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Ter Sarkisian Urges Aoun, Hariri to Maintain 'Consensual' Ties

MP Serge Ter Sarkisian voiced calls on Tuesday upon President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri to “safeguard their joint visions” for Lebanon and to “preserve their consensual views” in light of the debate between political parties over an electoral law for the upcoming parliamentary polls.

“I call upon the President and PM to complete their common vision and to maintain consensual positions,” said the MP in an interview with VDL (93.3).

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Islamic State 'Emir' Killed in Arsal

Islamic State 'emir', Ahmed Wahid al-Abed, was killed in a bomb explosion in the northeastern town of Arsal, LBCI reported on Tuesday.

Al-Abed, a Syrian hailing from al-Jarajir town in al-Qalamoun, was killed in a bomb explosion in the outskirts of Arsal, it added.

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Report: Pre-Emptive Security Operations Foil Beirut Attack Plot

The General Security Directorate was able to thwart an Islamic State group terror scheme, that had plans to target Beirut's Central District, al-Akhbar daily reported on Tuesday.

The daily added that the Islamic State's plans were “exceptional” this time, after it managed to infiltrate the real estate company of Solidere and recruit one of the employees.

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Hariri Meets Saudi Minister

Prime Minister Saad Hariri held a meeting on Monday with Saudi State Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan at the Grand Serail, the National News Agency reported.

The meeting took place in the presence of the Prime Minister's aide Nader Hariri. Nader Hariri.

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Saudi Minister Meets Aoun, Says New Ambassador to Lebanon Appointed

President Michel Aoun held talks with Saudi State Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan on Monday at the Presidential Palace, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Al-Sabahan stressed during his meeting with Aoun that his visit comes in the “framework of following up on discussions that have been first agreed between Aoun and Saudi King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz,” during the president's visit to Saudi Arabia in January.

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Report: Proportional Representation Back into the Spotlight

Prospects are emerging that a proportional representation vote law for the upcoming parliamentary polls where Lebanon is divided into 13 districts could be put for discussion, al-Akhbar daily reported on Monday.

The next stage will witness suggestions made by President Michel Aoun to hold the polls based on a proportional representation system where Lebanon is divided into 13 districts. The proposal will be suggested to political parties, sources close to Aoun told the daily.

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Bassil: Agreement with Jumblat Fails, Hybrid Law Hasn't Been Dropped

Foreign Minister and Free Patriotic Movement leader Jebran Bassil clarified that an agreement on an electoral law for the upcoming parliamentary polls has not been reached as yet with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday.

“A hybrid electoral law was put for discussion six months ago, and they (PSP) have agreed on it six months ago. But last week and in a matter of two days they changed their mind,” Bassil told the daily in an interview.

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Palestinian Detained over Ties to Costa Would-Be Bomber

The Lebanese army intelligence units arrested in south Lebanon , a Palestinian man over suspicion of having ties to a would-be suicide attacker who attempted to carry out a terror operation in Beirut's upscale Hamra neighborhood earlier this year, the National News Agency reported on Saturday.

The detainee identified as Hassan Majdi Obeid was arrested in al-Zahrani's Sarafand area, NNA added.

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Harb Says a Referendum is a Way to Evade the Elections

MP Boutros Harb stated that a suggestion made by President Michel Aoun to introduce a referendum shall political parties fail to agree on a new electoral law, is a “method of circumventing the polls.”

“Nothing prevents the parliament from approving a draft referendum for the polls as suggested by President Aoun, but the idea of a referendum is a way of circumventing the elections,” Harb said in an interview with VDL (93.3).

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U.S. Denies Lebanon, Other Nations to be Added to New Travel Ban

The United States has denied reports claiming that seven countries including Lebanon will soon be added to a new travel ban list.

An Executive Order recently signed by U.S. President Donald Trump had imposed a 90-day pause on the entry into the United States of nationals from Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya, and Yemen.

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