Xinhua world news summary at 0030 GMT, Feb. 8

TRIPOLI -- Head of UN Support Mission in Libya Ghassan Salame on Wednesday confirmed that weapons continue to enter Libya in the absence of a unified Libyan authority protecting the borders.

Salame, also the special representative of the UN secretary-general, made his remarks following an expanded meeting with representatives of political and security elites of southern Libya to discuss problems facing their cities, especially border security. (Libya-UN-Weapons)

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BEIRUT -- The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) confirmed Wednesday that Israel has begun to construct a controversial wall along its border with Lebanon.

"We are in contact with the parties on both sides of the border to resolve this issue and prevent any tension or escalation," UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said in a statement carried by the National News Agency (NNA). (Lebanon-Israel-Border Wall)

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WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senate lawmakers on Wednesday introduced a bipartisan budget deal which will set government spending framework for fiscal 2018 and 2019 in order to avoid a government shutdown.

The deal would lift caps on defense and nondefense spending, and provide funding for disaster relief, veterans, infrastructure and programs addressing opioid abuse. (US-Budget)

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BERLIN -- The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Christian Social Union (CSU) and German Social Democrats (SPD) on Wednesday reached a contractual agreement on the outlines of a new "grand coalition."

Speaking to press after protracted negotiations here on Wednesday morning, visibly-tired SPD negotiators confirmed an agreement had finally been reached. CSU regional party leader and senior negotiator Alexander Dobrindt subsequently praised the outcome of negotiations as having effectively resolved long-standing disputes between the coalition partners. (Germany-Politics) Enditem