BEIRUT: The Army chief vowed Friday to crush Syria-based jihadis threatening to destabilize Lebanon, as troops geared up for possible retaliatory attacks by militants in response to their expulsion from two key positions on the northeastern border with Syria, a senior military official said. The remarks by Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi came a […]

  Relative calm prevailed on Saturday across the outskirts of the northeastern border village of Ras Baalbek in the Bekaa after the army fortified its posts in the area. Sources said in comments published in As Safir newspaper that the “pre-emptive strike by the Lebanese army against the armed groups, which were preparing to attack […]

  BEIRUT: Hundreds of Assyrians marched in Downtown Beirut Saturday in solidarity with their brethren abducted by ISIS in Syria earlier this week. The marchers chanted slogans in their native language and carried signs that read: "Assyrians are the indigenous people of Mesopotamia," "We demand action from the United Nations," and "Save the Christians in […]

 by Elise Harris

Rome, Italy, Feb 26, 2015 / 07:13 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The number of ISIS hostages in Syria has increased to at least 250 after continued attacks on Christian villages, and civilians fleeing to the Turkish border have been stranded when not allowed to cross. “There are 200 families who were running away and trying to escape to Turkey, but the border is closed for Syrians. No Syrian can cross into Turkey,” Archbishop Jacques Behnan Hindo told CNA Feb. 26.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) – Being uprooted and forced to lose everything that was considered normal in your life is something many of us can’t even imagine. For Myriam, a young Iraqi Christian girl, and many like her, this is the reality.  Myriam, her family and many other Iraqi Christians have been forced to reside in a half-built mall in Northern Iraq.

They have lost their school and they have lost their churches, but many still remain in good faith. "We used to have a house and were entertained, where as here we are not," stated Myriam, to SAT-7, an Arabic-language TV network. "But thank God. God provides for us. God loves us, and wouldn’t let ISIS kill us." "I won’t do anything to them," Myriam expressed when asked what she thought of ISIS. "I will only ask God to forgive them."

  France said on Wednesday that it will begin shipping $3 billion worth of weapons paid for by Saudi Arabia to the Lebanese army in April. The Defense Ministry said in a statement that the deal, first announced in 2013, will supply French armored vehicles, warships, attack helicopters, munitions and communications gear. The deal also […]

  BEIRUT: Seven fire trucks managed to douse a massive blaze that broke out Wednesday in the basement of a 16-story uninhabited building in the Beirut neighborhood of Zokak Blat. A security source told The Daily Star the fire had engulfed a construction material depot on Assir Street at 9:30 a.m. The source said the […]

  General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim reportedly carried out positive discussions with officials in Turkey, which could lead to a breakthrough to the six-month hostage crisis, as sources said that the case could end in days. According to An Nahar newspaper, the Islamist abductors agreed to release the kidnapped servicemen on two or […]

  BEIRUT: Education Minister Elias Bou Saab stressed the need for science and technology cooperation with Iran during meetings Monday on the sideline of a ministerial conference in Tehran. The state-run National News Agency said Bou Saab stressed the “importance of [Iranian] President [Hasan] Rouhani’s proposal to establish a center for scientific and technological cooperation.” […]

  The fish market in Beirut’s Karantina area was reopened on Tuesday more than two weeks after it was shut down for renovation. Governor of Beirut Ziad Shebib ordered on February 5 the closure of the market for not meeting health standards. Shebib took a similar measure in November when he ordered the Karantina slaughterhouse […]