Lebanese farmers say Saudi drugs haul originated in Syria

Details

by thenationalnews.com -- Gareth Browne -- A shipment of more than 5.3 million amphetamine pills hidden inside pomegranates seized by Saudi Arabia originated in Syria, not Lebanon, representatives of the Lebanese agriculture industry said. The claim came after the drug seizure at Jeddah Islamic Port prompted Riyadh to ban imports of fruit and vegetables originating from or transiting through Lebanon with effect from Sunday. Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest markets for Lebanese fruit and vegetables. Caretaker Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi said Lebanon was willing to increase co-operation with Saudi Arabia to combat such smuggling. The government “has been exerting tremendous efforts combating drug smuggling”, the minister said.

Ibrahim Tarshishi, the head of the Bekaa Farmers’ Association, denied the pomegranate shipment had come from Lebanon, saying the country had become an importer of pomegranates. “Lebanese agricultural production is innocent of the accusation of exporting drugs to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” a statement issued by Mr Tarshishi said. “We do not have pomegranates to export; rather we import them." The Saudi seizure of Captagon pills, a type of amphetamine, was followed by the discovery of more than four tonnes of processed cannabis in the Greek port of Piraeus. Greek authorities estimated the shipment, originating from Lebanon and destined for Slovakia, to be worth about €33 million ($39.9m). The production of Captagon in Syria has boomed since the country’s civil war erupted a decade ago, with neighbouring Lebanon serving as the main route for the drug to enter the global market. The Lebanese party and militant group Hezbollah is an ally of the Syrian regime.

Lebanon launches first electric car despite economic crisis

Details

By AFP -- A Lebanon-made electric car has made its debut, the first time the Mediterranean country has manufactured an automobile, despite struggling amid a dire economic crisis with frequent power cuts. The red sports car – named “Quds Rise”, using the Arabic name of Jerusalem – is the project of Lebanese-born Palestinian businessman Jihad Mohammad. It’s the “first automobile to be made locally,” Mohammad told reporters on Saturday, at the unveiling in a parking lot south of Beirut. It was built in Lebanon “from start to finish”, he said of the prototype, emblazoned at the front with a golden logo of the Dome of the Rock, the shrine in Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam’s third holiest site.

The car is to cost $30,000. Production of up to 10,000 vehicles is hoped to start later this year in Lebanon, with cars to hit the market in a year’s time, said Mohammad, the director of Lebanon-based firm EV Electra. He says his long-term goal is to compete on the international market for hybrid and electric cars, as well as to make sales in Lebanon. But the unveiling comes as Lebanon struggles amid its worst economic crisis in decades, and imported car sales are at a record low, in part due to capital controls and drastic devaluation on the black market.

Read more ...

President Sleiman: "ما ضاع حق وراءه مطالب"

Details

اليوم وبعد ١٠٦ سنوات تعترف الولايات المتحدة بالابادة الارمنية.
هل نعتبر ونطالب جميعنا باستعادة سيادة الدولة حتى لا ننتظر عشرات السنين؟
باسم الانسانية وباسم الشعب الارمني بخاصة اللبنانيين منهم

نتوجه بالشكر للشعب الاميركي

Saudi Arabia bans Lebanese produce over drug smuggling

Details

by reuters -- BEIRUT (Reuters) -Saudi Arabia announced on Friday a ban on imports of fruits and vegetables from Lebanon, blaming an increase in drug smuggling, in a measure that will add to Lebanon's economic woes. Lebanon is already in the throes of a deep financial crisis that is posing the biggest threat to its stability since the 1975-1990 civil war. Its agriculture minister said the move was a "great loss" and that the trade was worth $24 million a year. The Lebanese foreign ministry said it had been informed of the ban through the Saudi embassy and the foreign minister had relayed it to top officials. "Lebanese authorities must exert utmost efforts to control all smuggling operations ... to prevent harm to innocent citizens, farmers, industrialists and the Lebanese economy," the Lebanese foreign ministry statement said.

The ban will take effect from 9:00 a.m. local time on Sunday. Saudi customs authorities at Jeddah had foiled an attempt to smuggle in more than 5.3 million Captagon pills, a type of amphetamine, hidden in pomegranate shipments from Lebanon, said Mohammed bin Ali al-Naim, undersecretary for security affairs at Saudi Customs, according to Saudi Arabia's SPA news agency. Lebanon's caretaker interior minister Mohamed Fahmy told Reuters Lebanon was ready to cooperate with all states to stop drug smuggling and that it had already been exerting "tremendous efforts" but that sometimes smugglers might succeed. One Lebanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the ban appeared to be political. "The export of Lebanese vegetables and fruits to the Gulf countries and especially the kingdom was one of the few doors that were still open to bring dollars into the country. Closing this import line increases pressure on Lebanon," he said.

Read more ...

President Michel Sleiman: لا نستطيع منع التهريب بشكل عام ومنع توزيع الكبتاغون وتصدير الاذى الى شباب العالم فكيف نشرع الحشيشة ل

Details

ذا كنا لا نستطيع منع التهريب بشكل عام ومنع توزيع الكبتاغون وتصدير الاذى الى شباب العالم فكيف نشرع الحشيشة لاهداف طبية كمخرج لتعزيز النمو الاقتصادي ... المكتوب يقرأ من عنوانه

Lebanon offers a path to save maritime border talks with Israel

Details

BEIRUT, Lebanon, by Dalal Saoud (UPI) -- Lebanon is seeking a quick resumption of U.S.-mediated negotiations over its maritime border dispute with Israel, putting on hold new claims to more offshore territory and resorting to arbitration by inviting international experts to step in, according to Lebanese officials and experts. Israel is being asked to refrain from all exploration activity in the disputed area, potentially rich in oil and gas. The move, which came against a backdrop of changing positions by Lebanon caused mostly by political bickering, different delimitation methods and negotiation tactics, was meant to end the impasse in the indirect talks and reach a deal over the disputed area. Lebanon spent 10 years in negotiations to reach a U.S.-mediated framework agreement that paved the way for unprecedented talks with Israel last October.

But the negotiations were suspended after four rounds when the Lebanese delegation, made up of Army generals and experts, presented a new map that would add 550 square miles (referred to as line 29) to the disputed 330 square mile area (referred to as line 23) of the Mediterranean Sea that each side claims is within their own exclusive economic zones. Debt-stricken Lebanon is in dire need of proceeding with oil and gas discoveries that could help overcome its economic woes. Its negotiations with Israel, which has developed offshore natural gas rigs, "have potential to unlock significant economic benefits for Lebanon," U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs David Hale said during a visit to Beirut last week.

Read more ...