Lebanon

BEIRUT, May 30 (NNN-NNA) – A Saudi Arabian citizen was kidnapped in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut on Sunday, Lebanese caretaker Minister of Interior, Bassam Mawlawi, said yesterday.

Mawlawi said in a tweet that, Lebanon will work “on liberating any citizens who are exposed to any harm on Lebanese soil.”

“What happened affects Lebanon’s relationship with its brothers, and the perpetrators will be punished harshly,” he noted.

The Saudi man was kidnapped from a neighbourhood, close to the airport road in Beirut, the al-Jadeed TV reported.

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese troops rescued a Saudi citizen kidnapped over the weekend in Beirut, the army said Tuesday. The man reportedly had been held for ransom.

A statement by the Lebanese military said Mushari al-Mutairi was released in a “special operation” along the Lebanon-Syria border, where the kidnappers held him hostage. It gave no further details.

Al-Mutairi was kidnapped after midnight Saturday in Beirut.

30 May 2023; MEMO: The US is working on building a new regional hub for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Lebanon, within a huge embassy complex with an area of 93,000 square meters on a 27-hectares (about 64 acres) site in the capital, Beirut, intelligence sources reported yesterday.

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s Sursock Museum has reopened to the public, three years after a deadly explosion in Beirut’s port — set off by tons of improperly stored chemicals — reduced many of its treasured paintings and collections to ashes.

The reopening Friday night offered Beirut residents a rare bright spot in a country reeling from a crippling economic crisis that has left around three-quarters of Lebanon’s population of 6 million in poverty.

BEIRUT, May 26 (NNN-NNA) – The Lebanese army, along with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, are investigating an Israeli claim of shooting down a drone that crossed over from Lebanon earlier yesterday, a Lebanese security source, said.

An Israeli infantry force was found to be combing with armoured vehicles the borderline where the drone fell, the source said on condition of anonymity.

The Israeli military announced in the day, the downing of a drone near its border with Lebanon, without revealing who operated the drone or whether it was armed.

BEIRUT, May 25 (Xinhua) -- An "all-out war" will include all the fronts of the axis of resistance, said Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday in response to the Israeli military's warning.

"Never miscalculate; any folly may lead you to the abyss," Nasrallah said in a televised speech on the Resistance and Liberation Day.

"It is not you who are threatening a great war, but we are the ones who are threatening you with it," he said.

24 May 2023; MEMO: Lebanon's Central Bank Governor, Riad Salameh, attended a judicial hearing in Beirut on Wednesday where his Lebanese and French passports were confiscated following an Interpol Red Notice against him over embezzlement and money-laundering charges, Reuters reports.

BEIRUT, May 24 (NNN-NNA) – Large-denomination banknotes of 500,000 and 1,000,000 Lebanese pounds (LBP), will likely be issued soon in Lebanon, local media reported, yesterday.

A joint session of parliamentary committees, yesterday approved a bill, permitting Banque Du Liban (BDL), Lebanon’s central bank, to issue notes worth more than 100,000 LBP in denomination.

If the bill is passed in parliament, notes worth 500,000 and 1,000,000 LBP will be printed, said the report.

24 May 2023; MEMO: Lebanon is likely to be placed on a "grey list" of countries under special scrutiny over unsatisfactory practices to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Being added to the list would be another major blow to a country in a financial tailspin since 2019 and struggling to secure a deal with the International Monetary Fund.

Beirut, May 23 (Reuters) - Germany has informed Lebanon it has issued an arrest warrant for Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh on corruption charges, including forgery, money laundering and embezzlement, a senior judicial source told Reuters on Tuesday.

A second source familiar with the matter confirmed the arrest warrant to Reuters. Salameh has denied any wrongdoing.