Lebanese C.bank Chief Salameh Says He Will Not Seek New Term

Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh speaks during a news conference at Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon, November 11, 2019. (Reuters)
Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh speaks during a news conference at Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon, November 11, 2019. (Reuters)
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Lebanese C.bank Chief Salameh Says He Will Not Seek New Term

Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh speaks during a news conference at Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon, November 11, 2019. (Reuters)
Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh speaks during a news conference at Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon, November 11, 2019. (Reuters)

Lebanon's veteran central bank chief Riad Salameh said he would not seek a new term in office once his latest six-year stint at the head of the Banque du Liban ends.

"My decision is that, at the end of the term, it will be a page I turned in my life and I will move to work outside the central bank," Salameh told Saudi Arabia-based Asharq News.

Salameh's term is set to end in July.

Lebanese political sources say that there is not yet consensus around a replacement to Salameh, who has held his post for three-decades and retains the support of some of Lebanon's most powerful politicians, including parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.



Clashes Resume in Syria's Sweida after Ceasefire Announcement

A convoy of government forces drives toward Sweida city as it passes through Mazraa village in southern Syria, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
A convoy of government forces drives toward Sweida city as it passes through Mazraa village in southern Syria, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
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Clashes Resume in Syria's Sweida after Ceasefire Announcement

A convoy of government forces drives toward Sweida city as it passes through Mazraa village in southern Syria, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
A convoy of government forces drives toward Sweida city as it passes through Mazraa village in southern Syria, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

Clashes between Syrian government troops and local fighters resumed in the southern Druze city of Sweida early on Wednesday, just hours after a ceasefire was announced.

Local news outlet Sweida24 said the city and nearby villages were coming under heavy artillery and mortar fire early on Wednesday, while Syria's defense ministry, in a statement carried by state news agency SANA, blamed outlaw groups in Sweida for breaching the truce.

“Military forces continue to respond to the source of fire inside the city of Sweida, while adhering to rules of engagement to protect residents, prevent harm, and ensure the safe return of those who left the city back to their homes,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the military will continue to strike Syrian forces until they withdraw, warning that the level of response will escalate if the message is not understood, according to local media reports on Wednesday.

Katz also said the Syrian government should "leave Druze alone,” Israeli media reported.