January 13, 2009
More Levant
Countries that will miss George Bush
BBC
By Kim Ghattas
A lot has been written about George W Bush's unpopularity around the globe - but what about those places where the outgoing president was popular?
... Just north of Israel and the Palestinian territories, Lebanon is one country where there is still some lingering appreciation for Mr Bush in some circles, albeit laced with disappointment.
Orascom, Zain win Lebanon mobile contracts
Reuters
Tue Jan 13, 2009
BEIRUT, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Egypt's Orascom Telecom (ORTE.CA) (ORTEq.L) and Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co (Zain) (ZAIN.KW) won contracts to operate Lebanon's two fledgling mobile firms, a cabinet statement said on Monday night.
"These two companies have ... experience in the Lebanese market that allows them to manage well and positions them as the best companies to run this sector in Lebanon," Information Minister Tareq Mitri said.
Lebanon interest rates seen stable or lower in '09
Reuters
01.13.09
BEIRUT, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Lebanese interest rates will be stable and could fall in 2009, central bank governor Riad Salameh said on Tuesday. ...
The authorities were working on steps to stimulate lending in Lebanese pounds, he added, describing such a shift as 'a qualitative step' that would give a bigger role to monetary policy in stimulating the economy.
Lebanon's Ministry of Finance had also asked local and international banks to make proposals for terms to rollover $2.6 billion of Lebanese Eurobonds that are due to mature in 2009, he added.
Israeli forces intensify Gaza offensive
Reuters
Tue Jan 13, 2009
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli forces tightened their hold around the city of Gaza on Tuesday and Israel's top general said "there is still work" ahead against Hamas in an 18-day-old offensive that has killed more than 900 Palestinians.
Explosions and heavy machinegun fire echoed through the city of 500,000 after Israeli tanks drew closer to its densely populated center but did not enter, local residents said.
Posted by ben at 03:31 PM | Comments (0)
January 11, 2009
For the Record
This does not signify a return of blogging. I am recording news stories here because otherwise I cannot keep up with it all.
Protests in Lebanon, Syria against Gaza offensive
Associated Press
By ZEINA KARAM – January 11, 2009
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — An estimated 2,500 Lebanese and Palestinians protested peacefully in downtown Beirut on Sunday against Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip, as hundreds of demonstrators in neighboring Syria shouted insults at the both the Jewish state and Arab leaders.
Angry protests have swept the Arab world since Israel's bombing campaign in Gaza began on Dec. 27 to stop rocket fire from the militant Palestinian group Hamas. Gaza health officials say more than 820 Palestinians have been killed, roughly half of them civilians. Thirteen Israelis have also died. [...]
Hamas fires missiles at IDF jets
Yediot Ahronoth
Hanan Greenberg
January 11, 2009
Hamas attempting to hit IAF warplanes flying over Gaza: Defense establishment officials said Sunday that several attempts have been made to hit Israel Air Force jets attacking targets the Gaza Strip since the start of Operation Cast Lead 16 days ago.
Hamas gunmen reportedly attempted to shoot down warplanes using antiaircraft missiles several days ago. There were [no] injuries or damage in this incident. [...]
Israel warns Gaza residents of 'new phase' of offensive
By Richard Boudreaux and Rushdi abu Alouf
January 11, 2009
Reporting from Gaza City and Jerusalem -- Israel's aircraft pounded Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip on Saturday and scattered leaflets warning of an escalation in attacks, but there was no sign that its forces had begun a major advance on the militant group's urban strongholds.
A senior Hamas commander and seven members of a Palestinian family were among those killed on the 15th day of Israel's thundering air and artillery assault, which also damaged a hospital. Palestinian militants fired 15 rockets into Israel, wounding three people. […]
Diplomatic efforts to end the fighting sputtered as Egypt rebuffed a proposal to place international forces along its border to help prevent weapons smuggling into Gaza. Israel says the offensive is aimed at stopping rocket fire from Gaza and will continue until weapons pipelines into the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave are cut off. […]
Palestinian medical officials said Saturday that nearly half the 830 Gazans killed in the offensive were civilians. Israeli news media said the army estimated that it had killed 300 militants.
Thirteen Israelis have been killed: 10 soldiers, plus three civilians hit in Israel by rocket fire.
The army said its ground forces killed Amir Mansi, commander of Hamas' rocket-launching teams in Gaza City, after spotting him at a launch site there. Hamas confirmed his death.
With most Israeli ground forces holding their positions and Hamas eluding confrontation, the fighting has been relatively light in the last few days. Hamas has continued to fire rockets into Israel, but at a daily rate far below the recent peak of 80 launched on Christmas Day.
Saturday's heaviest encounters were reported along the coastal road north of Gaza City, where Israeli forces moved to within a mile of the city before pulling back slightly.[...]
Names of Palestinian Militants Involved in Katyusha Attack on Israel Revealed
Press reports on Sunday disclosed the names of Palestinian militants involved in the Katyusha attack on northern Israel, but Lebanese security sources denied Hamas was behind the rocket fire.
The daily al-Balad identified the Palestinian suspects arrested for allegedly firing rockets from southern Lebanon into Israel on Thursday as Imad J.A., Jamil A.A., Mahmoud A.S., Jamal A.D. and Ayman A.J.
It said among the arrested was also Iyad B, a Palestinian-Jordanian.
An Nahar newspaper on Sunday also quoted Cabinet sources as saying the government had obtained a report from the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon saying that the rocket attackers "enjoy a high level of professionalism." [...]
New Resistance Group Conducts 1st Training Maneuvers in Lebanon
The Arab Islamic Resistance, a new group rival of Hizbullah, revealed in a statement Sunday that it had conducted its first field training maneuvers in south and east Lebanon.
The statement, carried by state-run National News Agency, said its fighters carried out field maneuvers that included military exercise as well as civil defense and first aid training.
Arab Islamic Resistance Secretary General Sayyed Mohammed Ali al-Husseini said his fighters "have advanced abilities that would surprise the Israeli enemy if it dared carry out any offensive on Lebanon."
Husseini said Thursday's Katyusha attack on Israel was a "clear message" to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak that "you have to stop your ground assault on our people in Gaza."
"Next time rockets will be fired to kill," Husseini warned, adding that those who launched the Katyushas were "professionals." [...]
PFLP-GC Set Up Missile Platforms in Qossaya Directed toward Israel
Intelligence reports spoke of "suspicious activity" over the past three days at the military camp of Ahmed Jibril's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command in Qossaya in east Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.
The daily al-Liwaa on Friday said high-ranking Western diplomatic sources in Beirut said they have found out that there were "serious intentions" to aggravate the situation in southern Lebanon through some undisciplined and non-Lebanese factions.
Al-Liwaa, citing one intelligence source, said about 15 vehicles entered the Qossaya base over the past three days. The move, it said, coincided with repositioning rocket launching pads. [...]
Casualties in Pro-Gaza Rally in Akkar
At least five people have been wounded in a pro-Gaza rally in the northern province of Akkar, the daily al-Mustaqbal said Sunday.
It said residents from Haysheh and others from Wadi Khaled clashed Saturday with sticks and stones after members of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party waved the party's flag during a rally in support of Gaza. [...]
Peace Is No Longer in Sight
By Tom Segev
Sunday, January 11, 2009
[...] I belong to a generation of Israelis who grew up believing in peace. At the end of the Six-Day War of 1967, I was 23, and I had no doubt that 40 years later, the Israeli-Arab war would be over. Today, my son, who is 28, no longer believes in peace. Most Israelis don't. They know that Israel may not survive without peace, but from war to war, they have lost their optimism. So have I. [...]
Don't go to Lebanon, 'runaways' warn aspiring OFWs
KIMBERLY JANE T. TAN, GMANews.TV
01/10/2009
MANILA, Philippines - Three Filipino women who sought work in Lebanon despite a ban are urging others who aspiring to go there not to do so.
The trio aired their appeal on Vice President Noli de Castro’s radio program on Saturday, a day after arriving from Lebanon.
They were among 85 distressed OFWs who sought shelter from the shelter inside the Philippine Embassy in Beirut.
“To all Filipinos planning to go to Lebanon, please don't go through with it because the people there are demons. Many are raped, some even go crazy," one of the distressed OFWs, Marilyn Valencia of Nueva Vizcaya province, said in Filipino. [...]
Israeli troops 'shot at from Syria'
Israeli troops in the occupied Golan Heights have come under small arms fire from Syria, Israeli military officials have said.
No one was injured in the incident on Sunday, but it was been reported to the United Nations force that monitors the area, an Israeli army spokesman said. [...]
Posted by ben at 10:53 AM | Comments (0)