BEIRUT: Najib Mikati, Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, carried out an inspection of new scanners at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut on Friday.

The scanners, donated by Germany, have been installed in the cargo shipment, goods export and DHL freight buildings in order to detect drugs and explosives.

The aim is for “Beirut airport to reflect Lebanon’s bright side,” Mikati said.

DUBAI: Arab youth across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) now say Saudi Arabia is one of the five countries in the world they would most like their own nation to be like, according to the 15th annual ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey.

The ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey, the largest study of its kind, surveyed youth — men and women aged 18 to 24 — across the Middle East, adding South Sudan this year, on their views, hopes and fears.

BEIRUT: An illegal fishing method that uses explosives is being blamed for the rising numbers of sharks off the coast of Lebanon, amid social media panic about sightings and possible attacks.
Resorts have installed warning signs and told swimmers to be aware in the water following posts on social media showing sharks close to popular beaches.
Videos have shown the predators off the Sarafand-Zahrani shore to the south and off the Kaslik complex in Jounieh, while fishermen were recorded on Friday catching a small shark off Ouzai to the south of Beirut.

BEIRUT: France’s presidential envoy has told politicians in Lebanon that he will strive to help the country out of its presidential crisis but that solutions must “come from the Lebanese themselves.”

Jean-Yves Le Drian said during his two-day trip to Beirut that France did “not have any proposals” on how to get a president elected but that France would “always be there to support.”

His visit comes a week after parliament failed for the 12th time to elect a new head of state. It is now nearly eight months since Michel Aoun left the job with no replacement.

RAMALLAH: With the Israeli-occupied West Bank once again in turmoil after the latest bloodshed this week, uncertainty has deepened over the position of 87-year-old Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas with a negotiated peace looking as unlikely as ever.
A gunbattle on Monday in which seven Palestinians were killed and over 90 wounded, followed a day later by the killing of four Israelis and a rampage by Israeli settlers through Palestinian towns, again underscored the West Bank’s volatility.