Lebanon

BEIRUT (AP) — Kuwait followed Saudi Arabia and Bahrain by ordering the Lebanese charge d’affaires on Saturday to leave the emirate within two days over comments made by a Lebanese minister regarding the war in Yemen. Kuwait also recalled its ambassador from Beirut.

Later Saturday, the United Arab Emirates’ state-run WAM news agency said on Twitter that it would withdraw its diplomats from Lebanon in solidarity with Saudi Arabia. The tweet also said Emiratis would be ”prevented” from traveling to Lebanon. Travel bans have happened previously to Lebanon over politics in the past.

BEIRUT, Oct 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury has imposed sanctions on two top Lebanese contractors and a lawmaker close to the Hezbollah movement over alleged large-scale corruption that undermined the rule of law in Lebanon.

Businessmen Jihad al-Arab and Dany Khoury, close to former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri and Christian politician Gebran Bassil respectively, were sanctioned on Thursday for alleged corruption related to state contracts.

29 Oct 2021; MEMO: Lebanese President Michel Aoun has asked Russian Ambassador Alexander Rudakov for satellite images from 4 August 2020, when a huge explosion rocked Beirut's port, according to a Lebanese presidency tweet today. Reuters reports.

The blast killed more than 215 people, injured thousands and destroyed swathes of the Lebanese capital.

27 Oct 2021; MEMO: Supporters of the Christian Lebanese Forces party today blocked roads to leader Samir Geagea's residence as he failed to turn up for a hearing at army intelligence over fatal clashes in Beirut, Reuters reports.

BEIRUT (AP) — For eight months, he has quietly investigated one of the world’s worst non-nuclear explosions with only four assistants — and a lot of powerful detractors trying to block him.

In that time, Judge Tarek Bitar has become a household name in Lebanon and a staple on every news bulletin.

BEIRUT, October 25. /TASS/: An Israeli Air Force fighter jet attacked the positions of the Syrian army and pro-Iranian armed groups in Syria's Quneitra province 40 kilometers south of Damascus on Monday, the Dubai-based Al-Hadath TV channel reported. 

According to the news outlet, the airstrike hit ground targets near the city of Al-Baath and the Al-Kurum settlement, causing property damage. No casualties have been reported.

BEIRUT, Oct 25 (Reuters) - A Lebanese judge on Monday charged 68 people including 18 detainees with murder and incitement to sectarian strife over fatal clashes this month in Beirut, Lebanon's National News agency said.

Seven followers of Lebanon's Shiite Iran-backed Hezbollah group and its ally, the Amal Movement, were killed on Oct. 14 in the worst street violence in Beirut in over a decade.

Oct 22 (Reuters) - Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Friday sent a law amending legislative election rules back to parliament for reconsideration, the presidency said in a statement.

The development could affect Lebanon's ability to hold an election on the March 27 date agreed to this week.

Lebanon's parliament had voted on Tuesday to hold an election at that time, giving Prime Minister Najib Mikati's government only a few months to try to secure an IMF recovery plan amid a deepening economic meltdown. L1N2RF0JM

21 Oct 2021; MEMO: A Lebanese military court will ask Lebanese Forces (LF) party leader, Samir Geagea, to give a statement about last week's Beirut street violence, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Thursday.

Geagea, who was due to appear shortly on a local television show, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An LF spokesperson said Geagea had, so far, not been informed of any court request to give a statement.

BEIRUT, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said on Thursday that Lebanon has increased control over its borders to prevent all kinds of smuggling activities and protect its ties with Arab countries, the National News Agency reported.

"I am personally monitoring control work on the borders as we are concerned about the safety and security of our friendly and brotherly countries, and we are conscious enough to work on preventing the smuggling of weapons and drugs through all border crossings," Mawlawi said during his visit to Beirut airport.