Cyprus to donate nearly 19 mln USD to Lebanese army

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BEIRUT (Xinhua) -- Cyprus announced Wednesday the donation of more than 15 million euros (18.55 million U.S. dollars) in aid to the Lebanese army. Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulidis announced the donation following the meeting with his Lebanese counterpart Gebran Bassil at the Boustros Palace in Beirut, the Daily Star reported on its website. "We participated in Rome II and decided to support Lebanon via military equipment to the Lebanese army, worth over 15 million euros," Christodoulidis said following the meeting. For his part, Bassil said that Lebanon will begin exporting snails to Cyprus. "The Cypriot foreign minister informed us that the export of Lebanese snails to Cyprus has been permitted," Bassil said.

by IBNA Newsroom  -- In Beirut, the foreign minister had talks with his Lebanese counterpart, Gebran Bassil. The two ministers reviewed the whole range of bilateral relations between Cyprus and Lebanon. In particular, they discussed the cooperation between the two countries in the political, military and economic fields. The focus was also on EU - Lebanon cooperation, the Cyprus issue and the current regional developments, as well as the plans for convening a Trilateral Meeting between Cyprus, Greece and Lebanon. The minister of foreign affairs of Lebanon gave a working lunch in honour of his Cypriot counterpart. Christodoulides was received in the afternoon by the prime minister of Lebanon, Saad Hariri. The two men discussed bilateral relations between Cyprus and Lebanon, EU-Lebanon relations, developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as the participation of Cyprus in the forthcoming Paris and Brussels conferences, to strengthen Lebanon and its infrastructures, as well as to address the refugee issue. Moreover, in the morning, Christodoulides attended a working breakfast to the accredited Ambassadors in the Republic of Cyprus, based in Beirut (Algeria, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Uruguay and Pakistan), with whom he discussed regional and bilateral issues and issues of special interest to these countries. During the meeting the FM briefed his interlocutors on the latest developments in the Cyprus issue. In the context of his visit to Lebanon, Christodoulides also had a meeting with Beirut Metropolitan Elias Audi, while he was guided at the "Beirut, City of Coexistence" exhibition, of the well-known Cypriot-Lebanese artists Lena and Hilda Kelekian. The Foreign Minister returns to Cyprus this evening./IBNA

Lebanon’s Group Murr to Launch Pan-Arab Newspaper

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by Roger Field - businessweekme.com - The media unit of Lebanese conglomerate Group Murr is preparing to launch a pan-Arab newspaper and website this year, the company’s Group CEO, Elias El Murr, told Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East. Group Murr, which successfully relaunched Lebanese daily newspaper Al Joumhouria in 2011, is making an initial investment of about $40 million in the new pan-Arab publication and plans to hire about 300 people to work on it. The publication will also benefit from existing resources in Group Murr’s media unit in Lebanon. The publication will be headquartered in Lebanon with satellite offices in countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, U.A.E. and Kuwait. “In this expansion we are starting with $40 million in financing because we already have 80% of the expenses covered in Lebanon, as 70-80% of the material will be treated in Lebanon,” El Murr said. “This will make us very competitive because the operating costs are around 60-70% lower in Lebanon than in other parts of the world.”

While declining advertising revenues in print media may make Group Murr’s new business proposition look tough, El Murr believes he can make it work. “There are practically only two competitors in the pan-Arab world, so we will begin as the number three player and work to get a better place in the next few years,” he said. Furthermore, he pointed to research that estimates the value of the pan-Arab advertising market at more than $2 billion. “Even if you get just 1% it is worth $20 million; if you have 2% it’s $40 million and if you have 5% it’s more than enough to cover all of your expenses and make a profit,” El Murr said. Group Murr bought Lebanese daily Al Joumhouria in 1986 when the paper was bordering on bankruptcy and relaunched it in 2011. By 2017 Al Joumhouria was ranked by IPSOS as the number one newspaper by readership in Lebanon.

Estonia lauds Lebanon for hosting Syrian refugees

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BEIRUT, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas lauded Lebanon on Wednesday for hosting the Syrian refugees, the National News Agency (NNA) reported. According to NNA, Ratas held separate talks Wednesday with President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Speaking to reporters from the Grand Serail, Ratas said his country fully supports Lebanon's security, stability and sovereignty. The visiting premier lauded Lebanon's hosting of Syrian refugees and its efforts in this regard, revealing that he invited Hariri to visit Estonia. Describing his visit to Lebanon as good, fruitful and interesting, Ratas hoped "to see improvement in the ties between the two countries, especially in the economic field." The Estonian premier had on Tuesday inspected his country's troops who are serving within the UNIFIL peacekeeping force and also visited the UN-demarcated Blue Line on Lebanon's border with Israel.

North Korean leader was in delegation visiting Beijing: source

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Ben Blanchard, Shu Zhang, Christine Kim BEIJING/SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was part of a secretive delegation that arrived in Beijing by train on Monday and left on Tuesday, according to a source familiar with the matter and foreign media reports. The visit, which would be Kim’s first known journey abroad since he assumed power in 2011, was not announced by North Korea or China and has remained shrouded in mystery. South Korea’s left-leaning Hankyoreh newspaper reported that Kim had traveled to Beijing for meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday afternoon before leaving for a “third location”, which could be in China, on Tuesday. It did not cite specific sources. The conservative South Korean Chosun Ilbo newspaper, citing an unnamed senior intelligence official, said the delegation had included Kim, and that he had left to return to North Korea. Kim is due to hold separate summits with China’s rivals, South Korea and the United States, and analysts say a visit to Beijing could be preparation for those. Beijing has traditionally been the closest ally of secretive and isolated North Korea, but ties have been frayed by North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and China’s backing of tough U.N. sanctions in response.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman deflected a question on whether Kim, his sister or some other senior North Korean was visiting. “At present I have no understanding of the situation you mention. If there is news we will release it,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular daily briefing. Diplomatic sources in Beijing said a senior North Korean official was in town, but they did not know exactly who. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said it “kinda looked like” Kim went to Beijing, but told reporters at the Pentagon, “I don’t know.” A senior U.S. official who follows North Korea closely said the available evidence suggested Kim had gone to meet Xi, but stressed that has not been confirmed.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said China had not confirmed who had visited, but added, “there certainly was a lot of fanfare ... a lot of protocol.” “We look forward to hearing about it and we’ll leave it for the Chinese to announce who was visiting,” she told a regular news briefing, adding that the United States was continuing with its plans for a summit with Kim by the end of May. A Reuters reporter saw a convoy leave Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guest House, where senior foreign leaders often stay, and drive north on Tuesday morning. It was unclear where the convoy was headed. Later, a Reuters journalist saw what was believed to be the delegation’s train pulling out of a Beijing station. The group was reported to have arrived in China on Sunday after crossing from North Korea at the border city of Dandong. One source with ties to China’s leadership said earlier it was possible the visitor was Kim’s younger sister, Kim Yo Jong. She visited South Korea during the Winter Olympics last month, paving the way for a summit between the two Koreas. The U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was unlikely Kim Jong Un would have again sent his sister given the importance of a meeting with Xi, which would underscore Kim’s standing as a world leader. South Korean news agency Newsis reported that Kim Yo Jong and the North’s ceremonial leader, Kim Yong Nam, were visiting Beijing, citing an unidentified North Korea-related source in the Chinese capital.

“LOT OF LEVERAGE”

The U.S. official said Xi and Kim Jong Un had reason to meet in advance of Kim’s meetings with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in April and possibly U.S. President Donald Trump in May. “Xi has met Trump, and in many respects learned how to deal with him better than some people here do,” the official said. “At the same time, despite the recent tensions, he needs to know what Kim has in mind for dealing with the South and the U.S., and he still has a lot of leverage with the North.” A senior South Korean official said improving ties between North Korea and China would be a positive sign before the planned summits. In Geneva, meanwhile, North and South Korean members of parliament shook hands and shared a toast to “peace” on Tuesday, a Reuters witness said, suggesting relations between their two countries are thawing. South Korean politician Young Chin shook hands with Ri Jong Hyok, director of North Korea’s National Reunification Institute and deputy head of its Supreme People’s Assembly, at the annual assembly in Geneva of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

In France, it's illegal to expect employees to email after hours — and New York City could be next

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by  Shana Lebowitz business Insider -- Sending your team emails and Slack messages after everyone's left for the day is annoying. Soon, it could also be a crime. A new bill in New York City aims to protect workers' "right to disconnect," making it illegal for employers to require employees to check their work-related electronic communication outside regular work hours. The bill will be introduced in the City Council meeting Thursday by Raphael Espinal, who represents District 37 (in Brooklyn). Time Out New York reports that if the law is passed, workers who are barraged by super late or early emails from their managers could complain to the city's Department of Consumer Affairs, which would initiate an investigation. If the boss is found guilty, they would have to pay a fine. New York City isn't exactly a pioneer in this domain.

In 2017, for example, France passed a law that lets them ignore emails outside working hours, Business Insider's Rob Price reported. (The French law applies to companies with 50 or more employees; the New York City bill applies to companies with at least 10.) And the German company Volkswagen switches off their email servers late at night because they "respect relaxation time." In many cases, after-hours work email elicits more than just an eye roll. Business Insider's Julie Bort reported on a study that found employees are emotionally exhausted by the expectation that they're always available. Ultimately, regardless of whether New York City passes the law, the onus may be on employees to monitor their attachment to their inboxes. David Burkus, author of "Under New Management," told Business Insider's Áine Cain that many people complain about receiving after-hours emails from bosses or clients. "But when I ask them if they expect subordinates or anyone else to respond in such a short period of time … they say no. We all feel pressured to respond quickly, but we all feel like its someone else pressuring us. Maybe it's all in our heads."

Italy trains Lebanese military in leadership skills

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(ANSAmed) - Beirut, March 27 - The closing ceremony of the first leadership course organised by the bilateral military mission (Mibil) in Lebanon took place at the Lebanese army's NCO training college in Baalbeck on Tuesday. The two-week course saw participation from 180 third- and final-year students in view of their assignment to various army units. It was led by a mobile training team made up of officer psychologists and trainers using a methodology that alternates traditional frontal instruction with practical activities. The Italian mission is now evaluating the possibility of extending the teaching method to officer pupils. Mibil has been organising and running army training courses in Lebanon since 2015. Following the international meeting in Rome on March 15 the training activities are set to increase. (ANSAmed).