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By Reuters Staff 3 Min Read BEIRUT (Reuters) - The leader of Lebanon’s biggest Christian political party on Sunday ruled out joining a new government led by Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri, a new hurdle for efforts to pull the country out of political paralysis. FILE PHOTO: Gebran Bassil, a Lebanese politician and head of the Free Patriotic movement, talks during an interview with Reuters in Sin-el-fil, Lebanon July 7, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo Politicians have been at loggerheads over the shape of a new administration since the last one quit in the aftermath of the Aug. 4 Beirut port explosion, leaving Lebanon rudderless as it sinks deeper into economic crisis. ....
By Reuters Staff 5 Min Read BEIRUT (Reuters) - The United States imposed sanctions on Friday on influential Lebanese Christian politician Gebran Bassil, the son-in-law of President Michel Aoun, over “systemic corruption”. FILE PHOTO: Gebran Bassil, a Lebanese politician and head of the Free Patriotic movement, talks during an interview with Reuters in Sin-el-fil, Lebanon July 7, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo “The systemic corruption in Lebanon’s political system exemplified by Bassil has helped to erode the foundation of an effective government that serves the Lebanese people,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. A senior U.S. official said Bassil’s support for the Iranian-backed Shi’ite Hezbollah movement which the United States deems a terrorist group is “every bit of the motivation” for the move to sanction Bassil. Washington has sanctioned several Hezbollah members. ....