Lebanon
Latest stories
Bassil says prefers Geagea over army chief or Franjieh

Free Patriotic Movement leader Jebran Bassil has called for an inter-Christian understanding on a president, ahead of an election session scheduled for January 9.

Bassil said there might be surprises in the session and called for consensus, in remarks published Tuesday in al-Joumhouria newspaper.

W140 Full Story
Hezbollah official warns Israel against staying in south after 60-day period

Deputy head of Hezbollah's political council Mahmoud Qmati has warned that Hezbollah will deal differently with Israeli soldiers if they remain in Lebanon for more than 60 days - an initial stage of a ceasefire reached in late November.

"We've committed to patience for 60 days and after that the present forces will become occupation forces and we'll deal with them accordingly," Qmati told Hezbollah's al-Manar on Monday.

W140 Full Story
Turkey ready to export electricity to Lebanon and Syria as delegation visits Damascus

Turkey is prepared to export electricity to Lebanon and Syria to assist them in addressing power shortages, Turkey’s energy minister said, adding that a Turkish delegation was already in Damascus to evaluate Syria’s energy infrastructure.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar also said Monday that the Turkish delegation included experts who would be assessing how Syria’s oil and natural gas could be used to improve the economy.

W140 Full Story
French ministers in Lebanon for talks month into Israel-Hezbollah truce

France's top diplomat and defense chief arrived on Monday in Lebanon, where a fragile truce since late November ended intense fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu met with Lebanon's army chief Joseph Aoun, and on Tuesday are due to visit U.N. peacekeepers near the Israeli border.

W140 Full Story
Hezbollah MP says credibility of 'those who want sovereignty' now at stake

Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah condemned Monday the repeated Israeli violations of a ceasefire reached in late November, claiming that the ceasefire did not include any terms allowing these violations.

"We know this enemy and we know that the only way to confront it is by the resistance's weapons and the people-army-resistance equation," Fadlallah said, adding that the credibility of "those who want sovereignty" is now at stake.

W140 Full Story
Katz announces sanctions on donation campaign for pager attack victims

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Monday that he will impose economic sanctions on a donation campaign led by Hezbollah for the victims of the September pager and walkie-talkie attacks in Lebanon.

W140 Full Story
Geagea says won’t allow Hezbollah and FPM to 'smuggle' a president

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has said that the ruling "establishment" in Lebanon is still entrenched and coherent.

W140 Full Story
French, US and Saudi diplomats to visit Lebanon in presidential push

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has called for parliament to convene on January 9 to elect a president, in an attempt to break a gridlock of over two years and reactivate the country's crippled state institutions.

The session will be open with successive rounds. "We might hold several rounds in the same session, what's important is for parliament to elect a president and for MPs to shoulder their responsibilities," Berri told An-Nahar newspaper, in remarks published Monday.

W140 Full Story
Bodies of two Lebanese shot dead in Syria repatriated

The Lebanese Civil Defense has been handed over at the Masnaa border crossing the bodies of two Lebanese men who were shot dead in Syria's Homs in addition to a wounded Lebanese national.

W140 Full Story
Berri promises several rounds to elect president

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has said that he will be "decisive" in the January 9 presidential election session.

W140 Full Story