Michel Aoun News

Israeli and Lebanese leaders finalised a U.S-brokered maritime demarcation on Thursday, bringing a measure of accommodation between the enemy states as they eye offshore energy exploration.Leaders from Lebanon, Israel and the United States have all hailed the deal as "historic" but the possibility of a wider diplomatic breakthrough remains slim. As a result, there was no joint signing ceremony: Lebanese President Michel Aoun signed a letter approving the deal at his palace in Baabda in the presence of the U.S.

Top Israeli ministers on Wednesday endorsed a U.S.-brokered deal to delineate a maritime border with Lebanon, paving the way for a potentially fractious two-week parliamentary review before it goes into force.Prime Minister Yair Lapid's security cabinet said the deal should be "urgently" green-lit, according to a statement following the meeting.If finalized, the agreement - hailed on Tuesday by all three parties involved as a historic achievement - would mark a diplomatic departure from decades of war and hostility as well as opening the door to offshore energy exploration.

Lebanon's judiciary is seeking to appoint a second judge to a stalled investigation into the Beirut port blast, sources said, highlighting deep divisions over efforts to hold officials to account over a tragedy that killed more than 220 people.Judge Tarek Bitar's investigation into the 2020 explosion, which flattened swathes of the city when hundreds of tonnes of stored ammonium nitrate detonated, has been suspended since late 2021 by lawsuits brought by politicians whom he has sought to question.That has left him unable to summon suspects or press charges…

A Syrian ship under U.S. sanctions has docked in the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli carrying barley and wheat that the Ukrainian embassy in Beirut told Reuters on Thursday had been plundered by Russia from Ukrainian stores.The Laodicea docked in Tripoli on Wednesday, according to shipping data website MarineTraffic."The ship has traveled from a Crimean port that is closed to international shipping, carrying 5,000 tonnes of barley and 5,000 tonnes of flour that we suspect was taken from Ukrainian stores," the embassy told Reuters."This is the first time a shipment of stolen grains and flour reaches Lebanon," the statement said.Russia has previously denied the allegations that it has stolen Ukrainian grain.

Israel is ready to renew efforts to solve its dispute with Lebanon over the delineation of their territorial waters in the Mediterranean, but it will not accept that Beirut dictates the terms of the negotiation, its energy minister said on Tuesday.The talks mediated by the United States were launched a year ago to try to resolve the dispute, which has held up exploration in the potentially gas-rich area. The talks stalled in May.U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein is due in both…

Thousands of Lebanese gathered near the port of Beirut on Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of a catastrophic explosion that devastated the city, demanding justice for the victims.One year since the disaster, caused by a huge quantity of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely at the port for years, no senior official has been held to account, infuriating many Lebanese as their country also endures financial collapse.One of the biggest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded, the explosion wounded thousands and was felt in Cyprus…

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Tuesday there should be no preconditions for talks with Israel over their Mediterranean border dispute, key to Lebanon's hopes to find gas reserves amid its worst economic crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war.Negotiations between the old foes were launched in October to try to resolve the dispute, which has held up exploration in the potentially gas-rich area, yet the talks have since stalled.A statement by the Lebanese presidency issued after the resumption of talks on Tuesday said the U.S.

The United States stands ready to facilitate maritime border talks between Lebanon and Israel that will have benefits for the crisis-hit Lebanese economy, a U.S. envoy said on Thursday.On a visit to Beirut, Under Secretary of State David Hale blamed Lebanese leaders for failing to end a deadlock in cabinet talks to tackle the collapse, which has crashed the currency. He warned that "those who continue to obstruct" progress open themselves up to punitive actions, without naming individuals.As part of its pressure campaign on Tehran…

Germany will next week present a multi-billion-dollar proposal to Lebanese authorities to rebuild the Port of Beirut as part of efforts to entice the country’s politicians to form a government capable of warding off financial collapse, two sources said.A chemical explosion at the port last August killed 200 people, injured thousands and destroyed entire neighborhoods in Lebanon’s capital, plunging the country deeper into its worst political and economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.According to two diplomatic sources with knowledge of the plans…

Lebanon wants maritime border talks with Israel to succeed and difficulties that surfaced in the last session round can be overcome, President Michel Aoun told a U.S. mediator on Wednesday after the latest round was postponed.The negotiations between the old foes were launched in October, with delegations convening at a U.N. base to try to resolve a dispute about their maritime border that has held up hydrocarbon exploration in the potentially gas-rich area.But a session scheduled for Wednesday was postponed with U.S.

The first of many warnings about a deadly cargo in Beirut’s port came in February 2014, about three months after its arrival. It was made by Colonel Joseph Skaf, described by his family as a diligent customs official.Skaf, then the head of the anti-narcotics and money laundering division, informed the customs authority that the shipment of ammonium nitrate was “extremely dangerous” and posed a risk to the public.In his handwritten letter, reviewed by Reuters and authenticated by a source familiar with the case…

Lebanese security officials warned the prime minister and president last month that 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in Beirut’s port posed a security risk and could destroy the capital if it exploded, according to documents seen by Reuters and senior security sources.Just over two weeks later, the industrial chemicals exploded in a massive blast that obliterated most of the port, killed at least 163 people, injured 6,000 more and destroyed some 6,000 buildings, according…

A powerful blast in port warehouses near central Beirut storing highly explosive material killed 78 people, injured nearly 4,000 and sent seismic shockwaves that shattered windows, smashed masonry and shook the ground across the Lebanese capital.Officials said they expected the death toll to rise further after Tuesday's blast as emergency workers dug through rubble to rescue people and remove the dead. It was the most powerful explosion in years in Beirut, which is already reeling from an economic crisis and a surge in coronavirus infections.President Michel Aoun said that 2…

The death of Jacques R. Saadé, Founding President of the CMA CGM Group, roused an emotional response within the Group, in the entire maritime transportation industry and beyond. An exceptional tribute was paid to him on Friday, June 29, during his funeral. Jacques R. Saadé dedicated his life to CMA CGM. All the Group’s employees based in Marseilles were invited to attend the religious ceremony celebrated at La Major Cathedral. Attendees included Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Elisabeth Borne, Minister of Transports, and numerous local, national and international officials. Lebanese Minister Michel Pharaon, representing Lebanese President General Michel Aoun, posthumously awarded Jacques R.

Lebanon vowed to protect its maritime borders from Israeli threats, Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil said on Wednesday. "Lebanon will use all available methods to fend off the Israeli aggression that was announced today," he said in televised comments. Israel described as "very provocative" a Lebanese offshore oil and gas exploration tender in disputed territory on the countries' maritime border, and urged international firms not to bid. Lebanese President Michel Aoun described the comments as "a threat".   Reporting by Ellen Francis