Lebanon

After more than three weeks of engineering work in Beirut in support of and coordination with the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), to deal with the aftermath of the tragic 4 August explosions, a UNIFIL detachment of multinational force returned today to the Mission’s area of operations in south Lebanon. Nearly 150 peacekeepers from 13 of ...

The Lebanese ministry of public health issued on Friday its daily report in which it announced 1534 new coronavirus cases, 1460 of them for locals and 74 for arrivals, raising total to 68479. The report added that 14066 PCR tests were conducted during the past 24 hours, adding that the number of cases of recovery ...

The prime minister-designate Saad Hariri described the non-binding parliamentary consultations, he had held Friday at the House, as positive, adding that the new government will be formed of specialists “as soon as possible”. We must follow the French reform paper in order to address the current collapse, according to Hariri who added that the foreign […]

The Loyalty to Resistance bloc’s delegation met on Friday with the PM-designate Saad Hariri in the context of the non-binding parliamentary consultations to form the new government. “We shared our point of view regarding the role of the new government and agreed on most of its stipulations. Moreover, we underscored the importance of reinforcing the ...

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri Friday began his non-binding parliamentary consultations to form the government, in the House of Representatives, with his meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Hariri, then, met with the former prime minister, MP Najib Miqati, who considered that the new government must be composed of specialists who work […]

The Lebanese ministry of public health issued on Thursday its daily report in which it announced 1450 new coronavirus cases, 1442 of them for locals and 8 for arrivals, raising total to 67029. The report added that 13921 PCR tests were conducted during the past 24 hours, adding that the number of cases of recovery ...

Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab welcomed Minister of Economy Raoul Nehme and a World Bank delegation comprising Wissam Harakeh and Halim El-Sayyed, in the presence of PM’s Advisor, Leila Dagher. The meeting deliberated on the WB-funded projects. Premier Diab also welcomed the new Russian ambassador in Lebanon, Alexander Rudakov, in the presence of […]

Head of the Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc, Hajj Mohammad Raad, stressed that refraining from naming the PM-designate for the premiership aims at enhancing the national agreement among the various political parties. After meeting President Michel Aoun at Baabda Palace during the binding parliamentary consultations, MP Raad stressed that unity […]

New leader faces task of securing international support and averting country’s collapseA year after resigning, Saad Hariri has again been named as Lebanon’s prime minister and tasked with forming a government that could win critically needed international support and help stem the country’s catastrophic collapse.The appointment of Hariri on Thursday […]

Parliament Speaker Nabih confirmed, after meeting President Michel Aoun and PM-designate Saad Hariri at the Baabda Palace, “the optimistic atmosphere between President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, and PM-designate Saad Hariri.” After the end of the binding parliamentary consultations which led to the designation of Hariri to form the new […]

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri stressed Thursday that he would work to form speedily the new government, vowing to stop the economic collapse in the country. Addressing the reporters at the Presidential Palace in Baabda after the end of the binding parliamentary consultations, Hariri said, “The President of the Republic informed me, in the presence […]

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Colombia, Lebanon, Northern Ireland, and Rwanda, a new project and book by the VII Foundation, Imagine:Reflections on Peace shows the difficult work being done to break cycles of conflict in each country’s recent history. Survivors and photographers who witnessed events during and after the dark times, tell their […]

After civil war, decades of corruption and then the blast that ripped through Beirut this summer, things could hardly get any worse. But they have In early September, Mohammed Khaldoon sold a necklace his sister had given him and scrounged what he could from friends and family. He gave the sum total, $400, to a smuggler in his hometown of Tripoli, northern […]

Firefighters in Lebanon have been battling fierce wildfires across the Mount Lebanon area and along the country's border with Israel. The Lebanese Civil Defense said rising temperatures and high wind speeds were contributing to the spread of the fires.Lebanon: Beirut fuel tank explodes in building basement, killing four Continue reading...

A fuel tank exploded inside a Beirut building on Friday night, killing four people and injuring several others, the Lebanese Red Cross said. The explosion came two months after a massive blast at Beirut's port killed nearly 200 people and injured at least 6,500. Lebanon: Beirut fuel tank explodes in building basement, killing four Continue reading...

Blaze erupts inside bakery shaking city, two months after a massive blast at port killed nearly 200 peopleA fuel tank has exploded inside a Beirut building, killing four people and injuring several others, the Lebanese Red Cross said.It was not immediately clear what triggered the blast in the western neighbourhood of Tariq al-Jadida on Friday night. The […]

The acting prime minister failed to form a government from among the feuding political blocs that have led the country to ruinLebanon’s prime minister designate, Mustapha Adib, has stood down after failing to form a government in a month of negotiations, in a further blow to a country reeling under the weight of multiple crises.The talks were brought down […]

With food in short supply and prices rocketing, a wave of new farmers are growing produce on roofs, balconies and beyondAll photographs by Jenny GustafssonOn the side of the Baanoub valley in southern Lebanon, half an hour’s drive from the coast, Yasmina Zahar stands surrounded by olive trees with thick, sturdy trunks. Planted in Roman times, once tended […]

State department’s Nathan Sales says group ‘represents clear and present danger to the US’ and urges Europe to take tougher lineThe US has accused Hezbollah of storing caches of weapons and ammonium nitrate for use in explosives across Europe in recent years, with the alleged aim of preparing for future attacks ordered by Iran.The allegation was made […]

Lebanon’s club scene was perhaps the most vibrant in the Middle East, but the explosion that rocked its capital last month has silenced it. We spoke to promoters and DJs picking up the piecesBeirut’s people are broken. The catastrophic blast that tore through the port and surrounding areas on 4 August obliterated any remaining optimism in the city, long […]

A store of oil and tyres at Beirut port burst into flames on Thursday but there were no immediate reports of injuries.The blaze began in the duty-free zone, sending a huge column of smoke above a city still traumatised by the explosion on 4 August that killed about 190 people and injured 6,000 others. That blast occurred in ammonium nitrate that had been […]

Blaze reportedly at warehouse where oil and tyres are kept near site of August explosionA huge fire has broken out at Beirut’s port, triggering panic among residents traumatised by last month’s massive explosion there that killed and injured thousands of people.It was not immediately clear what caused the fire at the facility, which was devastated by […]

Dumped on the streets after Covid-19 hit, hundreds of nannies are now starving amid the ruins of last month’s blastIt is just over a month since the Beirut port explosion, and the footage from that day remains as shocking as it was when it first began to appear on our TV screens and social media. In fragments of video, the world saw Beirut life freeze in […]

Signs of life detected in remains of building by port in Lebanon’s capital were of fellow rescuersRescue workers digging through the rubble of a Beirut building for the third day on Saturday said there was no longer hope of finding someone alive more than a month after a massive port explosion shattered Lebanon’s capital.About 50 rescue workers and […]

Business is strong for glaziers but the mood among most rescuers and residents is sombreWorking 13 hours a day for more than a month, Ghassan Awad has driven trucks carrying glass panels from Beirut’s southern suburbs to the ruins of its waterfront.He has not been so busy since the 2006 war with Israel. Nor have all Lebanon’s other glaziers, who have […]

Search renewed after pulsing signal that may be heartbeat heard under collapsed buildingA pulsing signal has been detected from under the rubble of a building that collapsed in the Beirut port explosion last month, raising faint hopes that there may be a survivor there.A sniffer dog belonging to a Chilean search and rescue team first detected something in […]

French leader meets Fairouz, 85, amid frustration with ruling class unwilling to changeThe French president had tried it all before: rebuking his counterpart, cajoling ministers, withholding aid and imploring the Lebanese ruling class to change its ways in order to save the country.This time Emmanuel Macron arrived in Beirut with a different approach – a […]

French leader calls for clarity on financial crisis on second visit to Beirut after port explosionEmmanuel Macron has pledged to host another aid conference to support Lebanon during a follow-up visit to blast-ravaged Beirut, in which he cautiously backed the new prime minister, but made any French bailout conditional on a cabinet that implements widespread […]

Adib, Lebanon’s ambassador to Germany, says priority is to implement reforms and regain trustLebanon’s prime minister-designate has called for a new government to be formed in record time and pledged to speed up the investigation into the Beirut explosion and implement reforms, after winning the backing of the country’s main parties.Mustapha Adib, […]

Local charities work constantly to support Lebanese society. It’s time they had a fair share of foreign aidEvery person in Lebanon has probably been asked: “Where were you during the Beirut port explosion?”My response is always the same: I was here, in Beirut.On 4 August, when the explosion ignited our skies, I was here – fighting for my life as […]