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 […]

  BEIRUT: Beirut’s Publications Court Tuesday ordered former General Security chief Maj. Gen. Jamil al-Sayyed to pay a LL12 million ($7,981) fine after being convicted of libel and slander charges. He was fined another LL2 million for making threats against former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and "undermining national unity." Judicial sources told The Daily Star […]

  Head of the parliamentary energy committee MP Mohammed Qabbani stressed that the delay in exploring Lebanon’s offshore gas and oil exploration is due to technical obstacles and other unannounced interests as officials are at loggerheads over the demarcation of the 10 maritime oil exploration blocks. “We have agreed to open the tenders for three […]

  BEIRUT: Rifaat Eid, a leading member of the pro-Assad Arab Democratic Party was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment Monday for inciting clashes in the northern city of Tripoli, judicial sources said. According to the source, Lebanon’s Military Court sentenced the fugitive to life in prison and hard labor after he was convicted of […]

  The judges of the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon have approved at a plenary meeting amendments to the tribunal’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence, the court said in a statement on Monday. “The amendments are designed to improve and streamline the Tribunal’s procedures,” the statement said. “Specifically, they address the excusal and disqualification of […]