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Qassem Says Didn't Tell Rivals to 'Look for Another Homeland'

Hizbullah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem on Thursday clarified recent remarks that have stirred an uproar in the country, noting that they have been deliberately misrepresented.

“Some rabid individuals have voiced insults… and some of them want to attack Hizbullah in any way possible,” Qassem said in a statement issued by his office.

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Khalil, Zoaiter Ask Cassation Court to Look into Anti-Bitar Lawsuit

Ex-ministers Ghazi Zoaiter and Ali Hassan Khalil on Thursday filed a request asking the Court of Cassation to again look into a recusal lawsuit they had filed against Beirut port blast investigator Judge Tarek Bitar, MTV reported.

The request was filed by Zoaiter’s son, the lawyer Mohammed Zoaiter, before the head of the First Chamber of the Court of Cassation Judge Naji Eid on behalf of the two former ministers.

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Public Transport Drivers Block Roads across Lebanon

Taxi and public transportation drivers on Thursday blocked several vital roads across Lebanon to press authorities to fulfill promises made to support them economically in the face of a crunching economic and financial crisis that has affected all sectors.

In the capital, the drivers blocked the intersection at the Mohammed al-Amin Mosque in downtown Beirut and the Hamra Street.

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Miqati Again Says Won't Convene Cabinet without Prior Agreement

Prime Minister Najib Miqati on Thursday warned that calling for a Cabinet session without a prior agreement with the boycotting parties “aggravate” the situation.

“Everyone must stop considering the government to be a barricade for futile political wrangling,” Miqati said.

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Berri Says Ready to 'Walk' to Baabda if He Senses Positivity

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri announced Wednesday that he is willing to “go on foot to the Baabda Palace to meet President Michel Aoun” if he senses “the presence of positivity as to resolving the crisis that we are going through.”

Addressing Higher Judicial Council chief Judge Suheil Abboud, Berri said the Council “should have a role in the issue of investigative judge Tarek Bitar,” who is leading the probe into the catastrophic Beirut port blast.

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Lira Recovers after BDL Intervenes to Halt Freefall

The dollar exchange rate on Lebanon’s black market witnessed a major drop on Wednesday morning, hours after the central bank announced in a statement that it would take a host of measures aimed at halting the Lebanese lira’s freefall.

The exchange rate had hit a record high of LBP 29,000 on Tuesday evening before dropping to around LBP 26,450 on Wednesday.

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GCC Urges End to Hizbullah 'Terrorist Activities, Support for Militias'

A Gulf Cooperation Council summit has called for prohibiting Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hizbullah "from carrying out its terrorist activities and supporting terrorist militias that threaten the stability of Arab countries."

Lebanon's ties with Gulf states have grown increasingly strained in recent years because of Hizbullah’s growing influence and its interference in regional conflicts.

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Protesters Block Roads as Lira Continues Its Fall

Protestors blocked roads Tuesday in Beddawi, Tripoli with trucks to object against an unprecedented LBP collapse, worsening inflation and people’s despair.

Later in the day, demonstrators blocked the Khalde highway that links Beirut to the South and the vital Corniche al-Mazraa road in the capital.

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Aoun Urges for Cabinet Session 'Even if It Gets Boycotted'

President Michel Aoun said Tuesday that he “supports calling for a Cabinet session, even if it gets boycotted.”

“The (government’s) paralysis cannot persist,” Aoun said in a meeting with the editors’ syndicate. “There are matters that need to be addressed.”

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Grillo: French-Saudi Aid Won't be Through Lebanese State

The promised French-Saudi aid for Lebanon will not be delivered through Lebanese state institutions, French Ambassador to Lebanon Anne Grillo said in an interview overnight.

“This is a condition that has been made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Grillo added.

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