President Michel Aoun emphasized on Wednesday that Lebanon shall not be exploited as a crossing point to harm the Arab countries and Saudi Arabia, days after a Saudi ban on fresh produce over drug smuggling.

Leadership of Lebanon’s army denied claims published in a local newspaper about a meeting between the Army chief General Joseph Aoun and Saudi ambassador to Lebanon Walid al-Bukhari, the Army Leadership-Orientation Directorate announced Wednesday.

Baabda is reportedly awaiting PM-designate Saad Hariri to return from an official trip abroad in order for the stalled talks on a government formation to “resume”, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday.

Iraq has approved a request for assistance from the Lebanese Army, Iraqi government spokesman and Culture Minister Hassan Nazem said on Tuesday.

Iraqi sources meanwhile told al-Jadeed TV that the food and fuel aid is worth $2.8 million and that it was agreed following a letter from Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun to the Iraqi military institution.

Prominent Lebnaese music composer Samir Sfeir was arrested days ago in Saudi Arabia following his arrival in the kingdom at the invitation of a Saudi information ministry official, media reports said.

Al-Akhbar newspaper said the Lebanese Foreign Ministry contacted the Saudi embassy in Beirut over the issue after which Sfeir’s wife was granted a permission to visit him.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has announced the UK’s first sanctions under the new Global Anti-Corruption regime.

A statement issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the UK said the sanctions target 22 individuals involved in notorious corruption cases in Russia, South Africa, South Sudan and throughout Latin America.

As part of the UK package of support following the donation of 100 RWMIK Land Rover vehicles in January, a team of specialist UK soldiers has completed the first 4-week package of training and mentoring for officers and soldiers from all four Land Border Regiments of the Lebanese Army, the British embassy said on Tuesday.

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari on Tuesday announced that his country seized 57,184,900 narcotic pills smuggled from Lebanon in the period from early 2020 until April 2021, days after Riyadh said it had seized Captagon pills from Lebanon in a pomegranate shipment.

Below are the details of the shipments seized by the kingdom according to a tweet by Bukhari:

Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun announced Tuesday that she has filed an appeal before the State Shura Council against the state prosecutor’s decision that stopped her from looking into financial cases.

“I filed an appeal today before the State Shura Council through my counsel, the lawyer Bashir Aoun, to annul the administrative decision issued by the state prosecutor, who exceeded his powers by usurping legal jurisdiction belonging to me according to clear legal texts,” Aoun tweeted.

Police at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International airport said an attempt to smuggle 11 kilograms of cocaine into Lebanon via Brazil has been thwarted on Tuesday.