France 24 – Lebanon has called for a UN peacekeeping force’s mandate to be renewed without changes after Washington accused its commander of being “blind” to the flow of weapons to Iran-backed Hezbollah. The peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL, which patrols Lebanon’s southern border with Israel, is up for renewal when its mandate expires on […]

Troops from both the Syrian army and Hezbollah have escorted Isis militants out of their territory on the border with Lebanon in the first ever publicly agreed evacuation deal the Sunni jihadists have ever struck. A pause in a week-old offensive by the Lebanese armed forces as well as Hezbollah to drive Isis from towns […]

Beirut (AFP) – A top Lebanese security official said Sunday that authorities had located human remains believed to belong to troops kidnapped by the Islamic State group three years ago. The announcement came hours after the Lebanese army declared a ceasefire deal with IS along the border with Syria in exchange for information on the […]

By Mohammed Sergie, bloomberg –  EuroMena Funds, a Beirut-based private-equity firm that has raised $350 million since 2006, plans to almost double assets as it seeks investments in Lebanese-owned companies operating abroad while also backing smaller businesses in its home regions. After a decade of deploying most of its capital in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt, […]

The Daily Star BEIRUT: Italy’s ambassador to Lebanon Friday expressed his country’s support for the Lebanese Army, as the Army took up positions for the final phase to expel Daesh (ISIS) militants from the border region. In a meeting with Army commander Gen. Joseph Aoun, the Italian Ambassador to Lebanon Massimo Marotti expressed his country’s full […]

Superstars Najwa Karam and Zein El Omr will perform on Friday evening a concert during Ghosta Festival, held in Ghosta, Lebanon. She will perform a number of songs such as “Ya habayeb”, “Menni Elak”, “Ma Fi Nom” and others. Ghosta Festival is a two-day program. The festival will be opened on August 25 by Lebanese […]

AFP/Beirut Lebanon’s army said Tuesday it had captured most of a mountainous area on the border with Syria during an operation to clear Islamic State group jihadists from the region. The army began its campaign in the Jurud Ras Baalbek and Jurud al-Qaa areas on Lebanon’s eastern border on Saturday, capturing more than two thirds of […]

AFP/Beirut Lebanon’s army said Tuesday it had captured most of a mountainous area on the border with Syria during an operation to clear Islamic State group jihadists from the region. The army began its campaign in the Jurud Ras Baalbek and Jurud al-Qaa areas on Lebanon’s eastern border on Saturday, capturing more than two thirds of […]

theguardian.com – Lebanon’s interior minister has said the country’s police intelligence played a major role in foiling an alleged plot to bring down an Emirati passenger plane flying from Sydney to Abu Dhabi. Nohad Machnouk told reporters on Monday that four Lebanese-Australian brothers, including one who is in detention in Lebanon, had planned to blow up the plane with bombs hidden inside a large Barbie doll and a meat grinder. He said the bombs had not made it on to the plane because the handbag they were in was 7kg above the weight permitted by the airline.

Two Sydney men charged over alleged terrorism bomb plot Machnouk said the bombs had been sent back to the would-be attacker’s home in Australia. He said the attacker had tried to bring two explosives on the plane in case one of them did not work. The second was to be detonated by one of the brothers who was supposed to be the suicide attacker. It was not immediately clear how authorities uncovered the alleged plot. Advertisement Australian authorities said late last month that they had thwarted a credible terrorist plot to down an airplane by smuggling a device on board but provided few details, including the precise nature of the threat or any airlines involved. On Tuesday Australia’s transport minister, Darren Chester, who has primary responsibility for airports, was reluctant to confirm the statements by the Lebanese interior minister. “The bottom line is we work very closely with our security partners around the world,” Chester told Sky News. “It’s a team effort in the sense that we do need to share information, because the threat of terrorism crosses international boundaries.

The United Arab Emirates’ national airline said it was working with Australian police in the investigation. But Etihad Airways, the smallest of three long-haul Gulf carriers that fly to Australia, refused to confirm if it had been targeted. This month Australian police said two men had been charged with terrorism offences in Australia in connection with an alleged plot to bring down the airplane. It was not immediately clear if they were two of the four brothers. Four Lebanese-Australian men have been arrested by police, who also reportedly seized a meat grinder that investigators thought may be the basis of a bomb. One of the four was released later without charge. Machnouk said two of the brothers, Khaled and Mahmoud Khayyat, were being held in Australia, while another, Tarek, was a senior member of the Islamic State group based in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa. He added that the fourth brother, Amer, was supposed to be on board the plane, working to bring it down 20 minutes after takeoff, but was arrested in Lebanon after he arrived in mid-July from Australia. Machnouk said the alleged plot had been “foiled because of the extra weight”. “Intelligence branch followed on the case and found that Amer was involved in this act and it appears that he was supposed to carry it out,” he said.