• Lebanese protesters on a motorboat sail in front of an Israeli navy vessel during a demonstration on September 4. AP Photo
    Lebanese protesters on a motorboat sail in front of an Israeli navy vessel during a demonstration on September 4. AP Photo
  • They are asserting Lebanon's right to its maritime oil and gas fields. AP Photo
    They are asserting Lebanon's right to its maritime oil and gas fields. AP Photo
  • The banner on the Lebanese protesters' yacht reads: 'No compromises. No waivers. No negligence. Our maritime resources belong to us.' AP Photo
    The banner on the Lebanese protesters' yacht reads: 'No compromises. No waivers. No negligence. Our maritime resources belong to us.' AP Photo
  • The maritime border dispute flared up in early June after Israel moved a production vessel to the Karish offshore field. AFP
    The maritime border dispute flared up in early June after Israel moved a production vessel to the Karish offshore field. AFP
  • Lebanese soldiers patrol near an Israeli navy vessel during the demonstration. AP Photo
    Lebanese soldiers patrol near an Israeli navy vessel during the demonstration. AP Photo
  • Protesters with slogans on their boats asserting Lebanon's right to its offshore gas wealth. AFP
    Protesters with slogans on their boats asserting Lebanon's right to its offshore gas wealth. AFP
  • The flotilla off the Lebanese town of Naqoura. AP Photo
    The flotilla off the Lebanese town of Naqoura. AP Photo
  • The protest boats approach a buoy marking the sea border between Israel and Lebanon. AFP
    The protest boats approach a buoy marking the sea border between Israel and Lebanon. AFP

Lebanese protesters sail towards Israeli waters to highlight gas field dispute


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Lebanese boats protesting against Israeli plans to drill for gas in a disputed area of sea were met by patrol vessels from Israel as they neared its waters on Sunday.

Patrol boats from Lebanon were also seen in the area, AP reported.

The protest comes before a new round of talks between Lebanese and Israeli delegations, mediated by the UN and, recently, the US.

In June, the Israeli navy escorted a drilling rig operated by British company Energean to the Karish gas field, which is claimed by both countries and lies in an area of 860 square kilometres of disputed sea.

Maritime boundary dispute

Lebanon says its maritime border stretches further south than Israel’s claimed area of territorial waters. Israel says its maritime border lies further north of what Lebanon accepts.

The US has released several optimistic statements hoping that the two countries can strike a compromise on the disputed energy resources.

“We welcome the consultative and open spirit of the parties to reach a final decision with the potential to yield greater stability, security and prosperity for Lebanon as well as Israel,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price said in August.

But Lebanese politicians have said the Israeli actions represent a violation of the country’s sovereignty.

Militant group Hezbollah has gone further, launching unarmed drones towards the drilling rig in July, a move condemned by prime minister-designate Najib Mikati, who called Hezbollah’s actions “unacceptable” and said the group had exposed the country to “unnecessary risks”.

Lebanon hopes to exploit offshore gas reserves as it grapples with the worst economic crisis in its modern history.

Sunday's flotilla carried Lebanese flags and banners, with slogans in Arabic, French, and Hebrew expressing what they say is Lebanon’s right to its maritime oil and gas fields.

“We are demanding our right to every inch of our waters,” Aya Saleh, one of the protesters on a fishing boat, told AP. “And we are sending a message from the Lebanese people.”

Lebanese and Israel navy vessels were present, although there were no tensions.

Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser for energy security at the US State Department, has shuttled between Beirut and Jerusalem to mediate the talks. He was last in Beirut in late July, when he informed Lebanese officials of Israel's response to a proposal Lebanon made in June, and signalled optimism after his trip.

According to Lebanese President Michel Aoun’s office, Mr Hochstein notified adviser and deputy parliament speaker Elias Bou Saab that he will visit Beirut later this week.

Lebanese media have speculated that both countries could soon reach an agreement.

However, tensions between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel have remained in recent months amid the border talks.

How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars

Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.

Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.

After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.

Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.

It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.

 

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal

Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.

School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.

“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.  

“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”

Company profile

Company: Rent Your Wardrobe 

Date started: May 2021 

Founder: Mamta Arora 

Based: Dubai 

Sector: Clothes rental subscription 

Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded 

Updated: September 04, 2022, 6:01 PM