BAALBEK, Lebanon: Over 200 Lebanese and Syrian nationals kidnapped from a Syrian border town early this week by rebels were released Tuesday, according to a Lebanese security source. The Syrian and Lebanese were snatched Monday from the mainly Christian village of Rableh along the poorly demarcated border with Lebanon, the source said. Rableh is one of […]

  An international firm has estimated the volume of gas in Lebanon’s south-west corner to be close to 25 trillion cubic feet, valued by experts to be worth over $40 billion. “In the 3,000 square kilometers we are covering in the south-west corner of Lebanon, near the borders of Cyprus and Israel, an initial assessment […]

  BEIRUT: A Christian-Muslim summit convening in Bkirki condemned Monday a recent film that insults the Prophet Mohammad and said an offense to one religion was an assault on all others. “The participants denounced ‘Innocence of Muslims’ that insults Islam and its prophet and messenger Mohammad … They stressed that violating the sanctity of any religion […]

  A Lebanese court decided on Monday to block Internet access to an anti-Islam film that has provoked rage across the Muslim world, a judicial source told AFP. Judge Nadim Zouein decided "to stop the Internet distribution of the film ‘Innocence of Muslims’ in Lebanon," following a complaint filed by a lawyer, the source said. "Innocence of […]

  After clashes in Lebanon between factions supporting the Syrian president and those opposed to him, some residents of the capital Beirut are thinking about moving to a safer place. While everyone outside Lebanon has been talking about Syria’s troubles and what effect they will have on its neighbours, those inside Lebanon have been gripped by […]

  BEIRUT: Syrian Christian opposition leader George Sabra told Pope Benedict XVI that the survival of the Damascus regime poses a threat to the country’s Christians, the Syrian National Council said Sunday. "The survival of the (President Bashar) Assad regime is a danger to Christians and Muslims in Syria alike," Sabra, who is spokesman for the […]

  BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman praised over the weekend steps taken by the Lebanese Army following an attack on the military by the Free Syrian Army in the north. “Sleiman hailed the actions taken by the Lebanese Army Saturday on the outskirts of Arsal to protect Lebanese territory and prevent it from being used by any […]

  A Bank robbery network suspected of plotting attacks on two judges had a list to target several other politicians and officials, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Friday. According to the report, the cell led by Mohammed al-Jouni was planning to assassinate Speaker Nabih Berri, Former Ministers Michel and Elias al-Murr, MPs George Adwan, Akram Shehayyeb, Nohad […]

Amid signs that Barack Obama is moving closer to winning a second term, one question that comes to mind is whether his victory might mean a better future for Syrians. The president has been inept and dishonest, neither formulating a cohesive policy toward Syria nor properly guarding against the repercussions of the absence of a […]

    Security measures were bolstered outside the French embassy and near the ambassador’s official residence on Wednesday over fears of a backlash after the publication in France of cartoons mocking the Prophet Mohammed. Lebanese armored personnel carriers deployed near the mission and outside the Pine Residence in Beirut, where the ambassador resides. An army unit was […]