Lebanon

A Lebanese man accused of financing Hezbollah was freed from jail in the United States last month as a result of indirect contacts between Tehran and Washington that are expected to yield more releases, three senior Middle East officials said. Kassim Tajideen was released on June 11, according to the …

Lebanon’s top Christian cleric stepped up criticism of the Iran-backed Shi’ite group Hezbollah and its allies without naming them on Sunday, saying Lebanese rejected being isolated from their allies and driven into decline. Lebanon is suffering a financial meltdown which marks the biggest threat to its stability since the 1975-90 …

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab is suing the American University of Beirut (AUB), where he worked for 35 years as an academic, a spokesman for Diab said, in a dispute over his exit package from the financially struggling institution. AUB, which has been hit hard by Lebanon’s economic meltdown, declined …

One Lebanese woman asked for sugar, milk and soap in exchange for a child’s dress. Another wanted canned goods in return for gym equipment. A 65-year-old seamstress now exchanges her sewing services for food, because her clients can no longer afford to pay her. Bartering on Facebook has become the …

The powerful Hezbollah group said on Tuesday it is in talks with the Lebanese government about the possibility of Iran supplying the country with refined oil products in exchange for Lebanese pounds. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Iran-backed Hezbollah, said a “calm discussion” was underway with the Beirut government …

Lebanon on Sunday hosted its annual famous music festival in the ancient northeastern city of Baalbek without an audience. The unprecedented move was dubbed by the organisers as “an act of cultural resilience” to the global coronavirus pandemic as well as the country’s unprecedented economic crisis. By Arthur Blok Held …

The Lebanese central bank will provide foreign currency at a fixed exchange rate of 3,900 Lebanese pounds per dollar for importers and manufacturers of essential food items, it said on Monday. The central bank “will secure the necessary amounts in foreign currency to meet the needs of importers and manufacturers …

Lebanon’s Christian authorities slammed politicians on Sunday for failing to remedy an economic meltdown that has left many poor, piling pressure on the country’s leaders as it spirals deeper into crisis. In a sermon, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, the top Christian cleric, accused politicians of thinking only of their …

Over a hundred protesters gathered outside the embassy of the United States in Lebanon’s Awkar on Saturday demanding the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559. Army and security forces deployed heavily in the area and blocked the road leading to the embassy with barbed wire, said the Lebanese …

A Turkish jet executive on trial over Carlos Ghosn’s dramatic escape from Japan told a court on Friday that the former Nissan (7201.T) boss spoke about Hollywood making a movie of his getaway as he flew in a private jet to Beirut. Ghosn, once a leading light of the global …

Dozens of people lay flowers on a main Beirut street where a man killed himself on Friday, with some blaming his death on the country’s economic collapse that has left more and more Lebanese hungry. Reuters could not establish the motive for the apparent suicide. The 61-year-old man shot himself …

As accelerating poverty fuels anger, despair and fear of a social explosion, efforts by Lebanon’s ruling elite to salvage the country from a financial meltdown with IMF help seem to be going in reverse. A country known across the Middle East for its glamorous lifestyle and commercial savoir faire now …

Lebanese security forces are investigating an explosion 11 days ago that took place near the convoy of former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, Hariri’s office said on Sunday. Hariri’s office said the incident, in which nobody was hurt, took place during a tour of the eastern Beqaa valley and was not …

By : Siba El-Samra   The shortage of public spaces, as well as walking and biking infrastructure in Lebanon, is not a new problem. During a pandemic, this shortage becomes time-critical and even more life-threatening, especially in dense Beirut. As cities around the world look to find ways to live with …

Stable security is essential for political, economic and financial stability, while confronting attempts to incite strife is the collective responsibility of all the country’s political parties, top leaders said in a statement Thursday after attending “national talks” at Baabda Palace boycotted by key opposition figures. President Michel Aoun chaired a …

Protesters took to the streets across Lebanon on Thursday as reports said the dollar was selling at at historic rate of LBP 7,000 on the black market. The protesters blocked most of the country’s roads in scenes reminiscent of the October 17 uprising. In central Beirut, protesters rallied outside the …

Lebanon: whenever you hear this word, it is usually in some American film, most probably linked to a terrorist group, a war, or something similar. Not the land of Cedars – which are almost gone anyways – not the bridge between east and west, not the land of the best …

The ongoing political and economic crisis in Lebanon is no longer news. The country is in a crisis that had been cooking since 1990, and finally came to its boiling point in recent months with new agents of corruption joining in 2005 under the motto of – ironically – “fighting …

Lebanon is at risk of a major food crisis and many Lebanese may soon find it hard to afford bread because of an acute financial crunch and the fall-out of COVID-19, the prime minister warned. Writing in the Washington Post, Hassan Diab also warned of a global food security emergency …

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Wednesday that Israel is now concentrating its attacks in Syria on missile-manufacturing sites. Israel has conducted many raids inside Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011. It sees the presence of Hezbollah and its ally Iran there as a strategic …

Having a pet during lockdown can be a source of comfort for many people. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic many animal shelters around the world have seen an overall spike in adoptions or fostering of pets. In Lebanon, that trend has been reflected too. However, the country’s harsh …

At least a dozen Lebanese banks across the country were torched and vandalized during the third consecutive night of angry protests fueled by frustration over the national currency’s unfettered depreciation. While the country is on fire, wealthy Lebanese try to escape on their private jets. By Alberto de Luca Banks …

Germany has banned all Iran-backed Hezbollah activity on its soil and designated it a terrorist organisation, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday. Police also conducted early morning raids on mosque associations in four cities across Germany. Security officials believe up to 1,050 people in Germany are part of Hezbollah’s extremist …

People all around the globe are currently directly, or indirectly, affected by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The Levant News publishes voices from a wide variety of people with different backgrounds. After stories from the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and Italy today George Labaki writes from the mountains of Lebanon. As a …

While the infamous “curves” of the coronavirus infected are flattening, one by one the world governments are starting to get ready to move into phase 2 of the Covid-19 crisis. The plan is to progressively relax the lockdowns allowing the return of much needed economical activities, as well as allowing …

Anti-government protesters on Thursday blocked the vital Dbaye and Jiye highways and the road outside the central bank in Hamra and started gathering in Tripoli’s al-Nour Square, as Lebanon’s currency continued its downward spiral against the dollar and reached a new low. “Down with the Rule of the Bank”, chanted …

The Global Compact Network of Lebanon (GCNL) launched a new campaign “الليرة بتشبع” in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP) Wednesday to support a two-month crowd-funding campaign. The campaign led by the private sector in Lebanon is in support of the National Poverty Targeting Program (NPTP). The NPTP is …

The Lebanese parliament legalized cannabis farming for medicinal use on Tuesday. Cannabis is a potentially lucrative export for an economy in dire need of foreign currency as it grapples with a paralyzing financial crisis. Although growing the plant is illegal in Lebanon, cannabis has long been farmed openly in the …

Lebanese police have seized about 25 tonnes of hashish. The drugs were set to be smuggled to an African state. According to Lebanese security forces it is the country’s biggest drug bust in recent history. The hashish was hidden in eight trucks which were stopped last month on their way …

Now that Hezbollah realizes its efforts to hide virus cases won’t work anymore, Washington should urge Beirut to put LAF medical and border-control personnel to work without resorting to a full state of emergency. By Hanin Ghaddar Hezbollah has been under serious scrutiny by the Lebanese people in the past …

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri threatened on Saturday to suspend his support for Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s government if it did not act to bring home expatriates stranded abroad during the coronavirus pandemic. Berri is one of Lebanon’s most powerful figures and named the finance minister and others in a …

Hezbollah does not oppose foreign aid to Lebanon, even from the International Monetary Fund, as long as the help does not impose conditions that harm the national interest, its leader said on Friday. In a televised speech, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said his Shi’ite movement, which backs the government, refused conditions …

Lebanon is waiting for bondholders to decide whether they will cooperate in a debt restructuring or take the country to court after its move to suspend a $1.2 billion bond repayment due on Monday, the economy minister told Reuters. With Lebanon facing its first ever sovereign default, its dollar bonds …

A set of Lebanon’s bond holders are to step up efforts to form a creditor group in the coming days after the country’s presidency signaled on Saturday it would default, one of the members of the group said. The move from Lebanon will come just two days before a $1.2 …

Lebanon’s top leadership opposes repaying the country’s sovereign debt, the presidency said on Saturday, indicating the the heavily indebted state is heading towards a default as it grapples with a major financial crisis. A default on Lebanon’s foreign currency debt will mark a new phase in the crisis that has …

Lebanon’s state prosecutor suspended an order on Thursday to freeze the assets of 20 local banks, warning it would plunge the country and its financial sector into chaos, according to a copy of the decision seen by Reuters. Local lenders are at the heart of a financial crisis crippling Lebanon …

The U.S. government said on Wednesday it had charged a Defense Department linguist with transmitting classified intelligence to a foreign national linked to the Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah, saying she revealed the names of key American assets. Mariam Taha Thompson, 61, formerly of Rochester, Minnesota, was arrested by FBI agents …

Hezbollah believes that terms required by any IMF bailout package for Lebanon would spark “a popular revolution”, a senior official said on Tuesday, rejecting such a step and calling instead for a “national solution” to a deep economic crisis. Lebanon is in the throes of an unprecedented economic crisis, the …

Lebanon’s search for offshore oil and gas will begin on Thursday, President Michel Aoun said, as the country grapples with an unprecedented financial crisis. The results from the first exploratory well are expected in the next two months, the chairman of the Lebanese Petroleum Administration (LPA) said earlier on Wednesday. …

Lebanon will invite eight firms to bid to be its financial adviser as it studies all options on its sovereign debt, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, as the heavily indebted state battles a financial crisis. The invitation for bids does not mean the country has decided …

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab, who is getting the cold shoulder from Gulf Arab states, on Monday met Iran’s parliament speaker, the first senior foreign official to visit since Diab’s government took office. Gulf states had long channeled funds to Beirut but have grown alarmed by the rising clout of …

Security forces fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters in Beirut on Tuesday as the Lebanese parliament convened to hold a vote of confidence on the new government led by Prime Minister Hassan Diab. MPs are set to vote on the government’s policy statement which says “painful steps” are …

Lawyers for Carlos Ghosn, the fugitive former automotive executive, on Monday argued in a Dutch court for the release of internal documents relating to his dismissal by Nissan Motor (7201.T) and Mitsubishi Motors (7211.T). Ghosn, former chairman of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance who was arrested in Japan in 2018 but fled …

Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called for a session to be held next week, on Tuesday and Wednesday, to vote on the new government and its policy statement. The cabinet on Thursday approved a plan to tackle the country’s severe economic and financial crisis, which it must now present to …