Saudi Ambassador Ali Awadh Asiri said ties between Riyadh and Beirut are strong, stressing he would not assess them based on the behavior of Hizbullah.
“Lebanese-Saudi relations are stronger than being evaluated by Hizbullah's behavior,” Asiri told the Saudi al-Riyadh daily published on Monday.
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Speaker Nabih Berri has reportedly informed the members of his parliamentary bloc not to make statements on the Saudi-led coalition against Shiite rebels in Yemen.
The Kuwaiti al-Anba daily on Monday quoted Berri as telling his visitors that he informed Development and Liberation lawmakers and members of his Amal movement to avoid positive or negative remarks about the Saudi air strikes on the Huthi rebels.
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Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb announced Sunday that the eight Lebanese truck drivers who were still stranded in Syria have crossed into Jordan and are now in the custody of Jordanian authorities, as efforts continued to unveil the fate of a ninth trucker.
The drivers “are doing well and will arrive in Beirut tomorrow aboard a Middle East Airlines plane,” said Shehayyeb, who was tasked by cabinet to follow up on the case.
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Hizbullah announced Sunday that it does not want a president who would be a “front for foreign countries,” as it stressed that dialogue will continue with al-Mustaqbal movement despite the “deep differences.”
“We want the election of a president for Lebanon and all Lebanese, a president who would shoulder his national responsibilities and who would not be a front for any side or state or a puppet for implementing the plots of others,” head of Hizbullah juristic council Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek said at a memorial service in Bouday.
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Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Beirut Elias Audeh condemned on Sunday the ongoing vacancy in the presidency, questioning the motives of lawmakers in the failure to elect a head of state following 21 electoral sessions.
He said during Easter Sunday mass: “If you truly represent the people, then you should elect a president. You have a holy duty to elect a head of state as soon as possible.”
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Actor Issam Breidy passed away on Sunday morning after a traffic accident in Beirut's al-Dora area, reported the National News Agency.
It said that his Lexus collided with the separating barrier in the middle of the highway and later flipped off the al-Dora bridge.
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A Syrian national was arrested Sunday by the Internal Security Forces in the northern city of Tripoli, following “confessions” by detained Islamist cleric Sheikh Khaled Hoblos, media reports said.
“The ISF Intelligence Branch arrested Ahmed Mohammed Abdo, 42, following confessions by Khaled Hoblos,” LBCI television reported.
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Lebanese Forces media officer Melhem Riachi stressed on Saturday that the party insists on carrying out reconciliation with the Free Patriotic Movement and announce the “declaration of intent.”
He pointed out that prominent officials at the LF don't oppose the reconciliation with the FPM, noting that he is only a mediator tasked by the party chief, Samir Geagea, to follow up the matter.
Investigations with Sheikh Khaled Hoblos and two other suspects revealed that they were trying to activate dormant terrorist cells affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in eastern Bekaa Valley and the northern city of Tripoli.
According to As Safir newspaper published on Saturday, the arrest of Hoblos, who is wanted for his involvement in clashes with the army in Bhannine in late 2014, and two other accomplices were seeking to awaken sleeper cells in the Bekaa to carry out terror acts.
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A new security plan will be implemented in the southern refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh as further reinforcements will deploy in the area to preserve security, media reports said on Saturday.
According to Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5), the plan will include new neighborhoods in the camp and the 150-member force, which deployed in Ain el-Hilweh last year, will reach 350.
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