The following are a selection of stories from Lebanese newspapers that may be of interest to The Daily Star readers. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.
Al-Joumhouria
Shnifi admits Ibrahim was a target
Saudi would-be bomber Abdul-Rahman al-Shnifi has admitted to interrogators that the first task given to him upon arrival in Beirut was to "target" General Security head Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim but that only 24 hours prior to the suicide bombing on a police checkpoint in Dahr al-Baidar, he and his partner were informed that the mission had been changed.
Shnifi said As-Saha restaurant on the old Beirut airport road or Hannoush restaurant in the eastern city of Zahle had been the prime targets before a final decision was made: As-Saha.
An-Nahar
Appropriations will cover July salaries
Lebanon losing $14 billion in oil
Prime Minister Tammam Salam believes Lebanon will face an additional challenge as the Treasury is running out of sufficient funds allocated for the public sector.
He said the Treasury had enough money to pay public sector employees July salaries only, pointing out that the finance minister insisted that he would not resort to advanced funding without a law that covered spending.
Meanwhile, Nicolas Sarkis, petroleum adviser and former president of the Arab Petroleum Research Center, said Lebanon would lose at least $14 billion of oil royalty money.
Al-Mustaqbal
Salam rejects Bassil offer to communicate with Syrian government
Prime Minister Tammam Salam insists on the need to uphold the government's Baabda Declaration, which calls for disassociating Lebanon from regional conflicts, particularly the Syria crisis.
Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas told Al-Mustaqbal that Salam had rejected Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil’s proposal for communication between the Lebanese and Syrian governments over the Syrian refugee crisis.
As-Safir
Berri against Parliament extension
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said the Lebanese Army and security agencies were the only remaining forces to defend Lebanon after paralysis hit the country’s institutions.
“This is what is making me continue stressing the need to invest in security, because this investment is essential and urgent to face terrorism,” he told As-Safir.
Berri reiterated his rejection to extend Parliament’s mandate, stressing the need to hold parliamentary elections on time.
"In case they can’t agree on a new election law, I will not oppose holding elections based on the 1960 law if necessary," he added.
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