The sun has very nearly set on Beirut, and in a bar called Anise, they're mixing the first cocktail of the evening.There's vodka, vermouth and iced glasses. And next to the bunches of mint for mojitos are sage, wild oregano, rosemary and the Lebanese favorite, za'atar, a kind of wild thyme.

Here in Lebanon, mixologists and brewmasters are taking a national cuisine and reimagining it in liquid form.

Anise is one leader in this trend for cocktails with herbs usually found in salads or breads. Co-owner Marwan Matar says that since the bar opened a couple of years ago, he's been bringing trunkfuls of herbs from his family's village.

AFP

King Salman of Saudi Arabia is expected to arrive in France later on Friday for a Riviera beach holiday, bringing with him no fewer than 1,000 people from his entourage.

While the king's three-week visit is a boon for the local economy, it has also sparked anger due to the closure of a public beach for the privacy and security of the royal party.

The king's inner circle will be put up at the family's private villa, which stretches across a kilometer of Riviera coastline between Antibes and Marseille.

Beirut: The humid summer air of Beirut has started to reek as uncollected trash piles up in the streets after protesters shut down Lebanon’s largest landfill at a time of political paralysis.

Residents walking by the garbage spilling out of dumpsters and into the paths of passing cars lift their shirts or scarves over their noses to protect themselves from the smell.

The growing heaps have been dusted with white poison powder to keep away rats and insects, but the measure does little to combat the odour.

The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has notified Congress of a potential foreign military sale (FMS) of BGM-71 tube-launched, optically-tracked, wireless-guided (TOW) 2A missiles and associated equipment to Lebanon.

Under the estimated $245m sale, the Lebanese Government has requested the supply of 1000 BGM-71E-4B-RF 2A Tow anti-armour radio-frequency missiles, along with 500 BGM-71-H-1-RF tow bunker buster radio frequency missiles, and 50 M220A2 TOW launchers.