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Aoun Urges No 'Preconditions' in Border Talks with Israel

President Michel Aoun held a meeting Tuesday evening with the members of the Lebanese delegation to the sea border talks with Israel, following the fifth round of negotiations in Ras al-Naqoura.

“The delegation’s members briefed President Aoun on the deliberations of the meeting, which was held with the participation of the U.S. delegation, whose head demanded that the negotiation be limited to the Israeli and Lebanese lines submitted to the U.N., or within the 860-square-kiolmeter area, contrary to the Lebanese stance and to the principle of negotiations without preconditions,” the Presidency said in a statement.

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Lebanon 'Insists on Its Rights' in 5th Round of Border Talks with Israel

After a nearly six-month pause, Lebanon and Israel on Tuesday resumed indirect talks with U.S. mediation over their disputed maritime border.

The five-hour negotiations round was held "amid total secrecy and away from the media spotlight," Lebanon's National News Agency said.

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Hbeish Confirms Hariri's Resignation is a Possibility

The choice of resignation is “one of PM-designate Saad Hariri’s choices” but he “has not yet taken such a decision and he is still clinging to the French initiative,” MP Hadi Hbeish of Hariri’s al-Mustaqbal bloc said on Tuesday.

“Should options be imposed on PM-designate Hariri that do not fit with his choices, he will be inclined to step down,” Hbeish told al-Jadeed TV.

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Adwan Threatens Salameh and Govt. with Lawsuits over Obligatory Reserve

MP Georges Adwan of the Lebanese Forces on Tuesday warned Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh and the caretaker government against using the central bank’s obligatory reserve to finance ration cards for citizens who will be affected by the looming lifting of subsidies.

“The caretaker PM and every minister who maintained the previous subsidization scheme as well as every trader who benefited from the money of depositors and every border official who did not perform his duty must be held accountable before the people,” Adwan said in a statement from parliament.

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Bitar Wants Satellite Images of Beirut Port Site

The lead investigator into Beirut’s port blast, Judge Tarek Bitar, requested the satellite images of the port as part of his investigations into last year’s massive explosion.

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As Lebanese Cry for Justice, Politics Paralyzes the System

Even after she was taken off an investigation into alleged financial crimes by a money transfer company, the defiant Lebanese prosecutor charged ahead. She showed up at the company's offices outside of Beirut with a group of supporters and a metal worker, who broke open the locked gate.

Ghada Aoun obtained data from Mecattaf Holding Company that she contends will reveal the identities of people who sneaked billions of dollars out of Lebanon amid the financial meltdown that has hit the country.

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Canada Says Hizbullah, Iran Involved in Money Laundering

The Canadain federal government has tasked a committee with investigating money laundering, gambling and drug smuggling operations through casinos in Vancouver, in which a network reportedly affiliated with the Iranian regime and Hizbullah are involved, al-Arabiya network revealed on Tuesday.

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Salameh Targeted in French Legal Complaint

Two associations said on Monday they had filed a legal complaint against Lebanon's central bank governor Riad Salameh whom they accuse of fraudulently amassing a large fortune in Europe.

The Sherpa NGO, which specialises in fighting financial crime, and the "Collective of victims of fraudulent and criminal activities in Lebanon" said they were also targeting Salameh's brother Raja, his son Nadi, his nephew as well as a close associate at the central bank, Marianne Hoayek, in the case.

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Police Arrest Robbers Stealing Electricity Cables

The Internal Security Forces on Monday arrested a gang of ten Syrians for stealing electricity cables and wires from the public network of the Electricity du Liban leading to extended power outages in the Mountainous areas of Chouf and Aley.

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Aoun, Lebanese Team Meet before Resumption of Maritime Talks

President Michel Aoun met at Baabda Palace the members of Lebanon’s delegation leading the indirect sea border talks with Israel, as the talks prepare to resume this week, the National News Agency reported on Monday.

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