Liliane Mokbel 2024-12-21 12:00 - Reading : less than a minute
The Lebanese population is estimated at 5.77 million in 2023, up from 5.74 million in 2022 and 5.72 million in 2021, according to ESCWA. Lebanon's demographic trends reveal a steady growth rate since 1950, when the population stood at 1.35 million. By 2000, the population had reached 4.33 million, and by 2020, it had grown to 5.70 million. The ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-18 21:30 - Reading : less than a minute
The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter point Wednesday and signaled a slower pace of cuts ahead, amid uncertainty about inflation and President-elect Donald Trump's economic plans. Policymakers voted 11-to-1 to lower the US central bank's key lending rate to between 4.25 percent and 4.50 percent, the Fed announced in a statement. ...
Liliane Mokbel 2024-12-18 20:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
The issue of counterfeit $50 bills appears to be nearing a resolution. Over 80% of shops, supermarkets and gas stations now accept these bills for cash payments. The remaining 15% mainly consists of small neighborhood businesses, which have been particularly affected by the economic crisis and the fragility of a cash-reliant economy. “Most ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-17 17:55 - Reading : less than a minute
Federal Reserve United States Financial Markets
Wall Street stocks pulled back early Tuesday ahead of a Federal Reserve decision on interest rates, as markets digested stronger than expected US retail sales. US retail sales rose 0.7 percent in November from a month earlier, up from a revised 0.5 percent in October and above analysts forecasts. The data came ahead of a two-day Federal Reserve ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-17 11:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Malls and shopping centres in Iran's capital will limit opening hours starting Tuesday, closing two hours earlier to tackle severe energy shortages, local media said. The fuel crisis has already led to frequent power cuts in Tehran in recent weeks and nationwide closures of schools and businesses. The Tehran Chamber of Trade Unions and Guilds ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-17 11:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamieh announced on his X account that a new public transport bus line will be launched on Wednesday as part of an ongoing plan to expand the public bus network. The route will start from Nahr al-Mott and pass through key locations, including Sassine Square, AUST University, Hôtel-Dieu and ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-16 22:25 - Reading : less than a minute
The President of the Economic Organizations and former minister, Mohammad Choucair, has called for a reconsideration of the 1991 Treaty of Fraternity, Cooperation and Coordination signed between Lebanon and Syria. This appeal was made in two letters he addressed to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati. ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-16 21:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayad announced on Monday the signing of an agreement between his ministry, the oil facilities in Tripoli and Zahrani, and the Association of Lebanese Industrialists, which permits industrialists to store the diesel fuel they import in the storage tanks of the Tripoli oil facilities. According to the agreement, ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-16 18:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Several power plants in Iran have been shut down due to a fuel shortage exacerbated by a cold wave straining energy supply, local media reported on Monday. Iran, a major energy producer, holds the world's second-largest natural gas reserves, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), and ranked as the seventh-largest crude ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-16 18:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Economy Drugs Pharmacists Syria Lebanon
The President of the Pharmacists’ Syndicate, Joe Salloum, stated that the fall of the Syrian regime would put an end to the smuggling of medications, noting that subsidized medicines have been smuggled across border points. "With the regime's fall, the borders will be controlled, and the process of drug smuggling in both directions will come ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-16 14:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Europe European Union USA Elon Musk
The EU's flagship satellite constellation project officially took off Monday, as the bloc signed a concession contract with a European consortium to develop a secure space-based communication system. Envisaging a multi-orbital network of almost 300 satellites, Iris² aims to rival US satellite internet service providers such as Elon Musk's ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-16 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Banks Donald Trump ECB Christine Lagarde
European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde said Monday eurozone policymakers would keep cutting interest rates and warned that higher US tariffs under President-elect Donald Trump could hit growth in the bloc. "Even though we are not there yet, we are close to achieving our target" of two-percent inflation, Lagarde said in a speech at the Bank ...