Beirut
Latest stories
Miqati Says ‘Sabotaging the Nation is a Crime,’ March 14 Suffering from ‘Disorder’

Prime Minister Najib Miqati snapped back at the March 14 alliance on Monday accusing its members of carrying out a crime against the nation and attacking the cabinet for being unable to confront the truth that they lost power.

“Sabotaging the nation is a crime,” Miqati said in a statement. “It is the national responsibility of everyone to preserve civil peace and stability and not to sabotage or make fictitious heroic acts that stir tension.”

W140 Full Story
Opposition Coordinates Stances Ahead of Parliamentary Vote of Confidence Sessions

The opposition has coordinated the stances it would make during parliamentary sessions to discuss the cabinet’s policy statement starting Tuesday, March 14 General-Secretariat Coordinator Fares Soaid said.

Soaid told Voice of Lebanon radio station (93.3) that opposition lawmakers have agreed on the role of each MP during the sessions that are scheduled to take place for three days and are aimed at giving the vote of confidence to Premier Najib Miqati’s government.

W140 Full Story
Report: 3rd Alleged CIA Agent is Cadre in Hizbullah’s Telecom Network

The third alleged CIA agent that has confessed to spying on Hizbullah is a cadre in the Shiite party’s telecommunications network, al-Mustaqbal daily reported Sunday.

Last month, Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced that members of his group had confessed to being CIA agents and accused Israel of turning to the U.S. spy agency when it failed to infiltrate his party.

W140 Full Story
Berri Hails Calm in Aftermath of STL Indictment but Expects More Accusations Soon

Speaker Nabih Berri has said that Beirut was as calm as Norway’s capital Oslo when the Special Tribunal for Lebanon handed General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza a copy of the indictment in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination case.

In remarks to An Nahar daily published Sunday, Berri said that Shiites proved their “commitment to the instructions of the political and religious leaderships and were not shocked by the accusations against the four people.”

W140 Full Story
Report: March 14 Leaders to Prevent Cabinet from Procrastinating on STL Warrants

The March 14 forces leaderships are planning to hold a large-scale meeting within a few days after the cabinet adopted a vague clause on the international tribunal in its policy statement, al-Liwaa daily reported Friday.

The newspaper said that the meeting will most likely take place at Beirut’s Bristol hotel.

W140 Full Story
STL Names 4 Suspects Close to Hizbullah in Indictment in Hariri’s Murder Case

Three judges from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon handed over to General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza on Thursday a copy of the indictment in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination case.

The indictment urges Lebanese authorities to issue arrest warrants against four Lebanese that are close to Hizbullah, media reports said.

W140 Full Story
Beirut's Legendary St. Georges Hotel Aims for Comeback

Once a symbol of Beirut's golden age, the St. Georges hotel today is but a hollow shell at the center of an epic real estate battle pitting its owner against powerful developers.

"Before the (1975-1990 civil) war, Lebanon was the world's capital and the St. Georges was the capital of Beirut," recalls Serge Nader, whose family ran the beach adjacent to the hotel until 1997.

W140 Full Story
Reports: STL Indictment to Name 5 Hizbullah Members in Next Few Days

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is expected to make a request to Lebanese authorities to question five Hizbullah members in the next few days after Lebanese judges traveled to The Hague ahead of the expected release of the indictment in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination case, informed sources said.

The sources told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat in remarks published Monday that the names of the five people would remain confidential for a short period.

W140 Full Story
Roknabadi: 4 Kidnapped Iranian Diplomats Alive in Israeli Jails

Iran’s ambassador Ghazanfar Roknabadi said on Thursday that four Iranian diplomats, seized in 1982 by a Christian militia in Lebanon, are still alive and being held in Israel.

“We believe that they are alive in Israeli jails. That’s why we have asked the Lebanese government to seriously follow-up the issue,” Roknabadi said following talks with Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour.

W140 Full Story
Opposition to Centrists: Final Word of Syrian Policy Made by Aoun

High-ranking opposition sources shrugged off the latest statements made by the premier and the Progressive Socialist Party chief over the Free Patriotic Movement leader’s verbal attacks.

“The final word is made by Syrian policies which are expressed by (FPM chief Michel) Aoun,” the sources told An Nahar daily published Wednesday.

W140 Full Story