Lebanon Prime Minister Saad Hariri inaugurated on Tuesday the second expansion phase of the Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut as he landed in Beirut returning from a visit to the United States in move aimed at easing congestion at the airport. Interior Minister Raya al-Hassan, Transport Minister Youssef Fenianos accompanied Hariri during the event. Six new […]
The US keenness on boosting Lebanon’s stability and security helped in containing the crisis
By Nazeer Rida After years of refraining from directly meddling in Lebanese developments, the United States intervened directly on Wednesday to warn against any security deterioration in the country in wake of heightened tensions sparked by an armed clash on June 30. In an unprecedented statement, the US embassy said Washington “supports fair and transparent judicial […]
Lebanese cabinet meets after political crisis ends
Lebanon’s cabinet met on Saturday for the first time since late June, a day after steps were taken to resolve a political dispute that had paralysed a government seeking to reduce massive public debt. Information Minister Jamil al-Jarrah, speaking on television after the meeting, said an investigation into a shooting incident which sparked the crisis […]
China announces the release of most of the 1 mil Muslims held in concentration camps
The Chinese government made the unexpected announcement Tuesday that it had released most of the minority Muslims being held in controversial internment camps across the country’s Xinjiang region. Two regional leaders told the media that as many as 90 percent of the ethnic Muslims being held had left the so-called reeducation camps, been given jobs, […]
Hezbollah’s moves against Jumblatt flirts with a return to Lebanon’s dark days
A political crisis in Beirut following a deadly shooting last month has revived memories of one of the most controversial chapters in Lebanon’s post-war history, when a court imprisoned a prominent opponent of the Syrian regime. When Hezbollah-backed political foes of Druze leader Walid Joumblatt suggested he was somehow involved in a firefight last month […]
“Corporate astronaut”: How billionaires are joining the space race
Millions of people watched in wonder as man first set foot upon the moon 50 years ago. But in the era of space travel now dawning, far more of us are destined to join them. In America’s new space age, NASA’s monopoly is over. The leaders are companies, not countries. And anyone with enough money […]
Netanyahu’s corruption is ‘limitless’, says ex PM Barak
Former Israeli Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ehud Barak has said in a video posted on social media that current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption was “limitless”, Al-Wattan Voice reported yesterday. “Today, from the northern borders, I undertake to regain democracy,” head of new party Democratic Israel said. Though he claimed the video was taken […]
Marcel Khalife made a statement by refusing to sing the Lebanese national anthem at Baalbeck
The legendary composer says he needs to see his homeland return to its potential before he will sing its anthem Baalbeck – Lebanese music legend Marcel Khalife opened the Baalbeck International Festival this year, with a rousing two-hour-long performance from the steps of the Bacchus Temple in Baalbek on Friday, July 5. But, the fact […]
Lebanon insists on demarcation of maritime and land borders. Rejects Israeli blackmail
Lebanese officials have refused to come under Israeli pressure by offering more concessions in the two countries’ maritime border dispute. In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, the officials described recent remarks made by Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz as an attempt to take more concessions from Lebanon. “This will never take place because the negotiation mechanism […]
Greece seizes ‘world’s largest’ single haul of Captagon pills shipped from Syria
Greek authorities have seized what they described as the world’s largest single haul of super-charged amphetamine Captagon pills from Syria worth more than half a billion euros. Coastguard and drug enforcement officers seized three containers full of the amphetamines, the financial crimes unit (SDOE) said on Friday. The operation involved 20 officers and landed 5.25 […]