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The International Chamber of Navigation in Beirut said that the Lebanese government will offer a tender in early 2009 to start a $120 million project to expand Beirut Port, Al Mustaqbal reported, citing Elie Zakhour, the chamber’s president.

  Zakhour told the Lebanese newspaper that the plan will include increasing the capacity to 1.25 million containers and extending the length of some of its quays.

 He also said that revenue for the first 10 months of this year rose 13 percent to $107.2 million from the same period of 2007, the newspaper reported.

 SGBL’s Nine-Month Net Rose 121% on Loans, Assafir Says

Societe General de Banque du Liban SAL, a Beirut-based lender, said net profit for the first nine months of 2008 rose 121 percent to $31 million from $14 million in the same period last year, Assafir reported, citing George Saghbini, the bank’s deputy general manager.

 Posted by BI-ME

The president of the Lebanese Consumers Association, Zouhair Berro, said over the weekend that Arab authorities have rarely issued consumer protection laws, and have generally done so only when it was necessary to meet the conditions of donor countries or certain trade agreements. (more…)

BEIRUT (AFP) Lebanon’s parliament on Friday started to debate a policy statement drawn up by the new unity government and focused on the thorny issue of Hezbollah’s arms, in only its second session in 22 months. (more…)

Over three weeks, after its formation, Lebanon’s national-unity government Monday ratified the policy statement draft reached by a special ministerial committee on Friday.
 
President Michel Suleiman headed the meeting at the Presidential Palace in Baabda. The meeting endorsed the policy statement draft textually, paving the way for an anticipated vote of confidence session at parliament. Reservations were expressed by four Christian ministers of the so-called “March 14″ bloc.  Information Minister Tareq Mitri said the statement was adopted unanimously to secure “ministerial solidarity.” (more…)

BEIRUT (AFP) - Egypt is to supply power-starved Lebanon with 200 megawatts (MW) of electricity to help it meet a drastic shortfall, Lebanon’s Energy Minister Alan Taburian said on Monday.

“Egypt has an excess of 600 MW of electricity which will be divided as follows: 200 MW for Jordan, 200 for Syria and 200 for Lebanon,” Taburian told reporters after talks in Beirut with his Egyptian counterpart, Hassan Yunes.

“If later Syria or Jordan don’t need the full amount they are offered, we could use an additional 50 MW,” the minister said, adding that the grid in Lebanon would not be able to absorb more than an additional 250 MW.

According to state-run utility company Lebanon Electricity (EDL), the country needs 2,200 MW of electricity to meet its daily needs but it currently generates only 1,700 MW. However it also draws 100 MW from Syria.

“Our electricity deficit would be reduced to 500 MW,” Taburian said. It was not clear why the figures given by the minister, who is newly appointed to the post, differ from those of the EDL.

Electricity is a constant concern for the Lebanese government, which allocates the third largest slice of its budget, after debt servicing and salaries, to power supply.

The country suffers daily power outages, including in the capital Beirut where many businesses have bought generators to tide them over during lengthy blackouts.

The situation has been exacerbated by the high cost of fuel.

BEIRUT (AFP) - Lebanon’s national unity government on Monday adopted a manifesto that affirms the authority of the state over all matters, including the weaponry held by Hezbollah, a minister said. “The document was approved unanimously,” Information Minister Tareq Mitri said at the end of a cabinet meeting chaired by President Michel Sleiman. (more…)

 Syria and Lebanon have agreed to open embassies in each other’s capital.Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, made the announcement on Saturday as he hosted Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, and Michel Sleiman, his Lebanese counterpart.Al-Assad has also asked France and the US to assist in direct peace talks between his country and Israel.

A joint Franco-Syrian statement issued after al-Assad met Sarkozy in Paris ahead of the Union of the Mediterranean talks, reiterated Damascus’ determination to establish diplomatic relations with neighbouring Lebanon.
Speaking at a joint news conference with al-Assad and Michel Sleiman, Sarkozy said: “I would like to say what a historic step forward it is for France that al-Assad is determined to open a diplomatic representation in Lebanon, and that Lebanon should open a diplomatic representation in Syria.”He said both leaders had authorised him to make the announcement. It would be the first time thetwo countries had full-fledged embassies in each other’s countries since Lebanon became independent in 1943 and Syria in 1945.
Sarkozy is also scheduled to visit Syria by mid-September in an effort to build relations between Paris and Damascus. Relations between the two countries have been tense since the assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri, a former Lebanese prime minister, in 2005, which France believes was orchestrated from Damascus.
France and the US have previously called on Lebanon and Syria to establish full diplomatic relations after Damascus pulled its troops out of Lebanon in 2005, ending nearly three decades of military presence.

‘Diplomatic breakthrough’
Al-Assad was welcomed in Paris for a meeting at the Elysee palace before joining 40 other foreign leaders.
The Syrian president is among 43 leaders who will launch a so-called Union for the Mediterranean at a summit in Paris on Sunday.Al Jazeera’s Jacky Rowland, speaking in the French capital, said al-Assad is soaking up the international exposure from this trip.

She said: “The Syrian president’s willingness to build ties with Lebanon, which have been strained for so long, is music to French ears.
“This is also something that Sarkozy will take credit for, and essentially see this as a diplomatic breakthrough.”
Al-Assad met Michel Sleiman, the Lebanese president, the first time since he was elected in May, ending Lebanon’s worst political crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatar’s emir, whose country brokered the power-sharing deal that ended the country’s crisis, also met the two leaders.However, a meeting between al-Assad and Ehud Olmert, Israel’s prime minister, has been ruled out.
Sarkozy also raised human rights issues during his one-on-one talks with Assad on Saturday and try to advance the Israeli-Syrian peace process, aides said.

Constructive role

Despite concerns over Syria’s rights record, France sees Assad’s willingness to take part in the new Mediterranean forum and its indirect talks with Israel as signs that Damascus is seeking a more constructive role in the Middle East.
While the US continues to view Syria as a “terror state”, France under Sarkozy has moved to renew high-level ties that suffered as a result of the 2005 assassination of al-Hariri, Lebanese ex-premier, who was a personal friend of Jacques Chirac, the former French president.

Israel and Syria, which technically remain at war since the creation of the Jewish state in 1948, have held three rounds of indirect talks through Turkey since March, raising peace prospects after an eight-year break.

Sarkozy has invited leaders from 44 countries, including Arab nations and Israel, for the founding summit of the union aimed at boosting co-operation between EU and bordering Mediterranean states.

On Monday, the Syrian leader will join about a dozen leaders to watch the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs Elysees during France’s national celebrations.

However France’s Bernard Kouchner, the foreign minister, last month commented that he was “not particularly pleased” by al-Assad’s presence at the July 14 national fete.While al-Assad will be applauding troops marching in the Bastille Day parade, Chirac will be conspicuous by his absence. 
Officials have denied the former president’s decision to stay away was linked to al-Assad.Al-Assad’s visit comes during France’s presidency of the 27-nation European Union.

11/7/2008- Secretary General of the French Presidential office Claude Gueant said efforts by Paris to develop relations with Syria are “in favor of Lebanon and the region.” (more…)

The Lebanese government announced Friday it has reached a unity Cabinet aimed at stabilizing the country torn by internal strife.

Supporters carry posters of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah during demonstrations in May.

In keeping with a deal sponsored by the Arab League, the new Cabinet gives 11 seats to Hezbollah and the militant group’s allies that oppose the government, 16 to the government and three to the Lebanese president to fill by appointment. The agreement gives Hezbollah veto power.

The Cabinet’s first meeting is scheduled for Wednesday.

Lebanon’s Western-backed government and its Hezbollah-led opposition reached a deal in May aimed at ending an 18-month political crisis that pushed the country to the brink of civil war.

As part of the deal, the Parliament named Gen. Michel Sleiman president, filling a six-month vacancy created by the November departure of President Emile Lahoud. Sleiman then appointed Western ally Fouad Siniora as prime minister.

The agreement came out of a May meeting at Doha, Qatar, when the Hezbollah opposition agreed to end its sit-in protest that had paralyzed downtown Beirut since late 2006 in exchange for veto power and a redistricting plan ahead of next year’s elections.

Earlier in May, armed Hezbollah supporters took to the streets of Beirut after Lebanon’s government banned a telecommunications system used by the Shiite militia.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah called the government’s attempts to control the militia “a declaration of open war” and vowed that his supporters would defend themselves.

Minutes after his address, Hezbollah gunmen exchanged fire with pro-government militias in the streets of Beirut. The violence spread across other areas of Lebanon, and soon became the worst outbreak of internal strife to hit the country since the end of its civil war in 1991.

The fighting ended a week later when the Lebanese government gave in to two key Hezbollah demands — lifting a government ban of Hezbollah’s telecommunications system and reinstating the chief of security at Beirut’s airport.

10/7/2008- AFP-Lebanese President Michel Suleiman called his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad and the two agreed to meet on the sidelines of the Union of the Mediterranean summit that opens on Sunday in Paris, an official said on Wednesday. (more…)

10/7/2008- Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem has warned that the security situation in Lebanon could worsen if a national unity cabinet wasn’t quickly formed. (more…)

8/7/2008- Israeli victims of rocket attacks during the 2006 summer war have filed a lawsuit in the United States blaming some Lebanese banks for helping fund Hizbullah. (more…)