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Egypt’s foreign minister joins the international chorus calling for cabinet formation

BEIRUT — In a high-profile visit to Lebanon on Wednesday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri implored Lebanon’s politicians to quickly form a government that can steer the country out of its...

Ghada Alsharif, 7 April 2021

Long queues form at gas stations as importers face delays in securing fuel

BEIRUT — A familiar scene has re-emerged at Lebanon’s gas stations over the past few days. Cars and mopeds are backed up at the pumps, spilling over onto the streets as they wait to fill their...

Emily Lewis, 7 April 2021

In an address on Wednesday, President Michel Aoun condemned the central bank, accusing it of attempting to block a forensic audit of its accounts. Without an audit, he said, there will be no "international aid, no CEDRE, no Arab support and no International Monetary Fund"

7 April 2021

Lebanon has registered 3,120 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours. Thirty-three more people have died, bringing the total death toll to 6,512

7 April 2021

Pharmacists have suspended a strike planned for tomorrow after the Health Ministry increased profit margins for pharmaceutical drugs. Last month, a large number of pharmacists went on strike, saying the margins were no longer sustainable amid the lira's collapse

7 April 2021

The Economy Ministry has again slightly decreased the price of bread. Large bundles will increase to 920 grams but still cost LL2,500, a 2% price cut per gram. Small packs will also increase, to 440 g, and cost LL1,750, a 2% per gram drop

7 April 2021

President Michel Aoun will address the country at 8 p.m. He is expected to touch on the delayed forensic audit of the central bank, Lebanon's economic crisis and the government formation stalemate

7 April 2021

Speaking before the French Senate, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called Lebanon's crises a result of "deliberate obstruction by the political class," adding that "the decisions they take or refuse to take in the coming few days will be decisive"

7 April 2021

The Syndicate of Owners of Restaurants, Cafes, Nightclubs and Patisseries says it opposes the latest recommendations from the national COVID-19 committee, which call for a curfew from 7 p.m. – 5 a.m. during the month of Ramadan

7 April 2021

Speaking with Al-Manar, MP Hasan Fadlallah (Hezbollah/Bint Jbeil) said Hezbollah is providing direct assistance to 50,000 underprivileged families and aims to double that number during Ramadan. The aid includes education and health support as well as food packages, he added

7 April 2021

Lebanon’s dollar crisis is dimming the future of students studying abroad

BEIRUT — Lebanese medical student Mohammad Sleiman traveled to Belarus to become the first doctor in his family, but he now fears his country’s economic crisis is going to get him expelled. “I’ve...

7 April 2021

The number of passengers arriving and departing from Beirut’s airport in the first quarter of 2021 fell by 43% compared to the same period last year, the NNA reports. Some 547,869 passengers moved through the airport during the first three months of this year

7 April 2021

Over half of the 3,447 people who missed COVID-19 vaccination appointments in the seventh week of the campaign were due to receive their second dose, Central Inspection, the public administration’s monitoring body, has tweeted, calling on the Health Ministry to address the issue

7 April 2021

Can Lebanon’s politically connected cement sector be reformed?

Last month, cement producer Cimenterie Nationale dramatically announced that it would temporarily halt cement production . In an accusatory press statement, the company blamed the decision on the...

Jacob BOSWALL, 7 April 2021

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has arrived in Lebanon to meet with political figures and urge them to expedite government formation, the NNA reports. Shoukry will conclude his visit by meeting Premier-designate Saad Hariri before holding a press conference

7 April 2021

Protesters on the Nahr al-Bared Bridge in Akkar stopped four refrigerated trucks loaded with petrol and diesel intended to be smuggled to Syria, the NNA reports, adding that the army was summoned to the scene and confiscated the trucks’ cargo

7 April 2021

Trucks, fuel tankers and vans are driving in convoy from Dora roundabout to the Ministry of Interior in response to calls from the land transport unions to strike in protest of deteriorating living conditions, the NNA reports. They will pass through Karantina, Saifi and Hamra

7 April 2021

Efforts to revive BDL audit, Beirut port’s future, Sinopharm vaccine arrives: Everything you need to know today

Want to get the Morning Brief by email? Click here to sign up . The Finance Ministry announced that Banque du Liban will begin submitting outstanding documents requested as part of its...

7 April 2021