by english.alaraby.co.uk — The agency in charge of issuing passports in Lebanon said Thursday it has stopped taking appointments for renewals because …

by arabnews.com -- Najia Houssari -- BEIRUT: Lebanon’s security forces have warned citizens and residents that there has been a rise in kidnappings in the country, with perpetrators seeking large sums of money for the safe return of their victims. The General Directorate of the Internal Security Forces, or ISF, said that these gangs have been using social media to lure their victims, often through ads on TikTok, claiming they can help with emigration applications. The gangs are mostly active in the Baalbek-Hermel area and on the Lebanese-Syrian border, but also operate deep in Syrian territory. A security source told Arab News that between Jan. 1 and April 20, the security services in Lebanon recorded 53 cases of kidnapping in Lebanon.

A few days ago, the Lebanese army’s intelligence officers managed to liberate local businessman Akram Jomaa seven hours after he was kidnapped in the town of Lala in the western Bekaa. The kidnappers had fled with him to the Baalbek-Hermel area in the northern part of Bekaa and tried to sell him to another gang. They demanded that his family pay a ransom for his return, but he was eventually released between the towns of Dar Al-Waseah and Bouday, in the vicinity of Baalbek.

this is an opinion article does not represent khazen.org  by arabnews.com — DUBAI: Eccentric entrepreneur, random tweeter and Tesla CEO Elon Musk …

by english.alarabiya.net -- Hussein Dakroub -- Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has warned that Lebanon will be deprived of promised regional and international aid if Hezbollah and its allies control the country by winning a parliamentary majority in the elections set for May 15. “There are no signs that Arab and international aid will be forthcoming if Hezbollah continues to control Lebanon,” Siniora told Al Arabiya English on Monday.

In another statement carried earlier in the day by Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, Siniora, a harsh critic of Hezbollah, said: “What does it mean if Hezbollah and its allies gain a majority in Parliament? Amid Hezbollah’s control [of Parliament], will there be a possibility for any salvation, reforms, and Lebanon’s recovery after it was pushed into this deep abyss: a kidnapped state, a fully collapsing economy, the threat of depositors losing their money and the need for reforms in all aspects of life such as electricity, water, food, medicine and education? Definitely, no.” “With the expansion of the control of Hezbollah and the sectarian and confessional parties allied with it, this will be at the expense of the Lebanese state and its institutions, which will lead to the continued implementation of Iran’s agenda in the region. In this case, there will be no aid and no Arab or international support,” Siniora added.

Although he is not running in the upcoming polls, Siniora is supporting an 11-member electoral list that will compete to gain mainly Sunni seats in parliament in the Beirut district after former Prime Minister Saad Hariri decided to remove himself from political life. A professor of economics and international relations agreed with Siniora, warning that an election victory for Hezbollah and its allies will further complicate the Lebanese crises and impede efforts for the country’s economic rescue. “A victory by Hezbollah and its allies in the elections is bound to block the road to the possibility of Lebanon’s economic salvation. Consequently, the situation will continue to deteriorate and Lebanon will no longer exist on the map because the economic collapse means the state’s inability to survive, while it is already unable to survive,”