Lebanon

BEIRUT, Sept 28 (NNN-NNA) – Lebanese Health Minister Jamil Jabak, accused the United States of preventing the international community from supporting Lebanon in the medical sector, local media reported.

“The Americans are fighting medical programmes offered by donor countries to Lebanon,” Jabak was quoted as saying, by Elnashra, an online newspaper.

Jabak added that the U.S. embassy did not issue him a visa to the United States, to participate in the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

BEIRUT (AP) — As dozens of heads of state convene for the annual U.N. General Assembly in New York this week, the lingering conflict in Syria is taking a back seat while tensions in the Persian Gulf and global trade wars take center stage.

Now in its ninth year, many Syrians fear the unresolved war has become a footnote in a long list of world crises, with weary leaders resigned to live with President Bashar Assad ruling over a wrecked and divided country for the foreseeable future.

BEIRUT, Sept 21 (NNN-NNA) – Hezbollah Leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, called upon Saudi officials to urgently stop their country’s war against Yemen, to prevent from further losses, Al Manar Local TV Channel reported.

“If Saudi Arabia wants to save itself further losses, after Yemen’s attacks against its oil facilities, it should stop its war against the Yemenis right away,” Nasrallah said.

BEIRUT, Sept 21 (NNN-NNA) – Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, said that, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia are preparing to sign 19 economic agreements.

“We are working on holding a meeting for the Saudi- Lebanese High Joint Committee, to discuss how the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia can support Lebanon financially,” Hariri said, on the sidelines of the meeting with French President, Emmanuel Macron, at the Elysee Palace in Paris.

BEIRUT, Sept 19 (NNN-NNA) – Gas stations in Lebanon held, on Wednesday, a nationwide strike, as they were forced to pay higher rates, when exchanging Lebanese pounds into U.S. dollars.

“We are losing money because we buy fuel from our suppliers by paying in U.S. dollars, while we sell it at Lebanese pounds,” Sami Brax, head of the Syndicates of Gas Station Owners, was quoted as saying.

BEIRUT, Sept 18 (NNN-NNA) – A Lebanese judge issued an arrest warrant, against a Lebanese-American, who admitted that he had worked for Israel.

Najat Abu Shakra, Lebanon’s military investigative judge, decided to postpone the questioning of Amer al-Fakhoury, former chief of an Israel-linked prison in Lebanon, awaiting an approval from Lebanon’s Bar Association, for a U.S. lawyer to defend him.

BEIRUT, Sept 17 (NNN-NNA) – Lebanese President, Michel Aoun, called for a stronger commitment to the Palestinian cause and warned about Israel’s “conspiracy” plans in the region, Lebanese presidency’s website, said.

“Israel believes that, circumstances are very suitable now to implement its plans in Arab countries, such as the ‘Deal of the Century,’ in light of fragmentation among Arab countries,” Aoun said.

16 Sep 2019; MEMO: Lebanese security agencies have revealed that more than 230 agents working for Israel moved to Lebanon over the past four months, Lebanese newspaper Al-Diyar reported yesterday.

The agents, according to the newspaper, held American passports and are in contact with the American embassy.

BEIRUT (AP) — Unknown warplanes targeted overnight an arms depot and posts of Iranian-backed militias in eastern Syria, near the Iraqi border, killing at least 18 fighters, Syrian opposition activists said Monday.

The strikes come amid rising tensions in the Middle East and the crisis between Iran and the U.S. in the wake of the collapsing nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

An official with an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq blamed Israel for the airstrikes that hit in the eastern Syrian town of Boukamal. There was no immediate comment from Israel.

7 Sep 2019; MEMO: Lebanese President, Michel Aoun, warned on Friday that Israel would bear the consequences of any attack on his country, declaring that “any attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country will be met with legitimate self-defence, and Israel will bear all of its resulting consequences.”