lebanon

14th Meeting of Mechanism: Civilian Participants Added to Enhance Stability and Success

Senior officials convened for the 14th iteration of the Pentalateral on December 3 in Naqoura to assess ongoing efforts to reach an enduring cessation of hostilities arrangement in Lebanon, reported the US Embassy in Beirut in a statement.  To support a durable peace and shared prosperity of both sides, former Ambassador Simon Karam of Lebanon ...

Lebanon Must Answer the Pope’s Call for Peace

From the heart of Lebanon—a biblical land living under Hezbollah’s shadow—Pope Leo XIV issued a clarion call for genuine peace, not merely a ceasefire, between longstanding adversaries. Although he refrained from naming Israel directly, the implication was unmistakable: the pontiff was urging Lebanon to pursue normalization with its southern ...

Kanaan Warns of “Constitutional Violation” in Unaudited State Accounts

Following a Finance and Budget Committee meeting on Wednesday, its chairman, MP Ibrahim Kanaan, issued sharp warnings over the state’s continued failure to produce audited financial accounts, describing this as a “clear constitutional violation” of Article 87. Kanaan stressed that Lebanese citizens are required to submit their accounts for ...

A Historic Day: Lebanon and Israel Hold First Direct Talks in Decades

Lebanon and Israel held their first civilian-led direct talks in decades on Wednesday, in a meeting hosted by UNIFIL in Naqura as part of the ceasefire monitoring mechanism established in November 2024. The shift from military to political dialogue marks a historic rupture in Lebanese policy—driven by President Joseph Aoun’s bold ...

Syrian Security Forces Foil Hezbollah Landmine Smuggling Operation

Syrian authorities said on Wednesday they had killed a man and arrested four others who were attempting to smuggle hundreds of landmines to Hezbollah. In a statement, the interior ministry said it launched a raid in Al-Jebbe, near the capital Damascus, during which "four people were arrested and a fifth neutralized after a clash." Khaled Abbas ...

A Historic Decision by Joseph Aoun… Lebanon on the Path to Joining the Abraham Accords

The news of appointing former ambassador Simon Karam to head the Lebanese delegation to the “Mechanism” meetings—and the Presidency’s confirmation of his participation in today’s session in Naqoura—can only be understood within the context of the bold steps President Joseph Aoun is taking to move toward direct negotiations to resolve ...

AIDS in Lebanon: A Chronic Disease, A Stubborn Taboo

The history of AIDS officially begins in the early 1980s, when research teams, including that of Luc Montagnier at the Institut Pasteur, identified the human immunodeficiency virus. At the time, doctors had neither reliable tests nor effective treatment. Today, the situation has radically changed: triple and dual antiretroviral therapies control ...

Pope Leo XIV: The Church Proposed That Hezbollah Lay Down Arms and Pursue Dialogue

Pope Leo XIV revealed on Tuesday, during a press conference aboard the plane returning him to Rome after his visit to Beirut, that “the Church has put forward a proposal” calling on Hezbollah to “abandon its weapons and prioritize dialogue.” He said he had been informed of a message sent by the Shiite movement during his stay in ...

Port Explosion: Israeli Army Claims Hezbollah Eliminated Four Key Witnesses

The Israeli army accused on Tuesday a Hezbollah unit of assassinating four Lebanese figures who allegedly possessed information implicating the Shiite movement in the Beirut port explosion of August 2020, according to its Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, on X (formerly Twitter). According to the Israeli army, Hezbollah’s Unit 121 ...

Pope Leo XIV Sends Voice Message to President Aoun and the Lebanese People

From the plane carrying him back to Rome, Pope Leo XIV sent a voice message to President Joseph Aoun, broadcast by LBCI on Tuesday. In the recording, the pontiff expressed his gratitude for the welcome he received during his visit to Lebanon. “While on my way to Rome following the conclusion of my papal visit, I would like to express my ...