Lebanon

BEIRUT (AP) — Fighting raged Sunday in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp near the southern port city of Sidon, killing at least five people and wounding seven, Palestinian officials said.

UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, put the death toll at six, and Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said two children were among those wounded.

BEIRUT, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) on Wednesday reiterated its strong and determined rejection of the desecration of the Islamic holy book of Quran, said a statement released by the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon.

"Following the recent acts by individuals in Europe that have offended many Muslims, the EU reiterates its strong and determined rejection of any form of incitement to religious hatred and intolerance," the statement said.

BEIRUT, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Parts of the damaged Beirut Railway Station in the Mar Mikhael neighborhood of the Lebanese capital will soon be restored with foreign funding, according to a UNESCO-Italian deal reached Monday on recovery of the industrial heritage site.

Under the deal, the Italian government will finance 2 million euros (about 2.21 million U.S. dollars) through the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, a public agency, for the recovery work, according to a statement released by UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

24 July 2023; MEMO: If Israel's Mossad intelligence agency is behind the burning of the Quran, then there needs to be "strong popular and official positions" to stand against it, the Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah group, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has said.

BEIRUT, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's security chief said on Friday that the recent decision by the European Parliament to support Syrian refugees' stay in Lebanon is "unrealistic" and "non-binding," the National News Agency reported.

"We will not surrender to any decision issued against the interest of Lebanon, and I believe the country cannot bear such a decision," Lebanese Director General of Public Security Elias al-Baissari told a delegation from the Lebanese Press Syndicate.

17 July 2023; MEMO: The five-nation group on Lebanon, which comprises the US, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt, said on Monday they had discussed several measures against politicians and groups who were obstructing the election of a new president, Reuters reports.

BEIRUT (AP) — The United Nations agency responsible for overseeing humanitarian aid has described conditions placed by the Syrian government on aid deliveries from Turkey to northwest Syria as “unacceptable.”

The future delivery of aid across Syria’s northern border was thrown into question Tuesday after the U.N. Security Council was unable to agree on either of two competing proposals to extend the mandate for bringing aid from Turkey by way of the Bab al Hawa border crossing.

14 July 2023; MEMO: Tensions have escalated, in recent months, between Israel and the Hezbollah movement on Lebanon's southern border over Tel Aviv's full occupation and annexation of the northern part of the village of Ghajar in the Golan Heights, Anadolu Agency reports.

Hezbollah leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, spoke Wednesday, saying that Lebanon would not give up the village to Israel.

BEIRUT, Jul 14 (NNN-NNA) – The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), yesterday warned of a rapid escalation of the tensions on the Lebanon-Israel border.

“The tensions that took place on the border over the past days indicate that, events could develop quickly,” Candice Ardell, deputy director of the UNIFIL Media Office, was quoted as saying.

The UN official urged Israel and Lebanon to avoid activities that may increase tensions, said the report.

10 July 2023; MEMO: Lebanon's caretaker Premier, Najib Mikati, will not extend the term of sitting Central Bank Governor, Riad Salameh, when it ends later this month, the Prime Minister's office said on Monday, Reuters reports.