The UK Office for Syria (UKOS) in partnership with The British Council have organized a joint art exhibition in Beirut. "Moments of Being", a multimedia art exhibition featuring the works of 12 talented Syrian artists, took place at the Matossian Gallery, Haigazian University, Beirut, from September 7th to September 15th.

"Moments of Being"

This Friday, Lebanese Muay Thai fighter Abdallah Ondash will enter his second fight at ONE Championship’s fight event series ONE Friday Fights. 

Ondash had dedicated his first win, which he picked up on August 4, to the victims of the Beirut port explosion which killed more than 220 and wounded more than 6,500 people. 

Army Commander General Joseph Aoun on Thursday inspected troops at the Mohammed Zgheib Barracks in Sidon amid the ongoing deadly clashes in the Ain el-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp on the city’s outskirts.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who had called for a seven-day dialogue, following which open presidential election sessions would be held, said those who rejected his call don't have any convincing reasons or justifications.

"The only explanation is that they don't want to elect a president," Berri said in remarks published Thursday in Tehran-based al-Wifaq Newspaper.

French Special Presidential Envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian resumed Thursday his meetings with Lebanese key players for the third day, by meeting Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Bkerki.

Le Drian will later meet with the majority of the Sunni lawmakers -- except some MPs including Hezbollah's -- and Saudi Ambassador Walid Bukhari in Yarze.

The 5-nation group on Lebanon -- which comprises the U.S., France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt-- supports a dialogue proposed by Speaker Nabih Berri to end the presidential impasse, Annahar newspaper said.

Berri had called on the Lebanese parties to engage in seven days of dialogue in parliament followed by open-ended electoral sessions to choose a new president.

French Special Presidential Envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian resumed Wednesday his meetings with Lebanese key players as France seeks to end a political crisis that has left the country without a president for over a year.

Le Drian met Wednesday with former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat and incumbent leader MP Taymour Jumblat in Clemenceau, after an earlier meeting with Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement and its Islamist rival Hamas have voiced support for the fledgling ceasefire in the Ain el-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp in Sidon, a statement said Wednesday, as Palestine Liberation Organization official Azzam al-Ahmad accused "foreign parties" of stoking the camp's violence.

Clashes have rocked Ain el-Helweh since last Thursday, pitting members of Fatah, which controls most of the camp, against hardline Islamist militants. Hamas has stayed out of the fighting.

The British Embassy Beirut on Wednesday announced that applications for the UK Government’s flagship Chevening Scholarships program are now open. Applicants should apply online via chevening.org/apply by November 7, 2023.

The scholarship, which is now in its 40th year, offers full financial support for scholars to study for any eligible master’s degree at over 150 UK universities whilst also gaining access to a wide range of exclusive academic, professional, and cultural experiences.

The caretaker Cabinet on Tuesday approved the 2024 state budget and submitted it to parliament, with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati calling the move an “achievement.”

“This is the first state budget to be approved within the constitutional timeframe since 2002 and this is a major achievement and heroism,” Mikati said at a press conference.