Lebanon president hails UK military support
Firefighters extinguish a fire at a building after a fuel tank exploded in Beirut s Tariq al-Jdide neighbourhood on October 9, 2020 [AFP via Getty Images] December 15, 2020 at 3:29 pm
Britain has been substantially assisting and supporting Lebanon s army and security forces following the Beirut explosion in August, the Lebanese President Michel Aoun said yesterday. The United Kingdom is playing important roles in training the Lebanese army, officers and members of the security forces, and building police stations, Aoun added during his meeting with the British Ambassador to Lebanon, Chris Rampling, and the Middle East Chief Adviser to the UK Defence Minister, John Lorimer.
December 15, 2020 at 10:19 am | Published in: Lebanon, Middle East, News
Former Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab in Beirut, Lebanon on 5 May 2020 [Presidency of Lebanon//Anadolu Agency] December 15, 2020 at 10:19 am
Former Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab has refused to attend further questioning over the Beirut port explosion, an official source said yesterday.
Reuters quoted an unnamed source as saying that Diab s decision came after the judge investigating the Beirut port explosion charged him and three former ministers with negligence.
The accusation levelled by Judge Fadi Sawwan against Diab and former public works ministers Ghazi Zaeiter and Youssef Fenianos and former Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil sparked strong criticism from influential parties, including Hezbollah and Saad Hariri s the Future Movement.
4th round of talks postponed indefinitely, Israeli media report AbdelRaouf Arnaout | 30.11.2020
JERUSALEM
The fourth round of indirect talks between Lebanon and Israel for the demarcation of their maritime border has been postponed indefinitely, according to Israeli media. The talks that were supposed to take place on Wednesday have been postponed for the first time since the talks began between the two countries, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said.
No reason was specified for the postponement of talks.
Lebanon is locked in a dispute with Israel over an area in the Mediterranean Sea spanning about 860 square kilometers (some 332 square miles), known as Zone No. 9, which is rich with oil and gas.
Monday, 14 December, 2020 - 18:00
Lebanese President Michel Aoun (L) meeting with Prime Minister Saad Hariri at the presidential palace in Baabda, on October 21, 2019. (Dalati & Nohra) Asharq Al-Awsat
Lebanese President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri traded blame on Monday over a delay in the formation of a new government, casting further doubt on whether the badly needed cabinet will be agreed soon.
Four months since Lebanon’s last government quit in the wake of a cataclysmic explosion in Beirut port in August, the main parties have been unable to agree on a cabinet even as the country sinks deeper into a crippling financial crisis.
December 11, 2020 at 3:44 pm | Published in: Lebanon, Middle East, News
Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Hassan Diab in the capital Beirut, Lebanon on 10 August 2020 [Lebanese Presidency/Anadolu Agency] December 11, 2020 at 3:44 pm
Lebanon s caretaker prime minister was charged yesterday with criminal negligence causing hundreds of deaths over the 4 August Beirut blast.
Hassan Diab, who served as Lebanon s prime minister for barely eight months before resigning in the wake of the explosion, was charged alongside three former ministers.
They include ex-ministers of public works and transportation, Ghazi Zaiter and Yussef Fenianos, and former finance minister, Ali Hassan Khalil.
The four are the most senior officials to be charged in the investigation and are set to face questioning by lead judge Fadi Sawwan next week.