Lebanon

Five escaping prisoners died on Saturday when their car hit a tree after more than 60 detainees broke out of a Lebanese detention centre outside the capital Beirut, Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces (ISF) said in a statement. The ISF statement did not say how the 69 prisoners had escaped from …

Lebanon’s foreign minister has urged US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea to provide the information and documents that led to sanctions against Gebran Bassil. Charbel Wehbe, who was made minister in Lebanon’s caretaker government, met with Shea on Monday to discuss bilateral ties and the sanctions placed on the leader …

Lebanese Security Chief Abbas Ibrahim visited Damascus after a trip to Washington as part of efforts to free U.S. citizen Austin Tice, who is thought to be held in Syria, Lebanese broadcaster al Jadid reported on Saturday. Ibrahim told al Jadid he went on a two day visit to Damascus …

Fouad Boulos returned to Beirut in 2007 from the United States having trained there in pathology and laboratory medicine. He was so confident that Lebanon was the right place to be that he gave up his American residence green card. Fourteen years later he is leaving his homeland with his …

The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah said on Wednesday he was pleased about “the humiliating downfall” of U.S. President Donald Trump, but urged regional allies to be on alert for any U.S. or Israeli “folly” during the rest of his term in office. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in a televised speech, described …

The U.S. envoy to Lebanon said on Monday that Lebanese Christian politician Gebran Bassil, who has been sanctioned by the United States, had voiced willingness to sever ties with Hezbollah, challenging his assertion that he rejected the idea outright. Washington on Friday blacklisted Bassil, son-in-law of Lebanon’s president and leader …

Norma Mnassakh was leaving her apartment in Beirut when a cloud of dust suddenly billowed from the Ottoman-era building next door. The abandoned home with its popular ground-floor ice cream shop had been severely damaged in the colossal August 4 explosion at the nearby Beirut port. Now, heavy rainfall has …

President Michel Aoun said on Saturday that Lebanon would seek evidence and documents from the United States that led Washington to impose sanctions on his son-in-law Gebran Bassil, a prominent Christian politician. The United States on Friday blacklisted Bassil, leader of Lebanon’s biggest Christian political bloc, accusing him of corruption …

The U.S. administration on Friday announced sanctions on Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Jebran Bassil, who is the son-in-law of President Michel Aoun. MTV said the sanctions were imposed under the Global Magnitsky Act, which targets those who are engaged in human rights abuses and corruption. Bassil swiftly hit back …

Lebanon’s prosecutor general decided Tuesday not to charge fugitive ex-auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn for visiting Israel in 2008 because the statute of limitations has expired, a judicial source said. Three lawyers filed a motion in January calling for the 66-year-old businessman to be prosecuted over his trip to the Jewish …

Israel and Lebanon held “productive” talks over their disputed Mediterranean Sea border on Thursday and agreed to meet again next month, the United Nations and the United States said. Thursday’s meeting was the third this month between the longtime foes, mediated by the United States and hosted by the United …

The first of many warnings about a deadly cargo in Beirut’s port came in February 2014, about three months after its arrival. It was made by Colonel Joseph Skaf, described by his family as a diligent customs official. Skaf, then the head of the anti-narcotics and money laundering division, informed …

Lebanon’s top Christian cleric urged Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri on Sunday to avoid back-door deals and to quickly form a new government that will start lifting the country out of financial crisis. Veteran Sunni politician Hariri was named premier for a fourth time on Thursday, a year after huge protests …

Business as usual in Lebanon is unacceptable and any new government must be committed to – and capable of implementing – reforms that bring economic opportunity, good governance and an end to endemic corruption, a top U.S. diplomat said on Thursday. “Whatever government comes next must commit to and have …

Lebanese veteran politician Saad al-Hariri was named prime minister for a fourth time on Thursday and pledged to form a new government that can tackle the country’s worst crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war. After his nomination, Hariri said he would quickly form a cabinet of specialists “with a mission …

Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun said on Wednesday he would fulfill his duty in designating a prime minister but put the onus on the new premier to launch moves to pull the country from financial crisis. Sunni leader Saad al-Hariri is poised to be named prime minister at formal consultations on …

The leaders of Lebanon’s Maronite and Orthodox Christian churches urged Lebanese leaders on Sunday to stop delaying talks on forming a government in scathing sermons in which they blamed them for the country’s financial crisis and political deadlock. Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, leader of the Maronite church, was speaking a …

Hundreds marched in Lebanon’s capital Saturday to mark the first anniversary of a non-sectarian protest movement that has rocked the political elite but has yet to achieve its goal of sweeping reform. A whirlwind of hope and despair has gripped the country in the year since protests began, as an …

Lebanon’s largest Christian political party said on Saturday it would not back the nomination of former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri to lead a government to tackle a deep economic crisis, further complicating efforts to agree a new premier. Hariri, who quit as prime minister last October in the face of …

Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun has postponed by a week consultations aimed at choosing a prime minister to form a new government to tackle the country’s worst economic crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war, the presidency said on Wednesday. Aoun had been due to hold the consultations on Thursday and was …

Representatives from the governments of Israel, Lebanon, and the United States met on October 14 to launch discussions aimed at “reaching consensus on a common Israel-Lebanon maritime boundary,” the U.S. and the U.N. said on Wednesday.   “During this initial meeting, the representatives held productive talks and reaffirmed their commitment …

Lebanon’s Hezbollah and its ally Amal criticised on Wednesday the delegation set to negotiate with Israel over their disputed sea border, calling for changing the team hours before the first meeting. Formally still at war after decades of conflict, Lebanon and Israel agreed to launch talks via U.S. mediation over …

Lebanon and Israel, formally still at war after decades of conflict, launch talks on Wednesday to address a long-running dispute over their maritime border running through potentially gas-rich Mediterranean waters. The U.S.-mediated talks follow three years of intense diplomacy by Washington and were announced less than a month after the …

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab said on Friday any step to lift subsidies now on vital goods would be unacceptable and would cause a “social explosion”. In a televised address, Diab, who resigned two months ago after a huge explosion damaged much of Beirut and worsened the country’s economic …

Lebanon’s leading Sunni Muslim politician, former premier Saad al-Hariri, called for the restoration of a French plan to lift the nation out of its worst financial crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war. Former colonial power France, which has led foreign aid efforts, has tried to rally have Lebanese leaders to …

Lebanon has asked Interpol to issue arrest warrants for the Russian captain and owner of the ship that brought the explosive material that detonated at Beirut port in August, killing nearly 200 people, state media reported on Thursday. About two months after the explosion that injured thousands and ravaged the …

Lebanon and Israel have agreed to a framework for U.S.-mediated talks aimed at ending a long-running dispute along the border between the two nations that have fought several conflicts. Still in a formal state of war, Lebanon and Israel have contested their land and maritime borders for decades, namely over …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday accused Lebanon’s Hezbollah of storing weapons near a gas company in a residential Beirut neighborhood, but the Iran-backed movement denied it. Speaking in a video to the United Nations General Assembly, pre-recorded due to the coronavirus pandemic, Netanyahu warned the depot in the …

Hezbollah’s leader said on Tuesday his Shi’ite movement welcomed French efforts to help Lebanon out of crisis but that did not mean French President Emmanuel Macron could act like the country’s ruler. In a televised address, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said the heavily armed, Iran-backed Hezbollah remained ready for dialogue under …

Lebanon’s Amal movement expressed surprise on Tuesday over accusations by French President Emmanuel Macron that the Shi’ite party triggered the collapse of talks to form a new government. Prime minister-designate Mustapha Adib quit on Saturday after failing to line up a non-partisan cabinet, dealing a blow to a French plan …

The EU on Monday criticized Lebanese politicians for their failure to form a government, after the country’s prime minister-designate quit at the weekend due to pressure from Hezbollah and its allies over key ministerial jobs. Lebanon has experienced almost a year of intense turmoil, which has been exacerbated by the …

French President Emmanuel Macron admonished Lebanon’s leaders on Sunday for serving their own interests ahead of their country and vowed to push ahead with efforts to prevent chaos, but appeared to have no back up plan should his initiative fail. Lebanon’s prime minister-designate, Mustapha Adib, quit on Saturday after failing …

Two members of the Lebanese Security Forces were killed in an exchange of gunfire with militants in the north of the country late on Saturday, the army said. They were killed when militants opened fire on an army checkpoint in the northwest area of Araman, the army said on Sunday. …

Lebanon’s top Christian cleric said on Sunday the nation faced “multiple dangers” that would be hard to weather without a government, speaking a day after the prime minister-designate quit following his failed bid to form a cabinet. Mustapha Adib stepped down on Saturday after hitting a roadblock over how to …

Lebanon’s prime minister-designate quit on Saturday after trying for almost a month to line up a non-partisan cabinet, dealing a blow to a French bid aimed at rallying sectarian leaders to tackle the worst crisis since the nation’s 1975-1990 civil war. Mustapha Adib, former ambassador to Berlin, was picked on …

France backed on Wednesday a proposal made by Lebanon’s leading Sunni Muslim politician to end a deadlock preventing the formation of a cabinet to lead the nation out of its worst crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. Paris has been pressing Lebanese politicians to form a government quickly but the …

An arms depot of the Iran-backed Shi’ite Muslim group Hezbollah exploded in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, a security source said, injuring several people and sending a new shockwave across a nation grappling with its deepest crisis in three decades. The security source said the arms depot blast, which sent a …

A Bulgarian court sentenced two men of Lebanese origin to life in prison on Monday over a 2012 bus bombing that killed five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian driver, which Bulgarian authorities have blamed on Lebanon’s Shi’ite Muslim group Hezbollah. The two men were tried in absentia over the July …

President Michel Aoun warned on Monday Lebanon was going “to hell” if a new government could not be formed but agreeing one might take a miracle after positions had hardened between rival factions. His comments in a televised address underlined the severe difficulties facing French efforts to lift Lebanon out …

Lebanon’s top Christian cleric took a swipe at leaders of the Shi’ite Muslim community on Sunday for making demands he said were blocking the formation of a new government and causing political paralysis in a nation in deep crisis. Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, leader of the Maronite church, did not …

A party founded by Lebanon’s Christian president made a proposal to end a dispute that has blocked the formation of a new cabinet and threatened a French drive to lift the country out of its worst crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. The proposal, put forward on Saturday, involved handing …

France’s foreign ministry on Friday said there was no evidence to suggest the armed wing of Lebanon’s Hezbollah was storing chemicals to make explosives in France after a senior U.S. official said the group had set up caches in Europe since 2012. Speaking on Thursday, Nathan Sales, the U.S. State …

In an exclusive interview with Arab News on Wednesday, the head of Lebanon’s Maronite church, Bechara Al-Rai, called for all of the many political factions in the country — which has just marked its centenary — to support his call to adopt ‘active neutrality,’ describing it as “part of the …

Hezbollah and the Amal Movement attempted on Thursday to see off a French initiative to form a Lebanese government of non-political technocrats not associated with the parties in power and which rotates the ministries among the country’s sects. The Hezbollah parliamentary bloc held “the extremely negative American role” responsible for …