Lebanon
Latest stories
Lebanese Leaders Hail Saudi Financial Grants to Preserve Situation

Several Lebanese officials lauded on Thursday Saudi Arabia for granting Lebanon additional financial aid to help it combat security threats.

Kataeb Party leader Amin Gemayel expressed concern in an interview with Saudi newspaper Okaz over the enormous challenges confronting Lebanon, considering that the second Saudi financial deal didn't surprise him.

W140 Full Story
Qahwaji Lauds Latest Saudi Financial Aid to Enhance Lebanon's Security Situation

Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji expressed gratitude on Thursday for the support that Saudi Arabia offers to Lebanon and in particular the military, considering it to be the main reason behind “thwarting conspiracy schemes and maintaining stability in Lebanon.”

“The generous aid (for the Lebanese army) came at the appropriate time,” Qahwaji said in an interview with the Saudi newspaper Okaz.

W140 Full Story
Officials: Conversations Intercepted between Arsal Militants, Tripoli Islamists and Roumieh Inmates

Lebanese authorities have intercepted telephone conversations between the leaders of militants who captured Arsal, a town in northeastern Lebanon, over the weekend and inmates at Roumieh prison, security officials said.

The officials, who were not identified, told As Safir daily published on Thursday that the phone calls also involved some Islamists in the northern city of Tripoli and the Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near the southern city of Sidon.

W140 Full Story
Report: Aoun Won't Budge on Presidential Crisis

A Free Patriotic Movement official has said that MP Michel Aoun rejected an offer made by Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat to pull his candidacy for the presidency in favor of a compromise candidate.

The official, who was not identified, told al-Akhbar newspaper published on Thursday that Jumblat proposed to FPM chief Aoun to end his presidential bid and agree with the rest of the factions on a consensual candidate.

W140 Full Story
At Least One Killed, 10 Wounded in Tripoli Bomb Explosion

A bomb detonated on Wednesday evening in the northern city of Tripoli, killing at least one person and wounding several others amid reports that the blast targeted an army patrol.

"A bomb was placed next to a Renault Rapid car in Mouharram region in southern Tripoli, 30 meters away from a military post in the city," the state-run National News Agency reported.

W140 Full Story
U.S. Embassy Denies 'Any Role' in ISIL Creation

The U.S. embassy in Lebanon denied on Wednesday “claims” that Washington played a role in the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which has so far seized several parts of Syria and Iraq.

“Any suggestion that the United States ever considered recognizing ISIL as anything other than a terrorist organization, or had any role in its creation, is false,” the embassy declared on its official account on the social media networking website Twitter.

W140 Full Story
Army Raids Syrian Refugee Houses throughout Lebanon, Several Arrested

Army troops on Wednesday raided the houses of Syrian refugees in several regions around the country, and managed to detain a number of people during the operation.

"Several people were arrested during raids of houses and rented warehouses in the town of Benin in Akkar (in northern Lebanon),” the state-run National News Agency reported.

W140 Full Story
UAE Offers $1.5 Million Aid to Arsal Displaced

The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday offered around USD 1.5 million dollars in “immediate” aid to residents who were forced to leave the battle-hit Bekaa region of Arsal.

“Chairman of the (Emirati) Red Crescent Authority Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed ordered allocating 5 million dirhams to rescue the displaced in Arsal as a result of the region's latest developments,” UAE's news agency WAM reported on Wednesday.

W140 Full Story
At Least 100 Syrian Refugees Killed or Wounded in Arsal Clashes

More than 100 Syrian refugees have been either killed or wounded in the deadly clashes between army troops and jihadist fighters in the northeastern border town of Arsal, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced on Wednesday.

"At least 100 Syrian refugees have been killed or wounded in the shelling on regions where they are taking refuge in Arsal,” the Observatory said in a released statement, without holding any party responsible for the bombing.

W140 Full Story
EU Condemns Arsal Unrest: Lebanon Needs Effective, Legitimate State Institutions during this Time

The European Union announced on Wednesday its “strong condemnation” of the clashes in the northeastern town of Arsal, highlighting the need for “effective and legitimate institutions in Lebanon” that can help it overcome the unrest.

The spokesperson of EU High Representative Catherine Ashton said in a statement: “We strongly condemn the assault by violent extremist groups on the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in the area of Arsal.”

W140 Full Story