Representatives from Israel and Lebanon are expected to meet for a round of talks in the coming days amid the intensified fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz reported Saturday.
The newspaper cited a source familiar with the matter as saying that former Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, who was asked to handle the "Lebanon file" by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will meet with the Lebanese representatives for direct negotiations.
The source added that the United States is also involved in the process, led on its behalf by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Another source told the newspaper that the talks between Israel and Lebanon could take place in Cyprus or Paris.
According to another Lebanese official source on Saturday, the Lebanese president, prime minister, and speaker of Parliament are discussing forming a negotiating delegation, likely composed of ambassadorial-level officials, for the potential talks.
Cyprus is being considered as a potential meeting location, but Lebanon is open to holding talks in the capital of any European country, according to the source.
Israeli, Lebanese representatives expected to meet for talks in coming days: media
China has allocated a second batch of ultra-long special treasury bond funds to support equipment upgrades, as authorities step up efforts to boost investment, the National Development and Reform Commission said on Thursday.
The commission said 91.5 billion yuan, or about 13.4 billion U.S. dollars, has been earmarked for more than 6,700 projects across 16 sectors.
The projects span industrial and energy systems, transport and logistics, public services such as healthcare, education and tourism, as well as environmental and recycling initiatives, and are expected to drive total investment of over 380 billion yuan, or roughly 56 billion U.S. dollars.
The funding will also support the replacement of aging trucks, electric city buses and outdated agricultural machinery. Including earlier allocations, the total funding under the program has reached 185.1 billion yuan this year (over 27 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for 92 percent of the annual quota.
Driven by the policy, investment in equipment and tools rose 13.9 percent year on year in the first quarter, accelerating by 2.4 percentage points from the January-February period and contributing 2.3 percentage points to overall investment growth.
The commission said it will work with relevant departments to strengthen oversight, improve full-cycle fund management, and accelerate project implementation and fund disbursement, to ensure fund efficiency.
China allocates 2nd batch of special bond funds for equipment upgrades
