riyadh,” Miqati reportedly said.

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Miqati: No Solution Can be Imposed through Obstruction, Coercion

Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed Wednesday that “there can be no solution” for the political-judicial crisis “except through state institutions.”

“And there can be no solution imposed through obstruction or coercion,” Miqati added.

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Berri Calls for Parliament Bureau, Finance and Justice Committees to Convene

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri Wednesday called the Parliament Bureau to convene at Ain el-Tineh on Friday afternoon.

Berri also called the Finance committee and the Justice Committee to hold a joint session on Monday at the Parliament.

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Judicial Sources Fear Truth May Never be Reached in Port Blast Case

The judicial path has been “affected by the political path” in the Beirut port blast investigation and there are fears that truth might never be reached, judicial sources said.

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Report: No Imminent Cabinet Session, Stances Unchanged

The calls for reactivating Cabinet are falling on deaf ears, a ministerial source said.

“Cabinet has been idle for the past month and a half pending a political decision to resolve the crisis of the investigative judge into the Beirut port blast Tarek Bitar, and accordingly there will not be an imminent Cabinet session,” the source told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Wednesday.

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Reports: No Lockdown Planned during Holidays in Lebanon

There is no inclination to lock down the country and the ministerial panel tasked with following up on the anti-Covid precautionary measures has not submitted any recommendation for a curfew, Grand Serail sources said on Wednesday, denying media reports in this regard.

“The challenge lies in the fact that hotel bookings are high in the holidays season and the committee will study all preventative proposals in order not to lock down the country after the holidays,” the sources added.

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Miqati after Meeting Aoun: Govt. is Running, Cabinet is Not

Prime Minister Najib Miqati met Wednesday with President Michel Aoun at the Baabda Palace.

When leaving, Miqati only said that “the government is functioning but the Council of Ministers is not,” answering a question by a journalist.

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UK Ambassador Announces $1.4 Million in Support to Lebanese Army

At the High Level Steering Committee on Tuesday, British Ambassador to Lebanon Ian Collard, along with U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea and Canadian Ambassador Chantal Chastenay, met Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun to discuss the security of the Lebanese-Syrian border.

"The discussions focused on the Lebanese Armed Forces’ mission to secure the entirety of the Lebanese-Syrian border and the challenges they are facing during Lebanon’s many crises. During the meeting, Ambassador Collard announced a $1.4 million uplift to strengthen LAF’s resilience with spare parts for Land Rovers previously donated by the UK Government and for protective personal equipment for female soldiers deployed on border operations," the British embassy said in a statement.

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