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.
Ministerial sources told As-Safir newspaper on Thursday that the number of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon is dropping after the procedures taken by the government in this regard.
The same sources noted that Prime Minister Tammam Salam will head a delegation that will partake in a donors conference in Kuwait.
According to the daily, Lebanon will submit during the conference a strategic plan for its needs which are estimated at about 100 million US dollars.
Sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper on Thursday that the Lebanese Forces party is against the vacuum in any of the state’s institutions.
The same sources added that the party rejects void at the military institution, adding that it supports the extension of the current army Commander Jean Kahwagi's mandate.
On another note, the sources noted that the dialogue with the Free Patriotic Movement has made significant progress.
United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag told An-Nahar newspaper on Thursday that she held talks in Cairo with Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi over the possibility of providing more aid for Lebanon.
On another note, Kaag said that she will be paying a visit to Iran and Saudi Arabia to break the deadlock in terms of Lebanon’s pending issues, adding that she has no plans to visit Syria.
Central Bank Governor Riyad Salameh told al-Mustaqbal newspaper on Thursday that “Lebanon's banks are fortified due to the firm measures taken by the Central Bank and the monitoring bodies.
He also downplayed US' fears over the possibility of involving Lebanese banks in money laundering to finance terrorism, mainly the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Salameh noted that he calmed the concerns expressed by U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorist Financing Daniel Glaser during his visit to Beirut on Tuesday.
Salameh said that he stressed to Glaser that “ISIL has no money in Lebanon,” noting that the country “is part of the Arab and international efforts to dry the funding of ISIL.”