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Geagea rejects president-PM deal, says confrontation with Hezbollah political

Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea on Wednesday said he rejects the “equation” of electing a president who is “close to Hezbollah” and designating “a PM who is close to the other camp.”

“The Hezbollah camp and our camp represent two parallel lines that will not meet until further notice. I hope Hezbollah will tomorrow change its political project and give up its ideology, which would allow us to meet within five minutes, but as things are now, there are totally opposite political projects,” Geagea said in an interview with the Akhbar al-Yawm news agency.

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13 MPs file partial appeal against banking secrecy law

Thirteen MPs have filed a partial appeal before the Constitutional Council against the new banking secrecy law.

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MSF Lebanon starts cholera vaccination amid threat of full-blown spread

Médecins Sans Frontières /Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is contributing to the national vaccination campaign against cholera launched by the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health’s by vaccinating people in Arsal, Akkar, Tripoli and Baalbek-Hermel in the north and northeast of Lebanon where most cholera cases are registered in the country, a statement said.

“600,000 cholera vaccines received by Lebanon, as first phase procurement, are to be administered in coordination with various international and local actors,” MSF said in a statement.

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32 opposition MPs meet in parliament, stress priority of electing president

Nineteen MPs representing 32 Kataeb Party, independent and change lawmakers on Tuesday met in parliament and stressed that the “ultimate priority” is for the “immediate” election of a new president.

A statement said the legislators discussed “the mechanism of exiting the intractable political crisis which has plunged the country into the inferno of presidential vacuum, amid a dire economic and social situation accompanied by a total paralysis of the various state institutions and administrations in this critical period of Lebanon’s history.”

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Bassil slams 'farce' as capital control debate protracts

"What happened today is a farce," Free Patriotic Movement Jebran Bassil said Tuesday about a joint parliamentary session that discussed a capital control law.

"The session showed that there is no will to pass the law," Bassil went on to say.

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AUB 1st in MENA region, among top 140 in the world in QS WUR for sustainability

The American University of Beirut was ranked 1st in the MENA region in sustainability and tied with Princeton University at the 140th place globally in the QS World University Rankings (WUR): Sustainability 2023, the university said in a statement Tuesday.

In its first edition, the QS Sustainability Rankings were announced by the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) university ranking agency. The rankings looked at 700 of the world’s top universities that were deemed eligible and compared them against environmental and social sustainability metrics, to see which universities are doing the most to tackle major environmental, social, and governance (ESG) challenges. "The American University of Beirut was the only university in Lebanon to be ranked and number one in the MENA Region," the statement said.

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Presidential election saga: Franjieh's chances after Nasrallah's speech

Parliament will fail again to elect a president on Thursday, al-Akhbar newspaper said Tuesday.

The daily reported that unless Hezbollah succeeds in convincing the Free Patriotic Movement to back the group's candidate Suleiman Franjieh, the election sessions will lead to the same results and Hezbollah will not vote for Franjieh.

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UNIFIL urges proactive action, accountability to maintain stability along the Blue Line

Chairing a regular Tripartite meeting at a U.N. position in Ras al-Naqoura, UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Aroldo Lázaro congratulated Lebanese and Israeli army representatives on "the recent and historic maritime agreement." "It demonstrates that seemingly intractable differences can be resolved," Lázaro said.

Welcoming recent messages of de-escalation along the Blue Line, Lázaro urged the senior officials from the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Israeli Army in the room to ensure these words are backed up by concrete action.

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Mikati hopes Franjieh will become president

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Monday voiced support for the presidential bid of Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh, who enjoys the backing of Hezbollah and some of its allies.

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Independent MPs to meet Tuesday over 'unconstitutional' legislative sessions

Opposition, independent and Change MPs are meeting Tuesday, ahead of a parliamentary session that will be held Thursday for the election of a new president.

The aim of the meeting is to unify the blocs' position in case Speaker Nabih Berri calls for a legislative session before the election of a president, local media reports said on Monday.

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