Qassem to government: 'Give up' plan on weapons monopoly
Hezbollah reached a new level in its tone towards the government. In a speech broadcast live on Monday, the party’s secretary-general, Naim Qassem, called on the government to "give up the...
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Relatives of Ahmad Shukur, allegedly abducted by Mossad, appeal to UN
Relatives of Ahmad Shukur, a former captain at General Security who was disappeared in mid-December and whose abduction has reportedly been attributed to Mossad, were received Monday by Mazen...
L'Orient Today staff, 16 February 2026
A week after building collapse tragedy, 21 buildings evacuated and 229 families temporarily rehoused
NORTH LEBANON — A week after the government’s emergency meeting on the deadly building collapse in Tripoli, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Monday gave an update on steps taken to protect residents....
L'Orient Today staff, 16 February 2026
A U.S. senator in Beirut meets with Aoun and Haykal
Elissa Slotkin, a U.S. senator who had previously met with Lebanese Army Chief Rodolph Haykal in Washington, was in Beirut on Monday where she met with several Lebanese officials in the presence of...
L'Orient Today staff, 16 February 2026
Israel police to deploy around Al-Aqsa for Ramadan, restricting access for Palestinians to holy site
Israeli police said Monday that they would deploy in force around Jerusalem's Al‑Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins this week. Palestinian officials accused...
AFP/ L'Orient Today staff, 16 February 2026
Iran says US 'more realistic' on nuclear issue, as Guards begin drills in Hormuz Strait
Iran said on Monday that the United States's position on Iran's nuclear programme "has moved towards a more realistic one," a day ahead of a second round of U.S.-Iranian talks in...
AFP, 16 February 2026
Infantino at Baabda: Discussions on building a modernized football stadium in Lebanon
President Joseph Aoun welcomed Gianni Infantino, president of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), on Monday in Lebanon. According to the Lebanese presidency, the...
L'Orient Today staff, 16 February 2026
Abuses of law on collaboration with Israel stopped, not its application, says Minister
BEIRUT — A statement regarding the application of the Israel boycott law made by Lebanese Justice Minister Adel Nassar during an interview with TV channel al-Hurra on Sunday evening sparked a...
Malek Jadah, 16 February 2026
Expatriate vote: 'Nothing can stop the elections except Parliament,' Hajjar says
BEIRUT — Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar said Monday, ahead of a Cabinet session at the Baabda Presidential Palace, that the parliamentary elections are on track to take place "in accordance...
L'Orient Today staff, 16 February 2026
Attempted smuggle of heroin to Australia: 3 inmates prosecuted
The public prosecutor at the North Lebanon Court of Appeal, Judge Hani Helmi al-Hajjar, has initiated proceedings against three people charged of attempting to smuggle a significant quantity of...
L'Orient Today staff, 16 February 2026
Lebanese skier Andrea al-Hayek crashes out in 2nd run of Olympic slalom
BEIRUT — Franco-Lebanese skier Andrea al-Hayek crashed out of the men’s alpine skiing slalom on Monday, ending his Olympic debut before the finish line. After finishing 38th in the first run, the...
L'Orient Today staff, 16 February 2026
‘Intimate Architectures,’ Ziad Akl’s unfiltered look behind the scenes of the job
The book "Intimate Architectures" (Dergham Editions) by Ziad Akl explores is not a mere monograph. By exploring architecture as "human theater," he deviates from the classic...
May MAKAREM, 16 February 2026
Elio Abou Hanna murder: 15 people indicted for intentional homicide
Around 15 people were referred on Thursday to the Mount Lebanon Criminal Court by the Mount Lebanon's First Investigating Judge Nada al-Asmar for the murder of 24-year-old Elio Abou Hanna in...
L'Orient Today staff, 16 February 2026
After IMF visit, Jaber reviews situation with French, American officials
Before heading to the Grand Serail to discuss the difficult issue of partially increasing civil servants' salaries, Finance Minister Yassin Jaber met Monday with French and American officials,...
16 February 2026
Darmmess, the Lebanese extra virgin olive oil awarded gold medal in New York
Rose Bechara Perini collects gold medals. Founder of Darmmess, a small social enterprise that has been producing extra virgin olive oil since 2019 in her picturesque village of Deir Mimas in the...
May MAKAREM, 16 February 2026
Aoun to German counterpart: Lebanon seeks 'absolute, unconditional peace'
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is currently visiting Lebanon to put pressure, according to his own words, on Israel and Hezbollah to respect the November 2024 cease-fire agreement, and as...
L'Orient Today staff, 16 February 2026
Pouloche sets up shop in Sassine
On the corner of a busy street in Sassine, the smell of warm butter and herbes de Provence drifts from a space of over 200 square meters. Behind the counter, and often in the dining room, Jihad...
Nagi MORKOS, 16 February 2026
British Museum: The word 'Palestine' erased from ancient galleries
According to an investigation published by The Telegraph , the British Museum has removed the word “Palestine” from several panels dedicated to the ancient Near East following complaints that...
L'Orient Today staff, 16 February 2026
Israeli strikes on Hanine and Tallousa kill two people
Two separate Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed two people on Monday in another stark violation of the November 2024 cease-fire agreement signed between Israel and Hezbollah. A man,...
L'Orient Today staff, 16 February 2026
Hezbollah’s ‘social’ apparatus under international scrutiny
After its weapons, its social machinery. Ahead of the Lebanese parliamentary elections, new United States’ sanctions and unprecedented Kuwaiti measures targeting Hezbollah were announced last week....
Nemtala EDDÉ, 16 February 2026
German president in Lebanon to 'ask Hezbollah, Israel to abide by cease-fire agreement'
BEIRUT — President Joseph Aoun held a meeting with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the Presidential Baabda Palace on Monday morning, during which he asked the German side to assist the...
16 February 2026
In Beirut, the venue closes but the project endures: What the end of Zoukak’s theater means
Founded in the aftermath of the July 2006 war in a café on Hamra Street, the Zoukak Theatre Company was born of crisis, not nostalgia.It rejects lamentation and mourning, even as it has explored...
Rana Najjar, 16 February 2026
Haykal requests four to eight months extension for second phase of disarmament plan
BEIRUT — Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Rodolph Haykal on Monday requested a delay of four to eight months to implement the second phase of the disarmament plan during his presentation at the Cabinet...
L'Orient Today staff, 16 February 2026
How Lebanese Bilal Kassassir became the 1st to come face-to-face with his AI twin on live TV
On Oct. 15, 2025, viewers of “Sabah al-Arabiya” on Saudi channel al-Arabiya TV thought they were watching Lebanese AI expert Bilal Kassassir join the program remotely. The host started speaking...
Ghadir Hamadi, 16 February 2026
In numbers: Public opinion in Arab world grows hostile towards Israel
What do Arab citizens think about recognizing Israel? According to a survey published Tuesday by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, 87 percent are opposed to it. The poll...
Baptiste MAISONNAVE, 16 February 2026
Bus transporting university students crashes in Kfar Roummane, no injuries
BEIRUT — The driver of a university bus lost control of his vehicle in the Kfar Roummane roundabout in the southern city of Nabatieh due to brake failure on Monday morning, damaging four cars...
16 February 2026
Witkoff, Kushner to represent US in Iran nuclear talks in Geneva
U.S. President Donald Trump's top envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will head to Geneva this week for talks with Iranian negotiators over Tehran's nuclear program, the White...
16 February 2026
Parliamentary elections: the Shiite opposition mobilizes amid an uncertain race
As the parliamentary elections draw closer, the political machinery is beginning to move, despite lingering uncertainty. This is particularly true for the Shiite opposition, which this year is...
Jeanine JALKH, 16 February 2026
Arab world condemns Israeli land measures as 'beginning of annexation'
Israel's government has approved a process to register land in the West Bank as "state property," drawing condemnation from Arab nations and critics who said it would accelerate...
16 February 2026
New anti-govt chants in Tehran after giant rallies abroad
Some residents of Tehran on Sunday chanted slogans against the clerical leadership from balconies and windows, reports said, a day after Iranians abroad staged giant opposition rallies in Europe...
16 February 2026
Iran-US: Second round of nuclear talks scheduled Tuesday in Geneva
Iran is seeking to reach a nuclear agreement with the United States that would deliver economic benefits to both sides, an Iranian diplomat reported Sunday, just days before a second round of talks...
L'Orient Today staff, 16 February 2026
Iran FM in Geneva for second round of US talks
Iran's foreign minister has arrived in Geneva ahead of a second round of negotiations with the United States, Iranian state television said Monday, as Washington keeps up pressure on the...
16 February 2026
Israeli strike on South kills 1; Haykal asks Cabinet for 4-8 months for 2nd phase of disarmament plan | LIVE
19:51 Beirut Time West Bank: UN chief calls on Israel to 'immediately reverse' its land measures U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on Israel to "immediately...
L'Orient Today staff, 16 February 2026
Israel kills 4 in Bekaa strike; Cabinet to discuss public salaries, phase 2 of Hezbollah disarmament: Everything you need to know this Monday
Want to get the Morning Brief by email? Click here to sign up.Monday, Feb. 16, 2026Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz. Some key things to watch for today:3:30 p.m. A Cabinet meeting will be held, during...
