Lebanon

BEIRUT, Dec 30 (NNN-NNA) – The customs authorities at the Beirut port yesterday seized a shipment of oranges, hiding nine million captagon pills, destined for the Gulf region.

Lebanese Interior Minister, Bassam Mawlawi, visited the Beirut port and inspected the shipment, shortly after its seizure, while assuring that Lebanon is working seriously on halting such practices.

Mawlawi addressed the Gulf countries, saying that, this operation proves the readiness of Lebanese security agencies, to seriously combat crime and drug smuggling.

BEIRUT, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon and Kuwait agreed on Thursday to boost security cooperation and exchange of information to fight smuggling, the National News Agency reported.

The agreement came in a phone call between Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad Mansour Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi, after Lebanon's customs authorities seized 9 million captagon pills hid in a shipment of oranges destined for Kuwait.

Al-Sabah said he appreciates the efforts of Lebanon's interior ministry in fighting smuggling.

BEIRUT (AP) — Satellite images taken this week over the Syrian port of Latakia show the smoldering wreckage after a reported Israeli missile strike, hours after firefighters contained a massive blaze.

29 Dec 2021; MEMO: Lebanon has set 15 as a date for the country's parliamentary elections, Anadolu News Agency reports.

President Michel Aoun "signed a decree inviting the electoral bodies to elect members of parliament on May 15 for those residing in Lebanon," his office said in a statement.

Employees participating in the electoral process will vote three days earlier on 12 May, while Lebanese living abroad will cast their votes on 6 and 8 May, the statement added.

BEIRUT, Dec 29 (NNN-NNA) – Lebanese Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, yesterday called for a national dialogue among the different governing political parties, to discuss Lebanon’s ties with Gulf countries.

“We need to reach an understanding to strengthen Lebanon’s ties with Arab nations, especially Gulf countries, by not offending them or interfering in their internal affairs,” Mikati said, in a televised speech.

BEIRUT, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on Tuesday for a national dialogue among the different governing political parties to discuss Lebanon's ties with Gulf countries, the National News Agency reported.

"We need to reach an understanding to strengthen Lebanon's ties with Arab nations, especially Gulf countries, by not offending them or interfering in their internal affairs," Mikati said in a televised speech.

BEIRUT, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's Health Ministry announced on Saturday that the number of cases of COVID-19 Omicron variant stands at 433 so far.

The ministry added that the number of COVID-19 infections increased by 2,017 to a total of 711,259, while death toll from the virus went up by 15 to 9,027.

The Health Ministry has been urging people to register for vaccination hoping to reduce the surge in cases and protect the community against the Omicron variant.

Only 35.3 percent of the population has been vaccinated so far, according to the ministry.

BEIRUT, Dec 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Bank said it agreed with its partners to repurpose $37 million in funds to help Lebanon’s public school teachers survive a crushing economic crisis.

   The World Bank and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office would divert the money from the Lebanon Syrian Crisis Trust Fund, which aims to assist Lebanese communities accommodating Syrian refugees, the bank said in a statement.

20 Dec 2021; MEMO: Lebanese President Michel Aoun said yesterday that Beirut is committed to its full rights to invest its natural resources, especially gas and oil, and is willing to continue indirect negotiations with Israel to demarcate the maritime borders.

15 Dec 2021; MEMO: Lebanon's Parliament Speaker, Nabih Berri, said, Wednesday, his country is under siege, amid a diplomatic crisis with Gulf countries Anadolu News Agency reports.

Speaking during a meeting with the head of Lebanon's Editors-in-Chief Syndicate, Joseph Qossaifi, Berri questioned how Arab countries could open their doors for Israel, while they "close their gates in front of Lebanon, who paid a heavy price to preserve its Arab identity."