The Latest Breaking News from Beirut

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday it had reached a draft funding agreement with Lebanon - but that Beirut needed to enact a batch of economic reforms first before its board decided whether to approve the deal.

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rahi on Sunday lashed out at Lebanon’s judiciary, which he said is partly controlled by the political class and is therefore a tool used by statesmen to act against justice. “There is increasing suspicions around Lebanon’s judicial activities,” Rahi said during Sunday’s mass sermon about the delay…

Cheap and tasty, fried potatoes have become a staple in Lebanese mother Mona Amsha's kitchen in recent years. But with sunflower oil prices soaring due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, she fears even fries will be out of reach this Ramadan. "In 2021, when the prices were already up, I…

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation kicked off talks in Beirut Wednesday as part of a two-week mission aimed at securing progress towards funding for crisis-hit Lebanon. The government is hoping to secure a rescue package to exit a deep financial crisis that started in 2019 and has seen most…

Lebanon's top prosecutor on Monday overturned a judicial decision that last week instructed customs authorities to prevent six banks from moving money out of the country, a senior judicial source told Reuters. Last week's decision by Judge Ghada Aoun prompted the banking association to warn that the banks - including…

Lebanese Forces (LF) leader Samir Geagea said on Saturday that recent judicial decisions against his party were against the law. Speaking at a news conference days after a judge charged him over deadly violence in Beirut in October, Geagea said that the judicial decisions were aimed at tarnishing the image…

Political parties have rejected the accusation against Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, who was charged with "stoking strife" during the Tayyouneh clashes in October 2021. The LF and the Mustaqbal Movement condemned on Friday the decision by the Military Court in Beirut to charge Geagea with attempted murder and inciting…

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Friday that Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed Iran’s readiness to contribute in building two power plants in Lebanon, linking their realization with reaching a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. During his second day visit to Beirut, the Iranian Minister separately…

Lebanese President Michel Aoun tweeted on Friday that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian assured him after their meeting in Beirut that Iran was ready to support Lebanon in all fields, "most notably in the provision of wheat". Lebanon bought the bulk of its wheat from Ukraine until Russia's invasion, and…

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian expressed on Thursday his country’s readiness to contribute in building two power plants in Lebanon, each with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts. The minister said he had discussed the offer during his meeting with Prime Minister Najib Mikati on the sidelines of the Munich Security…

A military court has charged Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea over deadly clashes in Beirut last October, a judicial source said on Thursday, a move that could stoke political tension two months before an election. An LF official in said the charge against him was political, and the investigation into…