The Lebanese army has arrested an Arab-Israeli civilian who cut through barbed wire to cross the border into Lebanon, a security official said on Thursday.   "Ibrahim Zaydat entered Lebanon on Wednesday afternoon after cutting through a small section of barbed wire at the southeastern border, and was arrested by the army," the official […]

  Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sitta appears ill at ease as he stares at the cup of coffee sitting on the table in front of him. “My mind is elsewhere … I’m overwhelmed with a sense of sadness,” he says. It’s been a little bit more than a week since Abu-Sitta, chief plastic surgeon at the American […]

  A series of events signaling the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Tripoli have raised concerns among the city’s Christian community. The burning of the al-Saeh library earlier this year and the attacks on Makiya Café during the month of Ramadan, followed by a series of decisions including a ban on alcohol advertising have reinforced […]

  BEIRUT: Visiting the Kurdish capital Irbil, Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai called Wednesday on the international community to help Iraq’s minorities, asking the country’s Christians to stick to their roots and not leave the country. “Those who want to help the Christian people in the region can come help them in their own land by […]

  The patriarchs of the Orient on Wednesday called for international protection for Christians, considering that the idea of establishing a province for this religious minority “has become acceptable.” "What we care about is safeguarding the presence of our (Christian) brothers and providing protection for them,” Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi said after a visit to […]

  WASHINGTON, Aug 20 (Reuters) – The FBI believes the Islamic State video purporting to show the beheading of American journalist James Foley is authentic, GlobalPost reported on Wednesday. "The FBI on Wednesday morning told the Foley family they believe the video is authentic," according to GlobalPost, a Boston-based online publication that employed Foley as […]

  EIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai called on Eastern and Western states to stop funding terrorism Sunday, urging them to stop sending militants to battle in Iraq and Syria. Rai renewed his appeal to the international community to stop providing terrorist organizations with money and weapons. The patriarch also urged states to stop “sending mercenaries […]

  WITH only the clothes on her back and a toothbrush in her pocket, Mariney, a Mexican-American NGO worker, flew from Beirut to Cyprus in April. It was a routine visa run made by many expatriates in Lebanon before the expiry of their two-month “tourist" visas, which are free on arrival. But when Mariney was […]

  Cars and trucks formed on Tuesday long queues at Lebanon’s northern border crossings after heavy security measures were taken by Lebanese and Syrian border posts, the state-run National News Agency reported. NNA said that the queues of vehicles reached several kilometers long at the Abboudiyeh and Arida crossings. (Link)  

(Reuters) – Missouri Governor Jay Nixon lifted the curfew for the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson on Monday and began deploying National Guard troops to help quell days of rioting and protests spurred by the fatal shooting of a black unarmed teenager by a white policeman. Nixon said the National Guard, which he called in […]