By daily Star Lebanon BEIRUT: Lebanon’s majoritarian parliamentary election system diminishes Druze representation in the country, said Democratic Party leader Talal Arslan …

by AP – BEIRUT — Lebanon’s state news agency says Beirut will file a lawsuit against the suspect behind the New Year’s …

Reported by Rania Ghanem The total number of visitors reached 1.7 million last year, increasing 11 percent compared to 2015, according to …

By NAJIA HOUSSARI

BEIRUT: Saudi tourism to Lebanon is tipped to increase after a boost in diplomatic ties between the two nations. In a visit to Lebanon last month by Thamer Al-Sabhan, Saudi minister for Arabian Gulf Affairs, the diplomat told President Michel Aoun that Saudi Arabian Airlines would increase its flights to Beirut. Lebanese-Saudi relations have been troubled in recent years as a result of the Syrian crisis. The Gulf countries earlier barred their citizens from traveling to Lebanon, while Saudi Arabia last year suspended $3 billion in military aid involving French arms to Lebanon. But President Aoun’s visit to Riyadh at the beginning of the year paved the way for restoring warm ties between the two nations, and Al-Sabhan’s visit to Beirut was perceived as “a complementary effort comfortably received by the Lebanese,” said Future Bloc MP Ammar Houri. “The Kingdom has always been keen to offer Lebanon help and support in all fields and arenas,” Houri said. “The Lebanese state’s proven ability to control security and fight terrorism combined with a warm welcome to our Saudi brothers constitutes favorable conditions for the Saudi comeback to Lebanon,” he said.