Lebanon
Lebanon
Factbox: Just how bad is Lebanon’s economic crisis?
September 16th, 20220 Savers held up two banks in Lebanon on Wednesday to demand access to their own deposits frozen in the country's paralyzed financial system, underlining desperation among citizens unable to access savings since an economic crisis began in 2019. There were similar incidents in Beirut in August and in eastern Lebanon in January. The...
Depositors hold up two Lebanese banks to grab their own money
September 14th, 20220 Two seemingly armed and desperate Lebanese depositors held up banks on Wednesday to force access to their own money, which has been blocked during a national financial meltdown. One woman with a gun, that she later said was a toy, and some associates briefly held hostages at a branch of BLOM Bank in the capital Beirut, before leaving...
Lebanon-Israel maritime talks to conclude in “days”, official says
September 13th, 20220 Maritime border talks between Lebanon and Israel that could help allocate oil and gas resources are close to concluding after around two years of negotiations, a top Lebanese security official told Reuters on Tuesday. "We're talking about weeks — actually, days — to finish the delineation issue," the head of Lebanon's General...
Lebanese chess champion withdraws from international competition
August 23rd, 20220 LEBANON — Nadia Fawaz, a Lebanese chess champion, was matched with an Israeli player, Elia Grozman, in the fourth round of the 28th Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival. Lebanese outlet The961 has reported that Fawaz, however, decided she did not want to play with an Israeli and has withdrawn from the international chess...
Nasrallah: “no one” will extract gas from maritime zone if Lebanon is unable to do so
July 15th, 20220 Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had strong words on Wednesday about a maritime oil dispute between Lebanon and Israel. Nasrallah warned that "no one" would be allowed to operate in maritime oil and gas fields if Lebanon was barred from its "rights" in extracting from areas off of its own coast. "If Lebanon is prevented...
Analysis: Political and banking deadlock may plunge Lebanon deeper into crisis
July 2nd, 20220 BEIRUT – Lebanon’s untamed financial crisis is gathering new menace as it heads into a fourth year, with political paralysis dampening hope of reforms that could unlock foreign support and stave off social turmoil, according to analysts, lawmakers and former officials. The emergency gripping the small country squeezed between Syria...
Elections results in Lebanon raise fear of new power struggle
May 20th, 20220 Lebanon's emboldened opposition goes from protest to parliament BEIRUT – When Halime El Kaakour enters Lebanon's parliament as a newly elected lawmaker next week, she will step past the same concrete barriers that security forces erected to keep her and other protesters out during massive anti-government rallies in 2019. Powered by...
Lebanon security forces bust 17 Israeli spy rings
February 3rd, 20220 Lebanese authorities said on Monday that the country's intelligence and security agencies dismantled 17 Israeli spy rings and made numerous arrests in connection with the network. The spy network was embedded in various aspects of Lebanese society and collected data on politicians and NGOS, specifically targeting Palestinian...
Beirut blast probe judge cleared to continue investigation
December 7th, 20210 BEIRUT — The probe into last year's deadly Beirut port blast has been cleared to resume after being suspended for more than a month on legal claims against its lead investigator, Judge Tarek Bitar, a judicial source said. A Beirut court rejected the last of the suits preventing Bitar from questioning top officials on...
Children skipping meals in majority of families in Lebanon, UNICEF says
November 25th, 20210 BEIRUT — More than half of families in Lebanon had at least one child who skipped a meal by October amid a "dramatic deterioration of living conditions," the U.N.'s children's fund said in a report released on Tuesday. Children have been hit hard by the country's deep economic crisis exacerbated by the global coronavirus pandemic,...
Lebanon’s PM attempts a way out of Gulf embargo placed on crisis-ridden country
November 5th, 20210 Lebanon is facing its worst rift yet with oil-rich Gulf Arab states, spurred by comments made by Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi before his official appointment about the Saudi-led campaign that has created a severe humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Thursday he had agreed with...
Dingell once again presses U.S. government for Lebanon TPS designation
November 4th, 20210 DEARBORN — As a followup to several requests to the Biden administration to provide temporary protective status (TPS) to Lebanese nationals in the U.S., U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) sent a letter to the U.S. Department of State this week. "Almost every single day, I hear from neighbors in my district who are desperate to...
Sectarian violence in Lebanon awaken bitter memories of Civil War in local community
October 22nd, 20210 The subject of decades-old sectarian strife has been rekindled in Lebanon, following a deadly shooting of protesters last Thursday. The leader of the Christian Lebanese Forces (LF) dismissed accusations by Hezbollah that it has a militia and seeks civil war as the fallout of deadly violence, in which seven Shi’a Lebanese were shot...
Deadly shooting rocks Beirut as tensions over blast probe erupt
October 14th, 20210 BEIRUT — At least six Shi'as were shot dead in Beirut on Thursday, in an attack on protesters who were heading for a demonstration called by Hezbollah to demand the removal of the judge investigating the explosion that ripped through the city's port last year. The Iran-backed Hezbollah and its ally, the Shi'a Amal Movement, accused...
Judge survives bid to remove him from Beirut blast investigation
October 4th, 20210 BEIRUT — The judge investigating Beirut's catastrophic port explosion survived attempts to have him removed from the inquiry when a court dismissed two complaints against him on Monday. The investigation into the Aug. 4, 2020 explosion, one of the biggest non-nuclear blasts in history, has made little headway amid a smear campaign......
Angry relatives of Beirut blast victims protest probe delays
September 29th, 20210 BEIRUT — Hundreds of relatives of victims of last year's Beirut port explosion, some chanting and some silent, took to the streets on Wednesday, angry that an investigation into the disaster had been delayed for the second time this year. Some carried miniature figures of people on death row with signs below reading "the end for...
Lebanon at risk of complete blackout by end of the month
September 23rd, 20210 BEIRUT — Lebanon's state electricity company said on Thursday it risked a total blackout across the country by the end of September as its fuel oil reserves dwindle. Lebanon, in the throes of one of the worst economic meltdowns of modern history, has been plagued by worsening fuel shortages for the past few months with most...
Hezbollah brings Iranian fuel into Lebanon, checks U.S. sanctions with cheers from locals
September 16th, 20210 Hezbollah began bringing Iranian fuel into Lebanon via Syria on Thursday, a move the group says should ease a crippling energy crisis but which opponents say risks provoking U.S. sanctions. Dozens of trucks carrying Iranian fuel oil entered northeastern Lebanon near the village of al-Ain, where Hezbollah's yellow flag fluttered from...
Lebanon agrees new government to tackle economic collapse
September 10th, 20210 BEIRUT - Lebanese leaders agreed a new government led by Sunni Muslim tycoon Najib Mikati on Friday after a year of feuding over cabinet seats that has exacerbated a devastating economic collapse, opening the way to a resumption of talks with the IMF. The breakthrough followed a flurry of contacts with France, which has led efforts to......
Inflationary pressures force Lebanese to make tough choices
September 9th, 20210 BEIRUT — Ibrahim Jaber was laid off when the fast food restaurant where he worked as a chef in Beirut shut down. Unable to find another job, he had to take his daughter out of school to put food on the table at home. He is one of many Lebanese who have found themselves facing staggering inflation just as their employers, also hit...
Tlaib, Dingell-led appeal for Lebanon TPS sees 70 cosigners
September 8th, 20210 DEARBORN — As Lebanon's humanitarian crisis worsens, some lawmakers are seeking protection against removal for the Lebanese nationals in the U.S. Last month, U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) spoke to The Arab American News about a letter they were circulating among colleagues in the House to urge......
Lebanese state’s permission not sought for Iranian fuel, minister says
September 1st, 20210 BEIRUT — The Lebanese government has received no request for fuel to be imported from Iran, the caretaker energy minister said on Wednesday, appearing to confirm that the Shi'a group Hezbollah has bypassed the state with a move to import Iranian fuel. Hezbollah, a heavily armed group founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982,...
Tlaib, Dingell ask for extension of stay for Lebanese nationals in U.S. during dire crisis
August 27th, 20211 A letter co-led by U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) and Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) is urging the Biden administration to allow Lebanese nationals an extension of their stay in the U.S. during Lebanon's dire economic crisis, by designating Lebanon for Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. Support for the letter is growing in the......
