The American University of Beirut’s most prestigious recognition, the University Medal, was conferred on Professor Samir Tabet in recognition of his extraordinary contributions and achievements, AUB said Monday in a statement.

The statement said that Tabet, AUB vice-president emeritus, former acting president, accomplished academic, and artist had received the University Medal during a ceremony held on July 7 at AUB’s Marquand House.

Head of Hezbollah Executive Council Sayyed Hashem Safieddine said Monday that Hezbollah is close today to defeating Israel by land and sea.

"We are close to defeating the Israelis by land and by sea if we want to, and we will decide when to do it," Safieddine said, adding that the Israelis are not the ones who impose their equation in this matter.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday slammed those who "fabricate cases," in reference to the measures that have been taken against Archbishop Moussa al-Hajj.

President Michel Aoun is eagerly waiting to leave the Baabda Palace when his term ends and "then we will return to our nature away from the palace’s limitations," Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil said on Friday.

Minister of Justice Henry Khoury met Friday with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi over the controversial detention and interrogation of Archbishop Mussa al-Hajj.

Khoury said that dismissing Judge Fadi Akiki is not within his powers as a minister.

State Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat has said there are no political backgrounds to the search procedure that Archbishop Mussa al-Hajj had been subjected to in Naqoura, negating that Mussa had been arrested or offended.

"Judge Fadi Akiki has enforced the law," Oueidat told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, in remarks published Friday, as transporting products or money from Israel to Lebanon is illegal.

President Michel Aoun met Friday with Archbishop Mussa Al-Hajj who briefed him on the circumstances of his arrest in Naqoura as he was returning to Lebanon from the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Archbishop of the Archeparchy of Haifa and the Holy Land and Patriarchal Exarch of Jerusalem and Palestine and Jordan had been questioned for 12 hours earlier this week upon his return from Israel with large quantities of medicines, foodstuffs and canned goods, in addition to $460,000.

U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon Najat Rochdi stressed Friday the importance of protecting the most vulnerable populations, regardless of their nationality.

"Over the past weeks, public discussions over the return of Syrian refugees to Syria have increased in Lebanon. On behalf of the International Humanitarian Community and in my capacity as Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, I reiterate that the protection of refugees is a humanitarian and moral imperative and lies at the heart of all humanitarian actions," Rochdi said in a statement.

United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka and Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix have briefed the Security Council on the latest report of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the implementation of Resolution 1701.

"Noting the unrelenting socio-economic crisis and its dire impact on people’s daily lives, the Special Coordinator warned that Lebanon stands at a crossroad between rebound or collapse, and underscored that its trajectory will depend on the ability and willingness of the country’s leaders to urgently initiate sustainable solutions," Wronecka's office said in a statement.

The Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) together with the United Nations in Lebanon has launched the second window of its financial support to eight women-led organizations in Lebanon that are working on community peacebuilding in Lebanon, as part of strengthening their institutional capacity and maximizing peacebuilding results.

“The WPHF is a flexible and rapid financing tool supporting quality interventions to enhance the capacity of local women around the world to prevent conflict, respond to crises and emergencies, and seize key peacebuilding opportunities,” U.N. Lebanon said in a statement.