Lebanon

UNIFIL Dismisses Termination Rumors, Reaffirms Commitment to South Lebanon
UNIFIL Dismisses Termination Rumors, Reaffirms Commitment to South Lebanon

UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti on Thursday denied rumors about an alleged agreement to end the peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon. In an interview with Al-Jadeed TV, Tenenti said, “There is no agreement between the United States and Israel to end UNIFIL’s mission in southern Lebanon – what is being said on the matter is merely ...

Lebanon’s Missed Moment: How Emotions and Arrogance Blinded Us to Collapse
Op-edLebanon’s Missed Moment: How Emotions and Arrogance Blinded Us to Collapse

Sometimes history gives you a window of opportunity so wide, so glaringly obvious, that missing it becomes a form of national self-harm. Lebanon is living one of those moments now, and letting it slip, again. For the first time in decades, Hezbollah is not at the peak of its military or political power. Israel’s 2024 campaign decimated much of ...

Special Space ‘Shuttles’ Bound for Disaster
Special Space ‘Shuttles’ Bound for Disaster

Three... two... one... Touchdown! Each week, the Rafic Hariri International Airport runway hums with the arrival of diplomatic missions. On Monday, France’s special envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian touched down. American envoys Tom Barrack and Massaad Boulos are expected soon. But so far, each mission has taken off again before Lebanon’s ...

Former Economy Minister Amin Salam and Brother Arrested on Corruption Charges – Sky News Arabia
Former Economy Minister Amin Salam and Brother Arrested on Corruption Charges – Sky News Arabia

Former Economy Minister Amin Salam and his brother, Karim Salam, were reportedly arrested on Wednesday at the request of Judge Jamal al-Hajjar, the chief public prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, according to Sky News Arabia. The arrests come just days after Amin Salam was summoned by the judiciary for questioning. The case stems from an ...

LAF Commander Reaffirms Coordination with UNIFIL
LAF Commander Reaffirms Coordination with UNIFIL

Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) Commander General Rudolph Haikal emphasized the critical importance of continued coordination between the Lebanese Army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) during a visit to the mission’s headquarters in Naqoura on Wednesday. In a meeting with UNIFIL Commander Major General Aroldo Lázaro, Haikal ...

The Israeli Army Crosses the Blue Line, Kills a Man in Beit Leif
The Israeli Army Crosses the Blue Line, Kills a Man in Beit Leif

An Israeli drone strike targeted a parked car outside a residential home in the town of Beit Leif, in ssouthern Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil district, killing one person and injuring three others, the Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday. Also Wednesday, an Israeli infantry unit reportedly advanced into the outskirts of the southern Lebanese ...

Lebanon’s Public Debt Exceeds $100 Billion
Lebanon’s Public Debt Exceeds $100 Billion

According to official statistics and reports from several local banks, Lebanon's public debt has exceeded the $100 billion mark. This historic level reflects years of accumulated budget deficits, inefficient public management, poor financial governance and a lack of structural reforms. This debt includes both domestic and external debt incurred ...

Salam Engages with UN Officials, Eyes Airport Revival
Salam Engages with UN Officials, Eyes Airport Revival

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam led a series of high-level meetings on Wednesday at the Grand Serail, addressing regional tensions, bilateral ties and infrastructure proposals. In a closed-door meeting with UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, discussions focused on rising security tensions in southern Lebanon. While no ...

Lebanese Transport Strike Suspended After Promises of Relief
Lebanese Transport Strike Suspended After Promises of Relief

Lebanon’s land‑transport unions have suspended the nationwide strike planned for Thursday after a tentative agreement from the government to cushion spiralling fuel costs and extend public‑sector pay rises. Following a two‑hour meeting at the Government Palace chaired by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Minister of Labor Mohammad Haidar ...

Setbacks Undermine Palestinian Camp Disarmament Ahead of June 15 Deadline
PoliticsSetbacks Undermine Palestinian Camp Disarmament Ahead of June 15 Deadline

Lebanese and Palestinian officials face a looming deadline to implement the first phase of a long-delayed plan to disarm Palestinian refugee camps, set for June 15. However, sources suggest the process is unlikely to unfold as Lebanese authorities had hoped, with several key details still unresolved. Palestinian representatives say they are still ...

Lebanon Meets the IMF: An Exercise in Masochism
Op-edLebanon Meets the IMF: An Exercise in Masochism

The latest round of kabuki theater between Lebanon’s government and the IMF has produced what all such high-level summits inevitably do: a mixture of forced smiles, indecipherable jargon, and the vague scent of scorched-earth diplomacy. It also revealed something everyone in the room knew but no one had the courage—or funding—to fix: Lebanon ...