By Bassam Mroue -- BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese government invited on Monday a U.S. envoy mediating between Lebanon and Israel over their disputed maritime border to return to Beirut as soon as possible to work out an agreement amid rising tensions along the border. The invitation for Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser for energy security at the U.S. State Department, came a day after Israel set up a gas rig at its designated location at the Karish field, which Israel says is part of its U.N.-recognized exclusive economic zone. Lebanon insists it is in a disputed area. The U.S.-mediated indirect talks between Lebanon and Israel have been stalled for months amid disagreement within Lebanon over how big the disputed area is.

Lebanon is home to the heavily armed militant Hezbollah group, which is backed by Iran and has fought several wars with Israel. Hezbollah has also warned it would use its weapons to protect Lebanon’s economic rights. On Sunday, Lebanon warned Israel not to start drilling in the Karish field and President Michel Aoun said maritime border negotiations have not ended, adding that any move by Israel will be considered “a provocation and hostile act.” Aoun’s office said Lebanon formally notified the United Nations in February that Karish is part of the disputed area and that the U.N. Security Council should prevent Israel from drilling there in order “to avoid steps that could form a threat to international peace and security.”

by aljazeera.com -- Lebanon has warned Israel against any “aggressive action” in disputed waters where both states hope to develop offshore energy, after a ship arrived off the coast to produce gas for Israel. President Michel Aoun said any activity in the disputed area would amount to an act of aggression and a provocation, after the arrival of the natural gas storage and production ship operated by London-based Energean.

Israel says the field in question is within its exclusive economic zone, not in disputed waters. But in a statement on Sunday, the Lebanese presidency said Aoun discussed with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati the vessel’s entry “into the disputed maritime area with Israel, and asked the Army Command to provide him with accurate and official data to build upon the matter”. Aoun said negotiations to delineate the southern maritime border continued and “any action or activity in the disputed area represents a provocation and an aggressive action”.

by imlebanon.org

أقيم في الباحة الخارجية لدير الصليب – جل الديب – بقنايا، قداس احتفالي مهيب جرى خلاله الإعلان عن تطويب المكرمين الشهيدين الأبوين ليونار عويس ملكي وتوما صالح الكبوشيين من بلدة بعبدات المتنية، بحضور رئيس الجمهورية ممثلا بوزير السياحة في حكومة تصريف الاعمال وليد نصار، رئيس مجلس النواب نبيه بري ممثلا بالنائب هاغوب بقرادونيان ، رئيس حكومة تصريف الاعمال نجيب ميقاتي ممثلا بوزير الشباب والرياضة في حكومة تصريف الاعمال جورج كلاس.

واحتفل بالذبيحة الإلهية ممثل البابا فرنسيس رئيس مجمع دعاوى القديسين الكاردينال مارتشيلو سيميرارو، بمشاركة السفير البابوي المونسنيور جوزف سبيتيري، الرئيس العام للرهبنة الكبوشية في العالم روبرتو جنوين، النائب الرسولي لطائفة اللاتين المطران سيزار اسايان، الأمين العام لمجمع الأساقفة الكاردينال ماريو غريك، وبحضور البطريرك الماروني الكاردينال مار بشارة بطرس الراعي، بطريرك السريان الكاثوليك مار أغناطيوس يوسف الثالث يونان، وممثلين عن رؤساء الطوائف المسيحية، ولفيف من المطارنة والرؤساء العامين والرئيسات العامات للرهبانيات والكهنة والرهبان والراهبات، وحشد من المؤمنين من مختلف المناطق اللبنانية. وخدمت القداس جوقة سيدة اللويزة بقيادة الأب خليل رحمة.

وارتفعت في باحة دير الصليب وعلى الطرقات المؤدية إليه صور المكرمين والأعلام البابوية واللبنانية واللافتات التي حملت عبارات التهنئة والإيمان.

By Chloe Rabinowitz -- broadwayworld.com -- Tricycle Logic, a Los Angeles-based film production and distribution company, has announced the theatrical release of the critically acclaimed and award-winning film "1982" which is scheduled to open in theaters beginning Friday, June 10th in New York at THE QUAD Cinema (34 West 13th Street), and on June 24th in Los Angeles (at Laemmle Royal and other locations), with a national rollout to follow throughout the summer.

"1982" is a life-affirming coming-of-age tale set at an idyllic school in Lebanon's mountains on the eve of a looming invasion. It unfolds over a single day and follows an 11-year-old boy's relentless quest to profess his love to a girl in his class. As the invasion encroaches on Beirut, it upends the day, threatening the entire country and its cohesion. Within the microcosm of the school, the film draws a harrowing portrait of a society torn between its desire for love and peace and the ideological schisms unraveling its seams. In his debut feature, director Oualid Mouaness delivers an ode to innocence in which he revisits one of the most cataclysmic moments in Lebanon's history through the lens of a child and his vibrant imagination. The film demonstrates the complexities of love and war, and the resilience of the human spirit.