The Latest Breaking News from Lebanon

A Lebanese intelligence chief who has mediated the release of Westerners held in Syria and also acted as a mediator within Lebanon has stepped down after attempts to extend his term failed

Head of the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea believes that there are currently so solutions that can resolve the presidential vacuum in Lebanon. “We have grown accustomed to tactics used by Hezbollah in previous presidential elections,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat. He explained that the party will allow the situation to reach…

French Diplomat Maurice Gourdault-Montagne's memoirs are unlike those of any regular ambassador that fill French libraries year after year. The author of “The Others Don’t Think Like Us” is no ordinary ambassador. Now retired, his long diplomatic career took him to Tokyo, Beijing, Berlin and London. He was France’s sherpa…

The term of Lebanon's powerful General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim is set to end this week as neither cabinet nor parliament have discussed a measure that would allow him to stay on after reaching the legal retirement age. Ibrahim, who hails from southern Lebanon, has headed the General Security directorate…

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati reiterated that his calls on the outgoing Interior Minister to block judicial “violations” taken by FPM Judge Ghada Aoun against local banks are not considered an interference in the judiciary. He emphasized that some decisions must be taken for the good of the country. “We…

Unknown assailants broke into the offices of Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency and stole the servers that contain its archives, the Information Ministry said Monday. The theft occurred in a tightly secured area, further reflecting the cash-strapped country’s continued decay. The archives are located in a building that houses two…

The economic situations in Lebanon and Egypt are both dire, but for now the ramifications are more manageable in Egypt. That's the view of Timothy Kaldas from the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. He told FRANCE 24 that while parallels can be drawn between the countries, there is reason…

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant recently issued an order to uncover a gold smuggling operation between Iran and Venezuela that is funding Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror activity, bypassing sanctions. In a signed document, the Minister revealed that dozens of kilograms of gold were smuggled on an Iranian Mahan Air flight, which…

An estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees live in Lebanon, nine out of 10 in extreme poverty. In such circumstances, female refugees are particularly vulnerable to gender-based violence. Here is one woman’s story

Amid economic crisis and a culture of ‘militarised masculinity’, domestic violence is on the rise in Lebanese households and the sizeable Syrian refugee community

Banks in Switzerland are holding a substantial amount of the millions of dollars Lebanese central bank chief Riad Salameh is accused of embezzling, Swiss media reported on Sunday. Salameh, 72, faces investigations related to suspicions of money laundering and illicit enrichment in Lebanon and abroad after he amassed a fortune…