ET409: Boeing sued over Ethiopian Airlines crash

A multi-million dollar lawsuit has been filed in a in a US court by relatives of passengers killed in an Ethiopian Airlines crash in Lebanon earlier this year.

They have charged that US plane-maker Boeing was responsible for severe mechanical failure which they have alleged was probably behind the tragedy.

The lawsuit, filed in Chicago, follows the downing of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800, which fell to the ground minutes after taking off from Beirut in bad weather on January 25th. (more…)

UN calls for continued Lebanon dialogue ahead of municipal elections

Municipal elections planned for Lebanon later this year must be free and fair, a senior United Nations official said today as he urged the country’s political leaders to continue to pursue dialogue to ensure that tensions are eased ahead of the polls.

Michael Williams, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, spoke to reporters in Beirut after meeting Prime Minister Saad Hariri to brief him on recent developments, particularly the Security Council briefing on Lebanon earlier this month. (more…)

Netanyahu : Settlement feud could delay peace talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he feared Middle East peace talks could be delayed for another year unless Palestinians dropped their demand for a full settlement freeze. Reuters

Biden, Netanyahu talks ‘candid’ and ‘productive’

Talks between US Vice President Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu were “candid” and “productive” the White House said Tuesday, hours before the Israeli leader was to meet President Barack Obama. (more…)

Obama to hold talks with Netanyahu amid Jerusalem row

US President Barack Obama is to meet the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for the first time since a row over settlements in East Jerusalem. (more…)

Aoun: The US has not chnaged its policy on Lebanon

Change and Reform bloc leader MP Aoun told reporters after the bloc meeting in Rabieh:

“The US has not changed its policy on Lebanon. When the US rejects Palestinian naturalization, informs Israel that naturalization is not a solution, stops treating certain Lebanese in a bad manner and cancels its security measures on Lebanese travelers, then we can say a change has been made. However, promises are ineffective. ” (more…)

Karami defends Wahab’s attacks against the president

Lebanon’s Former Prime Minister Omar Karami , another ally of Syria defended on Tuesday the verbal attacks made against President Michel Suleiman by former minister Wiam Wahab.

“President Suleiman’s silence is a strange thing because silence means acceptance,” Karami told reporters after meeting Wahab.

Former minister Wiam Wahab a staunch ally of Syria attacked President Michel Suleiman last Wednesday and and called on him to resign for allegedly failing to govern the country. (more…)

A mesaage of support from Assad to Suleiman

Syria’s ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali conveyed a “message of support” from Syrian President Bashar Assad to his Lebanese counterpart Michel Suleiman, during a meeting at the Baabda palace in Baabda, according to a presidential statement . (more…)

All four suspects from Berlin poker robbery behind bars

The final two suspects in the daring mid-day robbery at the Hyatt Hotel were taken into custody. The final two suspects who remained at large –and were thought to have fled the country– Mustafa Ucarkus and Jihad Chetwie, turned themselves in at Tegel Airport in Berlin. (more…)

Lebanon jails 20 over Qaeda links and for plotting terrorist attacks

A Lebanese military court on Tuesday handed 20 people jail sentences of up to 15 years after convicting them on charges of belonging to Al-Qaeda and plotting “terrorist attacks,” a judicial source said. (more…)