Lebanon
Latest stories
Report: Higher Judicial Council Doesn't Intend to Discuss Bitar Removal

The Higher Judicial Council rejects "the intimidation and treason accusations campaign against the judiciary," a Council source has said.

W140 Full Story
Bitar Renews Summonses of Zoaiter, Mashnouq

The judge leading Lebanon's probe into last year's massive port explosion has renewed his summonses of two former ministers for questioning, a judicial official said.

The decision by Judge Tarek Bitar came despite intense criticism from the country's powerful Hizbullah of the direction of the long-running investigation.

W140 Full Story
Nasrallah Brag of 100,000-Strong Force Seen Aimed at Foes at Home

A boast by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah that he commands 100,000 fighters came as a surprise to many Lebanese, not least because it was addressed to a domestic audience rather than the group's archenemy Israel.

Experts say the figure, which exceeds the size of Lebanon's army by about 15,000 troops, is an exaggeration. But Nasrallah's brag is likely to further ratchet up anxiety about a return to sectarian fighting in the small country roiled by a series of devastating crises.

W140 Full Story
Lebanon's Car Culture Questioned in Crisis

By challenging Lebanon's national passion for automobile ownership, and driving growing numbers towards greener or more collective transport, the economic crisis is succeeding where everything else failed.

W140 Full Story
HRW Says 'Torture' Awaits Syrian Refugees Returning from Lebanon, Jordan

Syrian refugees returning to their war-battered country have faced alleged torture, arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Wednesday.

W140 Full Story
Tayyouneh Clash Fires Up Sectarian Anger in Echo of Civil War

He was only a year old when his panicked father picked him up and they fled with his mother from the gunfire rattling their neighborhood. It was the day Lebanon's civil war started 46 years ago. His family's apartment building in Beirut was on the frontline.

Now 47, Bahij Dana did the same thing last week. He evacuated his wife and two of his kids as gun battles raged for hours outside the same building. Civil defense rescuers came to help his father and mother, stuck in the lower floors.

W140 Full Story
U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Comments on Women's Parliament Quota

The U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka said Tuesday that she encourages “the discussion in Parliament of a gender quota in the upcoming elections.”

“Women’s representation in politics is critical for an effective and well-functioning democracy, and ensures that those in elected leadership are more representative of the people they serve. The discussion of a gender quota in the Lebanese Parliament is in line with Lebanon’s commitment to the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, as articulated in the 2019-2022 National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security,” she said in a statement.

W140 Full Story
4 Dead, 7 Hurt in Armed Clash in Akkar Town

Armed clashes have been ongoing since morning in the Akkar town of Wadi al-Jamous, state-run National News Agency reported.

W140 Full Story
Bassil Decries 'Legislative Massacre' against Electoral Law

Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Jebran Bassil on Tuesday lamented what he called “a legislative massacre against the electoral law,” after parliament voted to cancel six parliamentary seats for expats stipulated by the 2018 electoral law.

W140 Full Story
Gemayel Calls for 'Withdrawing Parliamentary Legitimacy' from Hizbullah in Elections

Kataeb Party chief Sami Gemayel has called on the Lebanese people to “withdraw legitimacy from Hizbullah’s actions” through voting for change in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

W140 Full Story