Lebanon

Figure of the Week: Beirut Souks Sees 62 Stores Open, Falling Short of 2024 Target
Numbers & FiguresFigure of the Week: Beirut Souks Sees 62 Stores Open, Falling Short of 2024 Target

62 stores are currently open and welcoming customers at the Beirut Souks Shopping Center. Seven of these opened in December 2024, and six more are expected to open in January. However, the total number of open stores is still just under half of the 140 originally planned for the end of 2024 – a target set before the two months of conflict.

Scandal at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport
Scandal at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport

According to local TV channel MTV, the arrival of an Iranian plane unveiled years of smuggling at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport. Three customs control teams operate at Beirut Airport. While these teams are traditionally sectarian, one team, composed entirely of three Shiite controllers, has allegedly been facilitating the smuggling of ...

Israeli Incursion on the Outskirts of Southern Border Villages
Israeli Incursion on the Outskirts of Southern Border Villages

The Israeli Army conducted an incursion on Saturday morning from the outskirts of Odaisseh towards the town of Taybeh, where a wide sweep was carried out using medium and heavy machine guns. Simultaneously, Israeli helicopters conducted low-altitude flights over the area. An Israeli Army motorized force also advanced between the Bastra and ...

A Farewell to Arms
ChronicleA Farewell to Arms

A farewell to arms is the essential condition for a return to normal political life in Lebanon, whether or not a new president is elected on January 9. Hezbollah must reinvent itself and relinquish all military autonomy. After everything that has happened, a return to the status quo ante is out of the question, and the Speaker of Parliament must ...

Mikati Makes First Contact With Syria's New Ruler
Mikati Makes First Contact With Syria's New Ruler

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati had a call with the leader of the new Syrian administration Ahmed Al-Sharaa Friday evening, the first contact between them since the ouster of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad early last month. They discussed bilateral relations and emergency issues between the two countries, notably the border clashes ...

Four Lebanese Soldiers Injured in Border Clashes with Syrian Gunmen
Four Lebanese Soldiers Injured in Border Clashes with Syrian Gunmen

Four Lebanese soldiers were injured on Friday during clashes between the army and Syrian gunmen in the Maaraboun-Baalbek region on the Lebanese-Syrian border. According to a statement by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), the Syrian gunmen used “medium-caliber weaponry to target a military unit, causing moderate injuries to four ...

Border Tensions: Lebanese Army Clashes with Syrian Gunmen
Border Tensions: Lebanese Army Clashes with Syrian Gunmen

Multiple people were injured in Friday’s firefight between Syrian gunmen and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in the town of Maarboun in the Baalbeck caza, which escalated security events near the Syrian border. Furthermore, in Akkar, armed Syrians crossed the border to illegally cut down trees. According to a statement issued by the Lebanese ...

Lebanese Nationals Barred From Entering Syria, Investigation Underway
Lebanese Nationals Barred From Entering Syria, Investigation Underway

Several Lebanese nationals were denied entry into Syria at the Masnaa border crossing on Thursday, taken aback by strict conditions newly imposed by Syrian authorities. A senior official from the Lebanese General Security (SG) stated to the local channel MTV on Friday that the department had not been informed of these new measures. According to ...

Chamoun: Joseph Aoun Is the Most Prominent Candidate
Chamoun: Joseph Aoun Is the Most Prominent Candidate

MP Camille Chamoun announced on Friday that Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun is the opposition’s leading presidential candidate. He made this statement during a meeting with MP Samy Gemayel, the head of the Kataeb Party, at Gemayel’s residence in Bikfaya. Chamoun emphasized that the phase leading to the upcoming electoral session ...

Rising Tensions Between Hospitals and Insurers
Rising Tensions Between Hospitals and Insurers

A heated conflict has erupted between the Syndicate of Hospital Owners in Lebanon and the Association of Insurance Companies. The Syndicate of Hospital Owners in Lebanon, led by Sleiman Haroun, has announced that, starting February 2, 2025, hospitals will increase the rates agreed upon with insurance companies by 15%. This increase is aimed at ...

Incessant Ceasefire Violations as Israel Escalates Border Operations
Incessant Ceasefire Violations as Israel Escalates Border Operations

Civil Defense teams retrieved the bodies of three people from under the rubble in eastern Khiyam on Friday, as they continue their search for missing people. The General Directorate of the Civil Defense indicated in a statement. that “the search operations will resume Saturday morning until all missing persons are found.” Meanwhile, ...