Europeans to question Riad Salameh next month
European investigators will question Lebanon's central bank chief, Riad Salameh, next month as part of a probe into his and his brother's affairs, a judicial official told AFP on Friday....
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French-Irish citizen held in Iran suspends hunger strike
A French-Irish citizen held in Iran has suspended his dry hunger strike at the request of his family, who fear for his life, his sister told AFP on Friday. Bernard Phelan,...
20 January 2023
Roads briefly blocked in Saïda for crisis protest
Several roads were blocked Friday night by demonstrators in Saida, a major city in southern Lebanon, to protest the country's deteriorating situation. The protests took place as the national...
20 January 2023
Families of port explosion victims approach MPs with fait accompli
Some 100 people responded Thursday to the call of the victim's relatives to demonstrate on the sidelines of Parliament’s presidential election session. “Today we are not here to talk, but to...
Lyana ALAMEDDINE, 20 January 2023
EU to expand sanctions on Iran over protest crackdown
The EU will impose new sanctions on 37 Iranian officials and organizations over the crackdown on protests but is still debating listing the Revolutionary Guard as a "terrorist" group, diplomats...
20 January 2023
Three lessons to draw from Parliament's 11th presidential election session
On Thursday, Parliament once again failed to elect a new president in its eleventh electoral session. The session yielded 37 blank ballots, 14 spoiled ballots bearing the inscription of “New...
Salah HIJAZI, 20 January 2023
Al-Shabaab attack kills seven soldiers in Somalia
An Al-Shabaab attack killed seven soldiers Friday at a military camp in a Somali town retaken by the army this week in a major offensive against the jihadist group, the government said....
20 January 2023
Greece busts migrant trafficking network on Turkish border
Greek police said Friday that they broke up a network trafficking illegal migrants on the Turkish border, making seven arrests. Police said the suspects were due to appear...
20 January 2023
Banque du Liban formalizes lollar rate at LL15,000
As previously announced by Banque du Liban (BDL) governor, Riad Salameh, the central bank on Friday formalized an increased conversion rate for "bank dollars," or "lollars," set at LL15,000. BDL...
20 January 2023
Dozens protest in Beirut in solidarity with MPs who slept in Parliament
BEIRUT — Dozens of people protested Friday in front of Parliament in downtown Beirut to show solidarity with Forces of Change MPs Najat Aoun Saliba and Melhem Khalaf, who slept overnight inside the...
20 January 2023
When it comes to Lebanon’s yacht import market, a little duty would go a long way
BEIRUT — In the midst of one of the worst economic depression s in the modern world, 53 motor yachts were imported into Lebanon in 2022. They were valued at almost $8 million. $4.6 million of...
Richard SALAME, 20 January 2023
Lira crosses all-time low of LL51,000 to the dollar
BEIRUT — The Lebanese lira on Friday hit an all-time low of LL51,000 against the US dollar on the parallel market, according to the online platform Lirarate. The drop comes days before the bank...
20 January 2023
Abiad launches new COVID-19 vax campaign
BEIRUT — Caretaker Health Minister Firass Abiad on Friday launched a campaign to provide people in Lebanon with doses of the Pfizer bivalent COVID-19 vaccine. In a press conference on Friday in...
20 January 2023
Lebanese street food: Malak al-Tawouk is thriving in Paris
In the René Boulanger side street, a few steps from Paris’ Renaissance theater, a bright yellow facade catches the eye. It is decorated with the orange crest of the famous rooster emblematic of...
Joséphine HOBEIKA, 20 January 2023
Lebanon (again) loses voting rights at UN General Assembly
BEIRUT — Lebanon, Venezuela, South Sudan, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and the Dominican Republic have lost their right to vote in the UN General Assembly for not paying their minimum contributions to...
Sylviane ZEHIL, 20 January 2023
Fuel prices increase
BEIRUT — Fuel prices increased in Lebanon again on Friday, according to the latest tariffs announced by the Energy Ministry, as the Lebanese lira continues its record depreciation on the parallel...
20 January 2023
MPs Khalaf and Saliba still in Parliament to demand election of president
BEIRUT — Forces of Change MPs Melhem Khalaf (Beirut II) and Najat Aoun Saliba (Chouf) were still holding their Parlament sit-in as of Friday night. Khalaf and Saliba spent Thursday night inside...
20 January 2023
US dollar hits symbolic LL50,000 between two BDL interventions
The exchange rate finally exceeded LL50,000 against the US dollar on the parallel market Thursday, after getting dangerously close to it in late December and last week. This is all while Banque Du...
Philippe HAGE BOUTROS, 20 January 2023
Saudi rules out Israel normalization without two-state solution
Saudi Arabia will not normalize ties with Israel in the absence of a two-state solution with the Palestinians, the kingdom's top diplomat has said, according to a tweet by the foreign ministry on...
20 January 2023
UNIFIL asks Israel to stop works in 'sensitive' areas
BEIRUT — After tensions increased on the Lebanese Israeli border Wednesday, the spokesman for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Andrea Tenenti, told L'Orient-Le Jour Friday...
Zeina ANTONIOS, 20 January 2023
Will Lebanon have a ski season this year?
After an exceptionally cold and snowy winter last year, the weather this January looks less promising for Lebanon's ski resorts. The country's ski season has yet to begin given the absence of...
Zeina ANTONIOS, 20 January 2023
Harvard backtracks on Israel critic after outcry
America's prestigious Harvard University said Thursday it would offer a fellowship to a leading human rights advocate after an initial snub over his criticism of Israel sparked a backlash....
20 January 2023
Designer Amiri supports Iran protests at Paris Fashion Week
Los Angeles-based designer Mike Amiri, who is of Iranian descent, wore a T-shirt loudly showing support for women protesting in Iran at a well-received show at Paris Fashion Week on Thursday....
20 January 2023
MPs protest in darkened Parliament, lira falls below LL50,000, blast victims’ portraits erased: Everything you need to know to start your Friday
Want to get the Morning Brief by email? Click here to sign up. Parliament remained undecided on the next head of state after its 11th presidential electoral session; meanwhile, relatives of...
20 January 2023
Salameh's cases: What you need to know in five minutes
The days when Riad Salameh was presented as a financial genius are long gone. Over the last three years, the cascade of revelations about the governor of the central bank of Lebanon has been...
