BEIRUT: Lebanon has signed a deal with an international consortium to start exploratory offshore drilling for oil and gas in what the country hopes will help boost its struggling economy.
The signing ceremony was held Friday in Beirut and was attended by President Michel Aoun and officials from the three oil companies, Italy’s Eni, France’s Total and Russia’s Novatek.
The agreement came two months after Lebanon’s government approved the licenses for the international consortium to move forward with offshore oil and gas development.
The three companies have bid for two of Lebanon’s 10 offshore blocks, to determine whether oil and gas exist.
Lebanon’s energy and water minister said the country will start exploratory offshore drilling for oil and gas next year. One of the blocks is disputed in part with Israel.
Lebanon signs deal with 3 international oil companies
Lebanon signs deal with 3 international oil companies
Lawyers in Sanaa face Houthi repression: report
- Claims of arbitrary arrests and detentions, direct threats
- 159 Houthi violations in 2025, 88 in 2024, 135 in 2023
RIYADH: In Yemen, the Houthis are attacking lawyers, raising widespread concerns about the rule of law and state of the justice system, Asharq Al-Awsat reported on Tuesday.
“Recent reports from local human rights organizations have revealed a recurring pattern of systematic restrictions on the practice of (the) law profession, including arbitrary arrests, prolonged detentions, and direct threats,” according to Arab News’ sister publication.
The publication added that the situation “in Sanaa and other Houthi-controlled cities no longer provides a professional environment for lawyers who themselves are now subject to questioning or targeted for defending their clients, especially in cases of a political or human rights nature.”
The Daoo Foundation for Rights and Development organization have reported more than 382 Houthi violations against lawyers in Sanaa from January 2023 to December 2025.
These include arbitrary arrests, prolonged detention without legal justification, threats of murder and assault, preventing them from practicing law, and restrictions on the right to defense in cases of a political or human rights nature.
The report stated that there were 159 Houthi violations against lawyers in 2025, 88 in 2024 and 135 in 2023, which was described as a “systematic pattern.”
Local and international human rights organizations have called for urgent intervention to protect the legal practitioners in Yemen.
“Human rights activists believe that protecting lawyers is a prerequisite for maintaining any future reform or political path because the absence of an independent defense means the absence of justice itself,” Asharq Al-Awsat reported.
