About: Lebanon
‘No path ahead but the sea’: Lebanese join migrant flow to EU
If he wasn't making good money smuggling irregular migrants to the European Union by sea, Ibrahim himself might have joined the growing exodus from crisis-hit Lebanon.
Deadly shooting rocks Beirut as tensions over blast probe erupt
At least two people were killed in Beirut on Thursday when heavy gunfire targeted supporters of the Shi'ite group Hezbollah, as they headed to a protest demanding the removal of the judge investigating last year's explosion at the city's port.
Lebanon restores power supply after complete halt
Lebanon’s power supplies were back to normal on Sunday (10 October) after a blackout the previous day when the country’s two biggest power stations shut down because of a fuel shortage, the Energy Ministry said. The closure piled further hardship...
Cyprus turns into second home to many Lebanese
Just as during the 1975-1990 civil war that ravaged their country, hundreds of Lebanese families are turning to neighbouring Cyprus to escape the miseries of everyday life back home.
Our mission to Lebanon: help the EU to help you
The European Union is ready to help. The European progressive forces stand beside the Lebanese people to facilitate the financial support necessary to relaunch the economy. Are Lebanon’s leaders and politicians ready?
EU removes US, Western Balkan countries from COVID safe list for non-essential travel
The European Union on Monday (30 August) recommended that its member states reimpose travel restrictions on US tourists over rising covid infections in the country.
Lebanon donor conference exceeds aid target
An international donor conference collected hundreds of millions of dollars in urgent aid for Lebanon on Wednesday (4 August), exceeding an initial target, co-hosts France said.
Macron hosts new Lebanon fundraiser a year after port blast
French President Emmanuel Macron will seek to raise more than $350 million in aid for Lebanon at a donors' conference marking the anniversary of the Beirut port blast, and send yet another warning to its squabbling political class.
EU wants Lebanese sanctions regime framework by end July
The European Union said on Monday (12 July) it wanted to agree by the end of July the legal framework for a sanctions regime targeting Lebanese leaders, but cautioned that the measure would not be immediately implemented.
Lebanon’s crisis caused by feud over power, says Borrell
The EU's foreign policy chief said a fight among Lebanese leaders is at the heart of its government crisis and he urged them to set their feud aside and form a cabinet or risk a total financial crash and sanctions.
Germany to propose Beirut port reconstruction with ‘strings attached’
Germany will next week present a multi-billion-dollar proposal to Lebanese authorities to rebuild the Port of Beirut as part of efforts to entice the country’s politicians to form a government capable of warding off financial collapse, two sources said.
Hezbollah links seen in 2012 Israeli bus attack in Bulgaria
A Bulgarian court on Monday (21 September) sentenced two Lebanese men in their absence to life in prison over a deadly 2012 bus bomb attack on Israeli tourists at the country's Burgas airport.
France creates reform roadmap for crisis-ridden Lebanon
French President Emmanuel Macron has created a roadmap for Lebanese politicians outlining political and financial reforms needed to unlock foreign aid and rescue the country from multiple crises including an economic meltdown.
Hezbollah member guilty of Lebanon ex-PM’s 2005 murder
A UN-backed tribunal on Tuesday (18 August) found a member of the Hezbollah Shiite movement guilty over the 2005 murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri but cleared three other suspects after a years-long trial.
Lebanon’s leaders warned in July about explosives at port, documents reveal
Lebanese security officials warned the prime minister and president last month that 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in Beirut’s port posed a security risk and could destroy the capital if it exploded, according to documents.
World pledges €250 million to Lebanon, to be delivered ‘directly’ to population
World leaders on Sunday (9 August) pledged more than €250 million for disaster-struck Lebanon, conference host France said, with the emergency aid to be delivered "directly" to a population reeling from the deadly port blast in Beirut.
EU chief Michel heading to Beirut on Saturday
President of the European Council Charles Michel will head to Beirut on Saturday (8 August), ahead of a major donors conference to raise funds for the blast-damaged Lebanese capital Beirut.
EU releases 33 million euros emergency aid for Beirut blast
The European Union announced Thursday (6 August) that it had released €33 million to finance initial emergency aid for Lebanon and mobilised material resources, including an Italian hospital ship, to help relief efforts in Beirut, devastated Tuesday by two explosions.
EU Commission ready to help Lebanon with preferential trade
The European Commission is ready to help Lebanon with preferential trade and customs backing, president Ursula Von der Leyen said on Thursday (6 August) after a phone call with Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab.
In Beirut, Macron says Lebanese leaders need to hear ‘home truths’
Lebanon mourned on Thursday (6 August) the victims of the most powerful blast to hit a country that has already been struck down by an economic crisis, as rescuers searched for those missing since the explosion flattened Beirut port and devastated the city.
‘Urgent deployment’ of rescuers to Beirut: EU
The European Union said Wednesday (5 August) it would rush rescuers, search dogs and equipment to Beirut to look for any survivors trapped in rubble after the massive blast that struck the city.
Toll expected to rise in blast that shook Beirut, killing 78 and injuring thousands
Lebanese rescue workers dug through the rubble looking for survivors of a powerful warehouse explosion that shook the capital Beirut on Tuesday (4 August), killing 78 people and injuring nearly 4,000 in a toll that officials expected to rise.
Arab uprisings: spring time continues
Since the rapture of the 2011 Arab uprisings, starting in Tunisia and sweeping through North Africa and the Middle East – most notably engulfing Libya, Egypt, Syria, and Yemen – a bitter aftertaste of repression and civil war lingers, writes Sharon Lecocq.