Lebanon president visits Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan

Details

By - news.am President of Lebanon Michel Aoun on Wednesday paid a visit to the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia. Aoun, accompanied by the Lebanese delegation, placed a wreath at the genocide monument, the Armenian News-NEWS.am reporter informed from the memorial. Michel Aoun has arrived on an official visit in Yerevan, at the invitation of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan. Within the framework of the visit, the President of the Republic of Lebanon will meet with Armenia’s top leadership—the President, the Chairman of the National Assembly, and the Prime Minister. Also, President Aoun will be hosted by Catholicos of All Armenians His Holiness Karekin II, at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin; afterwards, he will visit the Cathedral and the Treasury. Following the highest-level Armenian-Lebanese talks in the presidential residence, Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Michel Aoun will make statements on the outcome of their meeting.

Lebanese president makes landmark visit to Iraq

Details

AFP - BAGHDAD, Iraq - President Michel Aoun led a delegation Tuesday to Iraq on the first visit by a Lebanese head of state to the war-scarred country, for talks that included ways to eradicate terrorism. Aoun held talks with Iraqi President Fuad Masum and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi before he was due to travel to Armenia on Wednesday. "We had constructive talks which reflect the historical and brotherly ties that link our two countries and our people," Aoun told a joint news conference with Masum. "I would like to take advantage of this occasion to congratulate the Iraqi people for their firmness, patience and determination in the face of adversity... and terrorism," he said. Iraq has been scarred by decades of conflict.

After an eight-year war with neighbouring Iran in the 1980s, and the 2003 US-led invasion, Iraq was targeted by the Islamic State group which seized swathes of the country following a 2014 offensive. In December, Abadi declared "the end of the war" against IS and complete control of Iraq's borders with neighbouring Syria, where the jihadists still control pockets of territory. Aoun told reporters that Lebanon, too, had suffered from the jihadists but succeeded in pushing them back from a border region with Syria. He said Arab states and the international community must build "joint efforts to fight against terrorism in an efficient and radical way, to eliminate them and end the factors that favour terrorist ideology". With Iraq also looking to raise tens of billions of dollars to help reconstruct the country after the fight against IS, Aoun said Lebanese firms "with their extensive expertise" and investors were ready to get involved. Abadi said talks had focused on "strengthening bilateral relations in the areas of economy, trade and reconstruction". Aoun, a Christian, also visited a church in Baghdad where Islamists killed 55 worshippers in 2010. The attack on Our Lady of Salvation church in the capital's main commercial district of Karrada was claimed by the Iraqi branch of Al-Qaeda. At the start of the visit, Masum surprised Aoun, a former general and army chief, with a birthday cake decorated with the Lebanese and Iraqi flags. Aoun turned 83 earlier this week. Aoun was accompanied by cabinet ministers including the minister of industry, interior and tourism. AFP

Lebanon Cannot Ask for Donor Funding Without Passing 2018 Budget -Minister

Details

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon cannot ask for support at upcoming donor conferences unless it first passes the 2018 budget, the finance minister said on Monday, a move which would signal to potential financial backers that the government is serious about economic reforms. Political tensions had left Lebanon without a government budget from 2005 until it passed one last year. The government must now agree a budget for 2018. Lebanon is expected to ask donors at a variety of international meetings this year for support for its economy and army, and to help it deal with the approximately one million Syrian refugees it is hosting. Agreeing the 2018 budget would signal to potential donors and investors that Lebanon is genuine about much-needed economic reform, financial sources have told Reuters. "This is not a luxury, but a duty," Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil said in a televised statement. "If we are serious about preparing for the planned international conferences to support Lebanon in Rome or Paris, we absolutely cannot attend such conferences and ask for support without the budget having been approved," he said. Khalil said there is a commitment to finalizing the 2018 budget and referring it to parliament for approval by end of the month. If this is done within 15 days there is a possibility it will be approved before parliamentary elections scheduled for May. Lebanon has not held elections since 2009 due to a series of security and political crises. President Michel Aoun told Lebanon's cabinet earlier on Monday that they must "intensify" work to pass the budget as soon as possible. Lebanon has one of the world's highest debt-to-GDP ratios in the world and its economic growth is very weak, battered by domestic political tensions and conflict in neighboring Syria. Khalil said the draft 2018 budget envisages a "big deficit" of more than 8,000 billion Lebanese pounds ($5.3 bln).

Lebanon's 2016 deficit was 7,453 billion Lebanese pounds ($4.94 bln), according to the latest Ministry of Finance figures. Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri on Monday said Lebanon must not allow its public debt to rise and asked state institutions to comply with his January directive to cut budgets by 20 percent. Khalil also said there will be no new tax measures in the 2018 budget. Last year Lebanon introduced a number of controversial tax hikes including corporation tax and VAT in order to finance a public sector pay rise. ($1 = 1,510.0000 Lebanese pounds) (Reporting by Lisa Barrington and Dahlia Nehme; Editing by Peter Graff, William Maclean)

EDL workers, riot police clash at protest in Beirut

Details

The Daily Star BEIRUT: Electricite du Liban contract workers briefly blocked a main highway during a protest Monday that erupted into intermittent clashes with riot police. The workers, who initially were demonstrating at EDL headquarters in Beirut’s Mar Mikhael, headed to the adjacent highway, blocking it and bringing traffic to a halt. President of the General Confederation of Lebanese Workers Bechara Asmar urged the protesters to head back to the headquarters, saying that their action would impact other Lebanese citizens.

EDL per diem workers called for the protest to be held in solidarity with EDL worker Hasan Akel, who was slapped by an Internal Security Forces officer last week during a protest. The workers were also planning to hold a news conference inside the customer's hall to relay their demands, including their call for long-term contracts and payment of late salaries. The hall, however, was blocked by riot police. Tensions escalated earlier Monday morning when a per diem worker threatened to kill himself at the protest before his colleagues prevented him, prompting a scuffle to erupt between the worker and riot police. Local media reported that he tried to kill himself with a blade. The worker had been speaking to reporters about his difficult economic situation, saying that both his wife and daughter needed medical assistance, minutes before he took out the blade. A scuffle erupted with riot police who were blocking the way to the EDL customer's hall, as workers attempted to take the blade away from the man, who later lost conscious. Chaos and clashes erupted again at the EDL headquarters at around 11 a.m.

Satterfield Meets Israeli Minister over Gas Row with Lebanon

Details

Source AFP and Naharnet - Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz met Sunday with a senior United States official seeking to defuse an escalating oil and gas dispute with Lebanon, his office said. A statement from his spokesman said Steinitz held talks with Acting Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield about conflicting claims to energy reserves off the coasts of Lebanon and Israel. Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday that Lebanon was strong enough to withstand U.S. and Israeli pressure and to put Israeli gas rigs out of action. Last week Lebanon signed its first contract to drill for oil and gas in a pair of offshore zones, including one that Israel says belongs to it. Lebanese officials have said the whole zone belongs to Lebanom while Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has insisted it is solidly in Israeli territory. Sunday's Israeli statement quoted Steinitz as telling Satterfield that "a diplomatic solution is preferable for both sides." It added that the two agreed to meet again during the coming week. Satterfield also held talks on the issue with top officials in Lebanon.

Meanwhile work began on February 7 in Germany on four advanced corvettes for the Israeli navy "that will protect gas rigs and economic enterprises in Israeli waters," the Israeli military said. It said that the "Saar 6" warships, to enter service between 2020 and 2022, would be equipped with helipads and advanced missiles. "Protecting strategic economic assets in Israeli waters is a priority for the state of Israel," the Israeli navy's website announced last week. In November, Israel installed a battery of its Iron Dome anti-missile system on a warship for the first time, calling it a valuable asset in protecting its offshore natural gas fields. Israel has major gas fields off its northern coast and is building valuable infrastructure to get the fuel out of the ground and onto land, all within range of Hizbullah rockets. Tamar, which began production in 2013, has estimated reserves of up to 238 billion cubic meters. Leviathan, discovered in 2010 and set to begin production in 2019, is estimated to hold 18.9 trillion cubic feet (535 billion cubic meters) of natural gas, along with 34.1 million barrels of condensate.

Munich: Lebanese Defence Minister Yaqub Al Sarraf said his country is prepared to defend itself if Israel launches strikes on its territory. Al Sarraf told participants at the Munich Security Conference he’d had “an Israeli drone above my head for the past 15 years” but that his country has “no belligerent intent” against anyone. But he says “we will defend ourselves” and that “we are for peace, yet we will not stand for any threat and we will not accept any aggression. Netanyahu said at the Munich conference that an international agreement with Iran has emboldened the regime in Tehran to become increasingly aggressive in the region. Saying Iran’s “brazenness hit new highs”, he held up a fragment of what he said was an Iranian drone shot down last week by Israel in Israeli airspace and challenged Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was to speak later.

Video of Lebanese Security Officer Slapping Worker Goes Viral

Details

Al bawaba - A video of an Internal Security Forces officer slapping an Electricité du Liban worker went viral over the weekend, sparking outrage and prompting the ISF to promise to open an investigation. The incident took place Friday when EDL contract workers held a protest at the state-run company’s headquarters in Mar Mikhael in east Beirut and closed the customer's hall. Forces from the ISF and riot police were dispatched to EDL to end the demonstration. The forces there were lead by an ISF Brig. Gen identified as H.Kh. There was a public outcry when a video of H.Kh. slapping a worker named Hasan Akel in the face and telling him to "shut up" went viral on social media Saturday. Based on the circulated video, Akel was sitting on a chair near one of the entryway doors and didn't respond to the officer. He told local media that the protest was peaceful and that the workers were only calling for their rights. Akel claimed he had only "placed his hand on the officer's knee," to explain the situation. EDL contract workers have been protesting regularly to call for long-term contracts and payment of late salaries.