Lebanon

Lebanese Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh announced on Friday that he will be taking legal action against Bloomberg after it published an article claiming that the US is considering sanctioning him, a move the US State Department denies. “We have seen reports about possible sanctions of Riad Salameh. They are …

Washington denied on Friday that it was considering imposing sanctions on Lebanon’s veteran central bank governor Riad Salameh, whose role in the country’s financial turmoil has come under fresh scrutiny. “We have seen reports about possible sanctions on Riad Salameh. They are untrue,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Reuters. …

Protesters blocked some roadways in Lebanon for a second day on Wednesday after the currency’s fall to a new low further enraged a population long horrified by the country’s financial meltdown. In the past year, Lebanon has been through a popular uprising against its political leaders, the bankruptcy of the …

Gunfire broke out in south Beirut on Tuesday night when Hezbollah fought off an apparent attempt by Lebanese security forces to arrest the man convicted of assassinating former prime minister Rafik Hariri. The Levant News newsdesk Information circulating on social media said officers tried to raid a house thought to …

Darth Vader, Bruce Lee and Elie Ferzli – only a couple of the many of crossover meme’s Lebanese social media users created following the Lebanese MP and deputy speaker’s meltdowns on television earlier this week. Ferzli found himself going viral and becoming the meme of the moment after losing his …

Maronite Patriarch Beshara el-Rahi said Saturday that his calls for a UN-sponsored international conference for Lebanon are meant to face a “coup situation” in the country. “Our calls for a UN-sponsored international conference are to face a coup situation. Leaving the situation as it is while the state collapses and …

he World Bank threatened to suspend financing for Lebanon’s COVID-19 vaccination drive in its second week after it emerged that some lawmakers would get their shots in parliament on Tuesday. The comments from the World Bank came as frustration grew among some residents and doctors that vaccinations were moving slowly …

Abu Dhabi ruler Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan affirmed the UAE’s support for the Lebanese people during a meeting with Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Saad Al-Hariri. The Abu Dhabi ruler said that the UAE supported the ambitions of the Lebanese people for “unity, stability and development,” state news agency WAM reported. During …

The UN Security Council has given a green light to keep the UN-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of Lebanon’s former prime minister Rafik Hariri operating and funded for at least this year. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a letter to the council circulated Friday that the president of …

Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday dismissed accusations of any links between the group and the killing of researcher and activist Lokman Slim. “Any incident that happens in your area then you are accused until the opposite is proven? Is this something that is practiced in the whole …

The year is 1910. A 17 year-old young man, Farris, with high ambitious dreams and a persistent attitude to pursue a better life for himself, away from the misery, hunger, and poverty that prevailed in most villages of Lebanon during the early 1900s, takes the decision to emigrate. To a …

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri on Wednesday dined with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the crisis in Lebanon and the difficulties in forming a new government, according to Hariri’s Twitter account. “Presidents Hariri and Macron discussed the internal Lebanese difficulties that hinder the formation of the government and the …

Hizbullah on Thursday condemned the assassination of rival activist and researcher Lokman Slim. Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri on Thursday described slain anti-Hizbullah activist and researcher Lokman Slim as “a new martyr on the path of Lebanon’s freedom and democracy.” In a statement, the party deplored “the killing of political activist …

A prominent Lebanese publisher and vocal critic of Hizbullah was found dead in his car Thursday morning from multiple gunshots at close range, security and forensic officials said. Lokman Slim, a 58-year-old longtime Shiite political activist and researcher, had been missing for hours since late Wednesday and his family posted …

As Lebanon’s unprecedented economic downfall continues, catalyzed by a medical crisis and mass anti-corruption protests, the country’s tweeters took to social media to showcase the vast wealth of the politicians that are meant to serve them. # Photos of the country’s political leaders wearing luxury watches worth thousands of dollars …

What happens when a private entity or entities operating in Lebanon buys into Trump World Casino Florida, and purchases TRUMP MONEY WITH DEMURRAGE ? … Even more cash paper US dollars are flushed out of hiding. TRUMP MONEY WITH DEMURRAGE can only be bought with cash paper US dollars. So, …

Lebanon’s army said on Monday it had arrested 18 people, some Lebanese and others Syrian, with links to Islamic State. The arrests came in “field operations” that took place over the past two weeks in the border town of Arsal in the north, an army statement said. The individuals arrested …

Lebanon’s Hezbollah said on Monday it brought down an Israeli drone that had entered Lebanese airspace, while the Israeli military said one of its drones had fallen inside Lebanon. Hezbollah said in a statement carried by al-Manar television that it was now in control of the drone. The Israeli military …

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister, Hassan Diab, broke his silence on Saturday to condemn days of violent protest in Tripoli, the country’s most impoverished city, as “an assault on the state and its integrity.” “Everyone who participated in the riots will be arrested,” Diab said. His comments followed deadly clashes during …

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister on Friday condemned overnight violence in the city of Tripoli, where protesters angry over a strict lockdown clashed with security forces and set the municipality building on fire. Thursday was the fourth straight night of unrest in one of Lebanon’s poorest cities, after the government imposed …

In light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad has opted to pull out from the Paris Haute Couture Week schedule, which kicked off on Jan. 25. He was scheduled to present his collection just two days from now on Jan. 27. The Ras Baalbek-born designer cited “the …

The Lebanese Army Command has announced that 31 soldiers were wounded during clashes between protesters and security forces in the northern city of Tripoli, after protests turned violent. People took to the streets in Tripoli, the south Beirut Dahye suburbs and in the Bekaa to protest their living conditions after …

Lebanese cattle herders from a village close to the border with Israel said several of their cows, which have grazed freely in the area for decades, were taken by Israeli soldiers, in what could become a new dispute between the two countries. The herders from the border village of Wazzani …

Bahaa Hariri, the eldest son of slain Lebanese statesman Rafik Hariri, is calling for a broad alliance — a “supermajority” — to coalesce around a plan to agree on the way forward for Lebanon as it faces multiple crises. Such an alliance is needed to implement the unfinished business of …

Deputies in the Lebanese Parliament have accused President Michel Aoun of acting “as a party, not as a president entrusted with the constitution.” On Saturday, MP Anwar Al-Khalil said that Aoun’s media office’s statement on Friday “undermines the Lebanese people’s minds and destroys the hope of forming an important government. …

Two senior British parliamentarians called on Friday for an investigation into a British-registered company possibly linked to last year’s devastating explosion in Beirut, after Reuters found that the firm had not disclosed its beneficial owners. The company, Savaro Ltd, is registered at a London address, and like all British firms …

The rift between President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri over the formation of Lebanon’s new government widened on Friday. Hariri was instructed to form a new government on Oct. 22, but no progress has yet been made, leaving the country in a political deadlock to add to its …

As a kid, Sami, the little boy growing up in the village of Aytat, Mount Lebanon, used to love going to that mysterious place, always known as the “Talhouk Castle” to play in its courtyard with the owner’s son. For Sami, the place had always been enigmatic and full of …

They say that history repeats itself. The political turmoil in Lebanon and the ongoing civil war in Syria have led to an alarming exodus of thousands of young, educated Arabs seeking safety and better opportunities abroad. It’s a familiar pattern; a similar mass migration from the Levant took place a …

Former US President Donald Trump’s daughter, Tiffany, has announced her engagement to her Lebanese partner Michael Boulos this week. The engagement pictures were taken on Tuesday at the White House, a few hours before her father left the office. Tiffany took to social media to express her excitement. “It has been …

TikTok star Addison Rae stepped out in a pair of heels by Lebanese footwear designer Andrea Wazen this week. The Beirut-based designer, who is the younger sister of Lebanese fashion influencer Karen Wazen, launched her eponymous, celebrity-approved label in 2013 following stints with some of the most renowned footwear designers …

Global pop group Now United has filmed its music video for “Lean on Me” at Abu Dhabi’s five-star Emirates Palace hotel. The video starts with a sweeping view of the hotel, before showing band members performing choreographed dance moves in its plush corridors and outside terrace. The band, made up …

The company that bought the ammonium nitrate which exploded in Beirut last August had possible links to two Syrian businessmen under U.S. sanctions for ties to President Bashar al-Assad, according to a report by a Lebanese journalist and London company filings. Savaro Ltd, the trading firm which procured the chemicals …

The Levant News publishes voices from around the word from a wide variety of people with different political and social backgrounds. After stories from the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Italy and the United States today Alberto de Luca writes from Lebanon. A country suffering from an ongoing political and financial crisis …

Interpol has issued red notices for the captain and owner of the ship that carried the chemicals which devastated Beirut in an explosion in August, killing 200 people, Lebanon’s state media said. Five months since one of the biggest non-nuclear blasts on record, big questions remain about the ammonium nitrate …

The leader of Lebanon’s biggest Christian political party on Sunday ruled out joining a new government led by Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri, a new hurdle for efforts to pull the country out of political paralysis. Politicians have been at loggerheads over the shape of a new administration since the last …

Lebanon’s central bank governor Riad Salameh said on Friday the era of the dollar peg was finished but said any floatation of the currency would depend on negotiations with the International Monetary Fund. Salameh made his comments in an interview with France24. When asked in the interview whether the era …

Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday that recent events in the United States would have global repercussions and prayed that God protect the world until Jan. 20 when President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated. “The nuclear button is in the hands of a crazy fool called Trump,” the …

Lebanese took to social media platforms to express their discontent and frustration with the unveiling of a Qassem Soleimani monument in the Hezbollah district of Ghobeiry on Tuesday. “New Qassem Sulaimani statue in #Lebanon — with Lebanese flags in the background, useful to remind us where we are. Whats next? …

Lebanese reacted angrily on Sunday to an Iranian commander’s remarks about their missile capabilities and sovereignty, with people in a pro-Hezbollah town attempting to burn a picture of the slain Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani. Amir Ali Hajizadeh boasted on Saturday that Lebanon owed its missile capabilities to Iran and …

Lebanese pop singer Yara has been appointed by UNICEF as the regional ambassador for the Middle East and North Africa, the humanitarian aid organization shared this week on their Instagram account. “I am just delighted to receive this appointment with UNICEF,” Yara said in a released statement. “I look forward …

Lebanon can ration $2 billion in reserves left for subsidies to last six more months, the caretaker prime minister said on Tuesday, as the country’s financial meltdown raises fears of rising hunger. Lebanon’s worst crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war has crashed the currency and sent inflation soaring. A looming …

An arson attack that destroyed a Syrian refugee camp in northern Lebanon has led to widespread criticism of the Assad regime for failing to help or repatriate its displaced citizens. In the wake of the attack that forced 370 people to flee the camp late on Saturday, Lebanese political leaders …

In 2005 and at the young age of 23, Nayla Tueini’s whole world virtually turned on its head. The young journalist was catapulted from undergoing a month-long training program at French newspaper Le Figaro, to being prepped to take over and lead one of the biggest Lebanese dailies, Annahar, after …