JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Yair Lapid said Monday that Israel would sign an “historic” agreement with Lebanon to demarcate the maritime border between the countries in three days from now.
“On Thursday, we are going to sign a historic agreement with Lebanon,” the Israeli premier told his visiting Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte of the US-brokered deal that appears set to unlock production at Mediterranean gas fields.
Israel and Lebanon, who are technically at war, agreed to terms earlier this month on the deal.

MADRID: A Spanish man who was documenting his ambitious journey by foot from Madrid to Doha for the 2022 FIFA World Cup has not been heard from since crossing into Iran three weeks ago, his family said Monday, stirring fears about his fate in a country convulsed by mass unrest.

BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi has accused Lebanese MPs of trying to lead the country into a presidential vacuum.

Parliament is set to hold its fourth session to elect a new leader on Monday, as President Michel Aoun’s term ends on Oct. 31.

Addressing the Lebanese ruling class in his Sunday sermon, Al-Rahi said: “We have reached the height of political corruption, which is even worse than financial corruption.”

CAIRO: Representatives from Germany, Egypt, Britain, Italy and Greece took part in a ceremony on Saturday to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of El-Alamein during the Second World War.

Thousands of people were killed in the three-week battle, which started on Oct. 23, 1942, and was a major turning point in the conflict.

According to the German Embassy in Egypt, this year’s commemorations, held at the German War Memorial in El-Alamein, aimed to recall the horrors of war while calling for the preservation of peace.

ANKARA: Turkey and Israel are poised to forge closer ties on various fronts, including military cooperation, after months of rapprochement.

For an official visit to meet his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar, Israel’s Defence Minister Benny Gantz is due in Turkey next Wednesday.

Days before elections in Israel, the visit will be the first by an Israel defense minister to Turkey in a decade.