Lebanon

The United States said on Friday it was imposing sanctions on Lebanon and Kuwait-based financial conduits that fund the Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah as well as financial facilitators and front companies that support the group and Iran. Among individuals designated and sanctioned, the US Treasury said the measures apply to …

Lebanon’s finance minister Youssef Khalil on Friday signed a new contract with restructuring consultancy Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) to carry out a forensic audit at the country’s central bank, the ministry said in a statement. A&M will give an initial report to the ministry within 12 weeks of its team …

The lead judge investigating last year’s massive port blast in Beirut issued an arrest warrant on Thursday for former public works minister Youssef Finianos after he failed to appear for questioning, the state-run National News Agency reported. The massive August 2020 explosion was caused by hundreds of tons of ammonium …

The Lebanese government will resume negotiations with the International Monetary Fund while beginning reforms demanded by donors, according to a draft policy programme that aims to tackle one of the worst financial meltdowns in history. New Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s government will also resume negotiations with creditors over a restructuring …

Despite the threat of possible US sanctions, Hezbollah has arranged up to 80 oil tankers carrying Iranian diesel fuel to arrive in Lebanon via Syria on Thursday. The tankers are destined for Baalbek, about 67 kilometers northeast of Beirut, where the fuel will be discharged into tankers owned by the …

Lebanon will sign a new contract for a forensic audit of the central bank with Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) within days, the outgoing finance minister Ghazi Wazni said on Tuesday, signalling a renewed push to deliver on a key donor demand. Wazni spoke at a ceremony handing control of the …

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Lebanon’s armed Shi’ite movement Hezbollah, said on Monday that a first ship carrying Iranian fuel oil to help Lebanon through its financial crisis had docked in Syria on Sunday. Nasrallah had announced last month that he had organised purchases of fuel from Iran, Hezbollah’s main …

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon said on Monday it has secured enough funding to hear the appeal of its main case, centering on the 2005 assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which will start Oct. 4. Three months ago the United Nations-backed international tribunal, located near The Hague, had said …

Lebanon’s new Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who took office last week promising to revive IMF talks to unlock aid, said on Monday there was no time to lose and no easy path to tackle one of history’s worst economic meltdowns. The new government, formed after more than a year of …

Not two days had passed since taking the helm of Lebanon’s information ministry, and seasoned television presenter George Kordahi slapped an informal gagging order on media in the country, asking them not to host analysts critical of the new government.  “Some of the geniuses and analysts who appeared in the …

A Lebanese investigative journalist has been attacked while covering a story involving the country’s Internal Security Forces (ISF). Riad Kobeissi’s car windscreen was smashed as he reported on traffic chaos outside a gas station in the coastal town of Jiyeh, south of Beirut. The incident took place on Wednesday despite …

Lebanese President Michel Aoun announced the formation of a government on Friday afternoon, ending 13 months of caretaker governance. The agreement over a Cabinet line-up headed by telecoms billionaire Najib Mikati as prime minister, came after weeks of wrangling over the distribution of government ministries between Lebanon’s various political parties. …

Shahid VIP will air the Arab World’s first Arabic language sci-fi drama series on Sept. 12 as the film and media industry in the Arab World looks to broaden its scope. Entitled ‘Hell’s Gate’, the sci-fi production features a stellar cast from the Middle East and beyond. Set in Beirut …

It will take no longer than four weeks to develop a clear roadmap to restart exports of natural gas from Egypt to Lebanon, Jordanian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Hala Zawati said following a meeting with his counterparts from Syria, Egypt and Lebanon. The readiness of the physical infrastructure …

Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum Tarek El Molla voiced hope that the country can soon export gas to Jordan to help supply Lebanon with electricity, saying Egypt will allocate all capabilities to help end the Lebanese energy crisis and work to quickly send natural gas to Lebanon. Molla’s remarks were made …

Lebanese caretaker energy minister said on Wednesday his country was working with the World Bank to secure financing for a scheme to import Egyptian gas to Jordan that will generate power to supply Lebanon. “We are working with the World Bank to cover the correct financial cover,” Raymond Ghajar told …

The Lebanese flag was set at half-mast on Tuesday to mourn the death of Sheikh Abdul Amir Qabalan, the head of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council, at the age of 85. The council is the official reference of the Shiite sect in Lebanon as Qabalan had been at the helm …

The deportation of senior Reuters correspondent Suleiman al-Khalidi from Lebanon has been criticized by journalists in the Arab world. Al-Khalidi, a Jordanian national, flew to Beirut in early August on a reporting assignment but was stopped by authorities at passport control who took him aside for questioning and asked him …

Lawyers of six Syrian refugees arrested in Lebanon said on Sunday that the country’s security services have given them a 24-hour ultimatum — either leave Lebanon to a third country or be deported to Syria, the war-ravaged country they fled. Lawyer Mohammed Sablouh said the move is highly unusual, is …

Jordan will host a meeting of Egypt, Syria and Lebanon’s energy ministers on Wednesday to discuss transportation of Egyptian gas to Lebanon for electricity generation, said state-owned broadcaster Mamlaka. The United States has been in talks with Egypt and Jordan over a plan to ease Lebanon’s power crisis which involves …

A delegation from Lebanon’s caretaker government will visit Syria on Saturday in the highest level visit in years, aiming to pave the way for a U.S.-backed plan to ease a power crisis in Lebanon by transmitting electricity via the Syrian grid. Lebanese government officials have mostly avoided Syria since war …

Lebanon deported a Reuters correspondent after questioning him on arrival at Beirut airport at the start of a reporting assignment last month, detaining him overnight before putting him on a flight to Jordan. Suleiman al-Khalidi, a Jordanian national, flew to Beirut on Aug. 2 but was stopped by officials at …

The first Iranian fuel oil cargo secured through Lebanon’s armed group Hezbollah will be delivered via Syria by truck to avoid complications related to sanctions, two sources with knowledge of the mater said on Thursday. Hezbollah, a heavily armed group founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982, announced last month that a shipment of Iranian fuel oil was on its way …

A US congressional delegation led by Sen. Chris Murphy met with Michel Aoun on Wednesday and had some harsh words for Lebanon’s president before departing the shattered country under the impression a new government would be formed by the end of the week. “Hezbollah is a terrorist organization, it is …

The Lebanese government has received no request for fuel to be imported from Iran, the caretaker energy minister said on Wednesday, appearing to confirm that the Shi’ite group Hezbollah has bypassed the state with a move to import Iranian fuel. Hezbollah, a heavily armed group founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards …

Lebanon is in free fall and must not become a “horror story”, a U.S. senator said during a visit to Beirut on Wednesday, voicing hope that a government would be formed this week to start addressing its destabilising financial meltdown. The comment reflected growing concern https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/eu-worried-lebanons-fast-deterioration-says-time-has-run-out-2021-08-26 about the situation in …

Lebanon’s parliament speaker Nabih Berri urged the country’s top politicians on Tuesday to form a government no later than this week. In a televised speech, Berri urged politicians to put aside their differences in order to save the country from economic collapse. Lebanon, which is suffering a deep economic crisis, …

Immigration from Lebanon is entering a state of “exodus” as the many crises hitting the small Mediterranean country remain unresolved, according to the Crisis Observatory, an interdisciplinary research program launched by the American University of Beirut. The continuing immigration of thousands of Lebanese is reaching a tipping point, the research …

The economic crisis in Lebanon is prompting a remarkable number of Syrian workers residing in the country to return to Syria. The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon has decreased to 851,717, according to the UN High Commission for Refugees’ latest census, though the Lebanese government stopped allowing the UNHCR …

A dispute over scarce fuel supplies ignited sectarian tensions between neighbouring Shi’ite Muslim and Christian villages in southern Lebanon over the weekend, forcing the army to intervene, a security source said. Clashes mostly centred on the crippling gasoline and diesel shortages have become a daily occurrence in Lebanon, prompting growing …

The Lebanese parliament on Friday told the judge who is investigating last year’s Beirut port explosion that he had exceeded his powers by issuing a subpoena for caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab after he failed to show up for questioning. Judge Tarek Bitar, leading the inquiry into the huge explosion, …

Lebanon’s energy ministry said it had picked Dubai’s ENOC in a tender to swap 84,000 tonnes of Iraqi high sulphur fuel oil with 30,000 tonnes of Grade B fuel oil and 33,000 tonnes of gasoil. ENOC won the tender, part of a deal between the two countries that allows the …

The Lebanese army has deployed troops to an area of the north where two men have been killed this week in violence between rival clans that spiralled out of a dispute over logging, a security source said on Thursday. Heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades were used during fighting in …

The judge leading the investigation into last summer’s Beirut port blast issued a subpoena for caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Thursday after he failed to show up for questioning, Lebanon’s state news agency reported. Judge Tarek Bitar, who is leading the inquiry into the explosion, issued requests in July …

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern on Thursday about the deteriorating socio-economic situation in Lebanon and called on all “political leaders to urgently form an effective government of national unity,” his spokesman said. This is needed to “bring immediate relief, justice and accountability … and drive an ambitious and …

More than 12 months since Lebanon’s cabinet resigned and with the country teetering on the brink of collapse, politicians look unlikely to form a much-needed government any time soon, sources warn. Despite one of the world’s largest-ever non-nuclear explosions killing more than 200 people, soaring hyperinflation, food insecurity and crippling …

The United States is offering a reward up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest of ‘a key leader’ in the Lebanese Hezbollah group for smuggling large amounts of money to the Houthi militia in Yemen. The multimillion-dollar reward is eligible for anyone who will provide information on …

Lebanese fuel prices are expected to double after the state on Saturday decided to change the course used to price oil products in an attempt to alleviate the devastating shortage that has brought Lebanon to a standstill. As a partial reduction in fuel subsidies, the increase will mean more hardship …

More than 4 million people in Lebanon could face a critical shortage of water or be cut off completely in the coming days, UNICEF warned, due to a severe fuel crisis. Lebanon, with a population of 6 million, is at a low point in a two-year financial meltdown, with a …

Lebanon has filed an urgent complaint with the UN Security Council over Israel’s violations of its airspace. It said the flyovers “violated Lebanese sovereignty, endangered the safety of civil aviation and directly threatened the lives of civilian passengers, both Lebanese and foreigners.” The acting minister of foreign affairs in the …

The Lebanese presidency said on Thursday that the United States has decided to assist Lebanon with electricity provision as the country struggles with crippling fuel shortages. It said the U.S. ambassador informed President Michel Aoun of the decision through a phone call on Thursday. There was no immediate comment from …

A shipment of Iranian fuel oil for Lebanon will set sail on Thursday (Aug 19) organised by the Lebanese Shi’ite group Hizbollah, the group said, cautioning its US and Israeli foes against any moves to halt the consignment that it said aimed to ease an acute fuel crisis. Hizbollah’s opponents …

Australian-Lebanese model and entrepreneur Jessica Kahawaty has set up an online fundraiser with the help of her family to support struggling Lebanese amid the country’s growing shortage of fuel, medical supplies and food. The 32-year-old assured her 1 million Instagram followers that “every single dollar will be accounted for, and a …

 Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh maintained his innocence amid allegations of corruption, saying in a radio interview on Saturday that his conscience was clear. Salameh is under investigation in Switzerland on charges related to embezzlement, and probes are under way or being planned in several other European countries. Last …