Lebanon’s main Mediterranean port and a linchpin of trade
A drone carrying an explosive device found near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig-Halle Airport has been defused after investigators removed its detonator. Flights were suspended and several aircraft diverted as Germany’s security services treat the incident as a new hybrid threat linked to foreign powers. Investigations are underway to determine the culprits and potential links to a broader network.
Forty-seven antiquities seized at Beirut port in 2020 have been identified as Egyptian; Lebanon has handed the artefacts to Egypt after investigations with INTERPOL and Lebanese authorities. Five items were displayed at the handover ceremony, underscoring cooperation to combat illicit trafficking in cultural property.
The European Union has established the European Union Support Mission in Lebanon (EUSM Lebanon) to train and advise the Lebanese Armed Forces and Internal Security Forces as UNIFIL winds down. The mission will run for an initial three years, with two components—military and civilian—focused on border security, maritime operations, cybercrime, anti-smuggling and sovereignty, while not replacing UN peacekeepers.
Lebanon, Qatar, Turkiye and other partners are expanding ports, defense links, and trade councils, with the aim of diversifying logistics and defense networks across the Middle East and Central Asia. The stories describe IMEC port integration plans for Lebanon and the Badr defense framework linking Qatar, Turkiye, Pakistan and Indonesia, plus a Kyrgyz-Qatar chamber collaboration.