US deputy special envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus on Saturday met Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, marking her second visit to Lebanon since taking office.
The Lebanese Presidency said in a post on X that talks between Ms Ortagus and Mr Aoun focused on the situation in south Lebanon and along the border with Syria, as well as the urgent need for financial and economic reforms to curb corruption.
The post also mentioned that a “private” meeting was held between Mr Aoun and Ms Ortagus.
Ms Ortagus did not address journalists after leaving the palace. She also met Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
A presidential source told The National that the Lebanese side emphasised "that there should be no delay in resolving the status of 13 disputed points" along the southern border with Israel.
Reforms were also part of the discussions. The international community has tied any financial assistance to Lebanon to the implementation of long-overdue reforms, including tackling corruption, restructuring the banking sector and improving governance.
The urgency for international support has only grown as the country’s economic crisis — ongoing since 2019 — has deepened further following the year-long war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese Iran-backed militant group.
"The Lebanese side confirmed that the reform process is a Lebanese need before being an international demand, and that the government has begun practical steps in this direction through appointing a governor for the Bank of Lebanon, approving a draft law to amend the banking secrecy law and beginning to study a project to reform the banking system," said the presidential source.
The source was keen to stress that the meeting was "good and characterised by a positive atmosphere".
Ms Ortagus' visit comes amid escalating tension between Lebanon and Israel, despite a ceasefire agreement reached last November between Israel and Hezbollah.
She was expected to press Lebanese officials for a clear timetable for the disarmament of the group, and to push for the beginning of talks between Israel and Lebanon on the demarcation of their border, currently marked by the Blue Line drawn by the UN in 2000.
On Friday, at least three people were killed in an Israeli air strike on an apartment in Lebanon’s southern city of Sidon, far from the border. The strike killed Hamas official Hassan Farhat, as well as his son and daughter. Since the tenuous ceasefire was agreed between Israel and Hezbollah, the Israeli military has continued to bomb south Lebanon and struck Beirut's southern suburbs known as Dahieh twice.
Under the ceasefire terms, Hezbollah is required to withdraw its forces north of the Litani River and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south. Israel was supposed to withdraw across the Blue Line but has missed two deadlines and continues to hold five positions in southern Lebanon that it considers “strategic”.
Israel and Hezbollah interpret the ceasefire agreement differently. Israel says that terms of the truce demand that Hezbollah fully disarms, not only in southern Lebanon but across the entire country. Hezbollah maintains that the agreement only requires it to disarm south of the Litani River.
A senior Lebanese military source told The National last month that Israel was expected to continue its violations of the ceasefire agreement as part of a broader pressure campaign on Beirut.
Mr Berri had previously accused Israel of attempting to lure the country into normalising relations. He along other Lebanese officials, including the prime minister and foreign minister, say that Lebanon rejects any normalisation of relations with Israel.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said at a press conference in Paris on Thursday that Israel is interested in normalising relations with Lebanon in the future, although he acknowledged such a prospect “may seem premature from a Lebanese perspective”.
Last month, Israel and Lebanon agreed to start indirect talks to resolve longstanding disputes over the land border between the two countries.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo 4-cyl
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Power: 190bhp
Torque: 300Nm
Price: Dh169,900
On sale: now
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- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
