Lebanon

11 October 2022; MEMO: Lebanon and Israel have received a final draft of a US-mediated maritime border deal that satisfies all of their requirements and could imminently lead to a "historic deal", negotiators from the two countries said today, according to Reuters.

9 October 2022; MEMO: Israel on Sunday started to test the pumping of gas from the disputed Karish gas field amid tension with Lebanon, according to local media, Anadolu reports.

Israeli Channel 12 reported that Israel's security establishment has given the US gas drilling company Energean the green light to start its tests.

Public broadcaster KAN said full pumping operations from the site may be ready within weeks after the completion of the tests.

BEIRUT, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music funded by the Chinese government near Lebanon's capital Beirut will be a center of attraction for the Middle East region, said Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Thursday.

"It wouldn't have been possible to build this artistic and cultural beacon if it wasn't for the cooperation between the Chinese and Lebanese governments," Mikati told Xinhua while he visited the conservatory to check the completion of the project's first phase.

BEIRUT, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) will increase its financial assistance to Lebanon by 75 million euros (73.83 million U.S. dollars) in 2022 to support the country in light of its difficult social and economic situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Beirut port explosions.

BEIRUT, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Tuesday called for the election of a new president for Lebanon within the constitutional time frame before President Michel Aoun's tenure ends on Oct. 31, a statement by the Council of Ministers reported.

"I hope that the parliament succeeds in electing a new president for the country within the constitutional time frame because the challenges facing Lebanon require a strong cooperation among constitutional institutions," Mikati said at a Beirut forum to discuss difficulties facing Lebanon's youth.

3 October 2022; MEMO: A Lebanese depositor withdrew his savings by force from a bank in Beirut on Monday, according to a banking association, Anadolu News Agency reports.

The Association of Depositors said, on Twitter, that the depositor stormed a Blom Bank branch in Haret Hreik in the southern suburb of Beirut and "retrieved his savings".

The Association shared a video of the bank holdup on its Twitter page.

3 October 2022; MEMO: Lebanon will send its comments on a US proposal to delineate its maritime border with long-time foe, Israel, to the American official mediating talks by Tuesday, a top Lebanese official said on Monday, Reuters reports.

Deputy Parliament Speaker, Elias Bou Saab, said the Lebanese government would not respond to the proposal officially until US Envoy, Amos Hochstein, responded to its concerns, which it expected him to do by the end of the week.

BEIRUT, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's Ministry of Economy and Trade launched Monday a UN-supported plan to reboot the country's ailing economy.

The plan, with support from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), identified short-term actions in three key sectors, namely agribusiness, tourism, and the digital economy, to "initiate recovery by rapidly generating employment opportunities and additional income," said an ESCWA statement.

BEIRUT (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to Lebanon on Saturday delivered a maritime border demarcation proposal to President Michel Aoun, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Speaker Nabih Berri on Saturday, as negotiations with Israel progress.

Lebanon and Israel have been officially at war since Israel’s creation in 1948 and both countries claim some 860 square kilometers (330 square miles) of the Mediterranean Sea.

BEIRUT, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese parliament on Thursday failed to elect a new president for Lebanon to replace incumbent President Michel Aoun when his term ends on Oct. 31.

The first round of voting was attended by 122 parliament members, with 36 votes for Michel Mouawad, 11 for Salim Edde, 63 blank votes, and 12 uncounted votes.

A second round didn't take place because the session lost the quorum.

Parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri said he would call for another session once a consensus is reached on a presidential candidate.