The following are summaries of today's major stories published in the Arabic press. LBCI does not edit press digest articles for content, giving English-language readers insight into the various views expressed in newspapers across the Arab world.
Sources reported that a delegation of Bishops of the East is set to head for the Kurdistan region of Iraq later today, in order to follow up on the situation of the Christians who were displaced due to the fighting raging across the country.
The sources told
an-Nahar daily that Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Beshara Boutros Rai will head the delegation, which will also include Syriac Orthodox and Catholic Patriarchs, as well as a number of bishops.
Speaker Nabih Berri reiterated that the Parliament is a legislative authority, noting that hindering the legislation process is a violation of the constitution.
In a statement to
al-Mustaqbal daily, Berri stressed that he will not support the extension of the parliament’s mandate, should the situation remains the same.
In this regard, the speaker said that the most important issue at hand is holding the parliamentary elections, stating that the Parliament’s term was renewed the first time, on the condition of using this extended period to pass a new electoral law and electing a new president, “but this did not happen,” he said.
Future bloc MP Jamal al-Jarrah stressed that the negotiations concerning the release of the army and security forces abducted by terrorist groups have been conducted indirectly with the gunmen through the Association of Muslim Scholars, but the contacts have been lost since these groups left Arsal.
The MP added that he is following up on the negotiations with the Muslim scholars, pointing out that the main national concern is the release of the kidnapped security personnel as soon as possible.
In a statement to
al-Joumhouria, al-Jarrah said that the situation in the Bekaa region returned to normal after the fighting ended and with the return of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri to Lebanon, stating that Arsal residents are receiving humanitarian, financial and social support, as part of the grant presented by Hariri to the town.
Head of the Association of Banks in Lebanon Francois Bassil rejected the accusations launched against the Arab Bank regarding funding terrorist acts, stressing that this bank is among the leading financial institutions in the country and it commits to respecting the values of proper banking activities in Lebanon and abroad.
Bassil told
Asharq al-Awsat that the Arab Bank respects the international, American and European sanctions imposed against entities and individuals accused of involvement in terrorism, stressing that it also cooperates in the fight against money laundering and other illegal activities, in a bid to protect Lebanon’s banking sector.