Iraq's first sandstorm of the year blankets Baghdad
A sandstorm enveloped central Iraq, including Baghdad, on Friday, the first such weather event to hit the arid country this year. In 2022, Iraq experienced more than a...
Your search results: 26 articles
Christian cemetery vandalized in Saida
BEIRUT — A Maronite Christian cemetery in the southern Lebanese city of Saida was found to be vandalized on Friday, with several tombs damaged. The vandalism was condemned by the head of the...
31 March 2023
US seeks to keep Yemen-bound ammunition seized from Iran
WASHINGTON — The United States is seeking to keep more than 1 million rounds of ammunition that the US Navy seized in December as it was in transit from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to...
31 March 2023
Two Lebanese media outlets summoned by security services
BEIRUT — Within 48 hours, two Lebanese media outlets were summoned by the security services for questioning. One of the founders of the online media outlet Megaphone News was summoned...
Raphaël ABDELNOUR, 31 March 2023
Jerusalem churches seek Israeli cooperation for Easter
The churches in Jerusalem appealed to the Israeli government Friday to ensure Christians are able to worship freely during Easter and its run-up, expressing concern at mounting violence over...
31 March 2023
Iran state TV apologises for airing kiss
Iranian state television has issued an apology after broadcasting images of a couple sharing a brief kiss, local media said Friday. Any display of physical contact between...
31 March 2023
Head of Beirut Bar Association draws ire for 'patriarchal' remarks
BEIRUT — The head of Beirut Bar Association, Nader Gaspar, drew criticism on social media Friday for remarks he made during a Thursday symposium on domestic violence in Lebanon. Gaspar said...
Sally Abou AlJoud, 31 March 2023
The Riad Salameh case: next hearing on April 6
The first investigating judge in Beirut, Charbel Abu Samra, has scheduled a hearing for Thursday, April 6, as part of the ongoing investigation into allegations of “bribery, forgery, money...
Claude ASSAF, 31 March 2023
Sayrafa rate conversions extended until end of April
BEIRUT — Banque du Liban (BDL) announced Friday that it had extended Circular No. 161 for another month, until the end of April. Circular No. 161 allows depositors — individuals, civil servants...
31 March 2023
Humanitarian aid to Lebanon 'just a lifeline,' says EU official
BEIRUT — European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič stressed urged Lebanon Friday to address its multiple crises and reach a bailout agreement with the International Monetary Fund...
31 March 2023
Sleiman Frangieh in Paris to discuss his candidacy
BEIRUT — Sleiman Frangieh arrived in Paris on Friday morning for talks with Patrick Durel, the adviser in charge of North Africa and the Middle East at the Élysée Palace, a source close to the...
31 March 2023
Tripoli soap factory keeps tradition alive — as long as the building remains standing
TRIPOLI — The smell of laurel fills the air inside the nearly 200-year-old soap factory in the northern city of Tripoli. A fresh batch of soap is being cooked in the giant cast iron cauldron...
Mohamad El Chamaa, 31 March 2023
Two bullets fired at building of Turkish opposition party
ISTANBUL — The building of a Turkish opposition party in Istanbul was hit by two bullets overnight, its leader said Friday, in what she described as an attempt to scare party members ahead of next...
31 March 2023
Hezbollah cautiously silent amid daylight savings controversy
There is a noticeable silence in Haret Hreik. While sectarian squabbling simmered this past weekend over daylight savings time, Hezbollah remained silent, even refraining from defending its...
Salah Hijazi, 31 March 2023
CMA CGM awarded contract to manage postal services in Lebanon
In less than 24 hours, CMA CGM went from withdrawing its bid to run Lebanon’s postal service to being the sole candidate in the second tender issued by the Ministry of Telecommunications to replace...
Philippe HAGE BOUTROS, 31 March 2023
Turkish exile faces fifth trial over deadly 1998 blast
A Turkish dissident sociologist who lives in self-imposed exile in France goes on trial in absentia Friday over a deadly 1998 Istanbul explosion, a charge she has been cleared of four times....
31 March 2023
Nabatieh's court auxiliaries plan week-long strike starting Monday
BEIRUT — Auxiliary employees at the Justice Palace in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, announced Friday they would go on strike for a week starting Monday, demanding better salaries and working...
31 March 2023
Blinken affirms Israel ties, warns on peace after Netanyahu spat
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday pledged enduring ties with Israel but warned against inflaming tensions with the Palestinians, following a rare public spat between the allies....
31 March 2023
Quake hit one-fifth of Turkey's food production: UN
The devastating earthquake that hit southern Turkey and neighboring Syria in February damaged more than 20 percent of Turkey's agricultural production, the UN's food agency said Friday....
31 March 2023
ISF arrests suspected member of Lebanon-Belgium drug smuggling network
BEIRUT — Lebanon's Internal Security Forces arrested a suspected member of a drug smuggling network from Lebanon to Belgium and seized "an amount of hashish" hidden in a brazier, the ISF said in a...
31 March 2023
Gasoline prices slightly increase, diesel and gas tank prices decrease
BEIRUT — Fuel prices slightly increased in Lebanon on Friday morning, according to the latest tariffs announced by the Energy Ministry. Here are the new prices: • Twenty liters of 95-octane...
31 March 2023
France concerned by 'prolonged political impasse in Lebanon'
BEIRUT — France's Foreign Affairs Ministry reiterated on Thursday its call for Lebanon to elect a new president, while reforms are "more than ever essential" amid "the continued political...
31 March 2023
Israeli attack kills Iranian Guards officer in Syria, Iran says
DAMASCUS/DUBAI — An Israeli attack in Syria on Friday killed an officer in Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the Guards said, as the second strike near Damascus in two days pointed to an intensifying...
31 March 2023
Six US troops suffer traumatic brain injuries in Syria: Pentagon
WASHINGTON — Six US troops in Syria suffered traumatic brain injuries during two attacks last week by Iran-backed militants, the Pentagon said on Thursday, adding they were diagnosed during routine...
31 March 2023
Turkey becomes last NATO nation to ratify Finland membership
Turkey on Thursday became the final NATO nation to ratify Finland's membership of the US-led defense alliance in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Lawmakers...
31 March 2023
Airport expansion scrapped, Ogero strike, new bidder for postal service: Everything you need to know to start your Friday
Want to get the Morning Brief by email? Click here to sign up . Plans to construct a second terminal at the Beirut international airport have been scrapped , caretaker Public Works Minister...
