U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is due to arrive in Beirut Wednesday on a short visit expected to focus on the presidential election stalemate and the flow of Syrian refugees into Lebanon, political sources said.   Making his first trip to Lebanon since becoming secretary of state, Kerry will meet separately with Speaker […]

  German prosecutors have filed terrorism charges against a Lebanese man accused of belonging to a hard-line Islamic group in Syria, and two suspected accomplices. Federal prosecutors said Wednesday the main suspect, identified only as Ismail I., was charged with membership in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, an al-Qaida breakaway group. His brother, Ezzeddine […]

Lebanese design firm GM Architects will be presenting its “Museum of Civilization” at the Time Space Existence exhibition of the 2014 Venice Biennale. The firm will be the only group representing Lebanon at this year’s exhibition. Their museum design addresses the Biennale’s theme of fundamentals by exploring the historical basis of architectural culture in the […]

World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim was in Beirut on Tuesday for talks with Lebanese officials on the country’s economic situation and mainly a proposal to fund an electricity project, which was welcomed by Prime Minister Tammam Salam. Al-Liwaa newspaper quoted sources as saying that Salam reacted positively to the funding that is expected to […]

  The Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai on Friday said the Lebanese state must not deal with its citizens who fled to Israel in 2000 as “criminals.” During a visit to the Druze village of Isfiya near the northern Israeli city of Haifa, al-Rai said he was “profoundly hurt” by those who have criticized his historic […]

 Six reasons why faith communities should refuse to be enemies. “Christians in the Middle East and Africa are being slaughtered, tortured, raped, kidnapped, beheaded, and forced to flee the birthplace of Christianity. One would think this horror might be consuming the pulpits and pews of American churches. Not so. The silence has been nearly deafening,” […]

BEIRUT: A car-free street festival kicked off in the Beirut district of Hamra at 10 a.m. Sunday, including various activities and performances. The festival “Hamra has its Talents” is organized by Ahla Fawda (Best Chaos) organization under the sponsorship of Tourism Minister Michel Pharaon. Vehicles are not allowed onto Hamra Street from the Picadelly Center […]

  The Ministry of Interior on Saturday warned Syrian refugees that they must not travel to their country as of June 1, saying that otherwise their will lose their status as refugees. The ministry announced in a released statement that Syrians and those registered with the UNHCR “must refrain from entering Syria as of June 1, […]

  Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi returned to Beirut on Saturday afternoon after his controversial visit to Jerusalem, but rejected to make any statement upon his arrival at the Rafic Hariri International Airport. "Al-Rahi returned to Beirut at 4:30pm on board a private jet coming from the Jordanian capital Amman,” the state-run National News Agency reported.   […]

    Google has launched a service to allow Europeans to ask for personal data to be removed from online search results. The move comes after a landmark European Union court ruling earlier this month, which gave people the "right to be forgotten". Links to "irrelevant" and outdated data should be erased on request, it said.   […]