Source: Bloomberg
Security & Justice
Israel Launches Airstrikes Across Lebanon Following Cross-Border Rocket Fire
Israel launched a series of airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon on Saturday, following rocket fire from Lebanese territory that struck the northern Israeli town of Metula.
Saturday, March 22, 2025
Lebanese Army: Three Rocket Launchers Found and Dismantled in Southern Lebanon
The Lebanese Army announced that it had located and dismantled three makeshift rocket launchers used in an attack on the Israeli town of Metula earlier on Saturday.
Saturday, March 22, 2025
Opinion
Hezbollah Reneging on Surrendering Its Arms
Hezbollah and its allies – Speaker Nabih Berri, former Minister Najib Mikati, and Hezbollah ministers in the previous cabinet – all signed the ceasefire agreement with Israel that ended the war and that stipulated that arms in Lebanon must be exclusively in the hands of six government military and security agencies. When this happens, according to the deal, Israel withdraws from Lebanese territories. Now Hezbollah is reneging on its ceasefire promise, moving the goalposts, and reversing the order by saying that Israeli withdrawal comes first, then it might consider disarming.
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Hezbollah Stands to Lose from Lebanon’s Reconstruction Nightmare
There has been much talk lately of reconstruction in Arab territories and countries destroyed in recent conflicts – above all Gaza, Syria and Lebanon. Yet the amounts involved are so potentially enormous, that we must seriously consider that reconstruction may not happen. Such an outcome will have myriad political repercussions.
Monday, March 17, 2025
Sports
First Place on the Line in Madrid Derby as Real and Atletico Squabble Over Refereeing
Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid meet in their second derby of the season with the Liga lead on the line and the focus on refereeing. Real Madrid has spent the days ahead of Saturday’s match complaining of mistakes against the club.
Thursday, February 6, 2025
Zhou Guanyu Joins Ferrari as a Reserve Driver for 2025 F1 Season
The first Chinese driver in Formula 1, Zhou Guanyu, is heading back to Ferrari as one of its reserve drivers for the 2025 season.
Wednesday, February 5, 2025
Friday 7 March 2025 14:20:17
Trump Says Shipping Line CMA CGM to Invest $20 Billion in US
President Donald Trump said French shipping giant CMA CGM SA will invest $20 billion in the United States to develop maritime infrastructure, logistics and terminals.
An estimated 10,000 new jobs would be created by the projects, Trump said at an event at the White House alongside CMA CGM Chief Executive Rodolphe Saadé. The investments would be made over four years, the container line said in a subsequent statement.
“It’s so important because it’s about shipping,” Trump said. “You know, we lost our way for many years. We haven’t done anything. We used to build a ship a day.”
The president added that he plans to announce a new government program for shipbuilding next week. In his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, Trump said he would “create a new office of shipbuilding in the White House and offer special tax incentives to bring this industry home to America.”
Saadé’s trip to Washington came as the family controlled CMA CGM seeks to lessen its vulnerability to Trump’s trade and maritime policies. The company founded by his father plays a major role transporting goods across the oceans and also has a longterm partnership with Chinese shipping companies. CMA CGM, China’s Cosco, Taiwan’s Evergreen and Hong Kong-based OOCL last year extended their capacity-sharing agreement called the Ocean Alliance to 2032.
“We are very enthusiastic about this big announcement of today,” said Saadé, standing at the event with Trump and a map of the southern US showing the “Gulf of America.” The company was also examining investing in building container vessels and could make an additional announcement in the coming weeks, the CEO said.
Trump has hosted leaders from a number of companies – including Apple Inc., SoftBank Group Corp. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. – promising multi-billion dollar investments in the US.
In its statement, CMA CGM said the money would be spent to increase its US-flagged American President Lines fleet to 30 vessels from 10, and to develop US port infrastructure including in New York, Los Angeles, Dutch Harbor, Houston and Miami. It also plans to develop warehousing, open a logistics center in Boston and establish an air cargo hub in Chicago.
Saadé has in recent years taken a significant portion of his quick-paced expansion spree to the US, acquiring major container terminals in the Port of Los Angeles as well as New York and New Jersey.
The billionaire was reported to have attended an event in Washington around Trump’s inauguration, joining another French tycoon, Bernard Arnault, who founded luxury giant LVMH, which could also be vulnerable to US trade policies and tariffs.
Trump announced the CMA CGM initiative before signing an order that partially rolls back tariffs he imposed on Canada and Mexico earlier this week. While the White House has said they want to use the import taxes to force companies to return to the US, the move has roiled markets.