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French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference on the situation in Lebanon, Sunday, Sept.27, 2020 in Paris. Lebanon's prime minister-designate Moustapha Adib resigned Saturday amid a political impasse over government formation, dealing a blow to French President Emmanuel Macron's efforts to break a dangerous stalemate in the crisis-hit country. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, Pool)

Macron 'ashamed' of Lebanon's political leaders amid crisis

Sep. 27, 2020 3:07 PM EDT

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron assailed Hezbollah and the entire Lebanese political class Sunday, and warned of a new civil war if they can’t set aside personal and religious interests to unlock international aid and save Lebanon from economic collapse. But Macron said France...

FILE- This Aug. 19, 2020 file photo shows the the scene of the Aug. 4 explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon. Facing an economic meltdown and other crises, Lebanon’s president on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020, asked for the world's help to rebuild the capital's main port and neighborhoods that were blown away in last month’s catastrophic explosion. President Michel Aoun spoke in a prerecorded speech to the U.N. General Assembly, telling world leaders that Lebanon is facing multiple crises that pose an unprecedented threat to the small country’s existence. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

Lebanese army: Shooting in north Lebanon kills 2 soldiers

Sep. 27, 2020 12:46 PM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — Gunmen in a car opened fire on an army post in northwestern Lebanon on Sunday, triggering a shootout in which two soldiers and one gunman were killed, the Lebanese military said. Another gunman fled to an unknown location, according to an army statement. The attack struck an army post in...

FILE - This Feb. 2, 2019 file photo, then Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil arrives to attend a meeting of the Lebanese cabinet at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon. A former Lebanese foreign minister and son-in-law of President Michel Aoun has tested positive for the new coronavirus, his office said Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)

Former Lebanese FM, president's son-in-law, has coronavirus

Sep. 27, 2020 7:04 AM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — A former Lebanese foreign minister and son-in-law of President Michel Aoun has tested positive for the coronavirus, his office said Sunday. The statement from his office said Gebran Bassil, who also heads the Christian Free Patriotic Movement party, will isolate until he recovers, adding...

FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 31, 2020, file photo, Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Mustapha Adib speaks to journalists at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon. Adib has resigned Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020 amid a political impasse over government formation, nearly a month after he was appointed to the job. The announced by Adib deals a blow to French President Emmanuel Macron's efforts to break a dangerous stalemate in the crisis-hit country. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)

Lebanese nominated premier resigns, in blow to Macron plan

Sep. 26, 2020 1:26 PM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s prime minister-designate resigned Saturday amid a political impasse over government formation, dealing a blow to French President Emmanuel Macron’s efforts to break a dangerous stalemate in the crisis-hit country. The announcement by Moustapha Adib nearly a month...

FILE - In this Aug. 4, 2020 file photo, Hoda Kinno, 11, is evacuated by her uncle Mustafa, in the aftermath of a massive explosion at the port in Beirut, Lebanon. The Kinno family from Syria's Aleppo region was devastated in the wake of the explosion -- Hoda suffered a broken neck and other injuries and her sister Sedra, 15, died in the explosion. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

'The port came to us': Story behind AP photo of Beirut blast

Sep. 23, 2020 9:09 PM EDT

JIYYEH, Lebanon (AP) — When Mustafa Kinno felt the ground shake and heard the deafening blast toward the port, he frantically called his brother living nearby. No reply. He tried a neighbor, who said the family was sitting outside their apartment across from the port when it exploded. Terrified, Mustafa...

'The port came to us': Story behind AP photo of Beirut blast

Sep. 23, 2020 9:07 PM EDT

JIYYEH, Lebanon (AP) — When Mustafa Kinno felt the ground shake and heard the deafening blast toward the port, he frantically called his brother living nearby. No reply. He tried a neighbor, who said the family was sitting outside their apartment across from the port when it exploded. Terrified, Mustafa...

FILE - In this Aug. 6, 2020, file photo, a soldier stands at the devastated site of the explosion in the port of Beirut, Lebanon. Lebanon’s president is calling for the international community’s support to rebuild the country’s main port and destroyed neighborhoods after last month’s catastrophic explosion that decimated the facility. President Michel Aoun spoke Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020, in a prerecorded speech to the U.N. General Assembly, telling world leaders that Lebanon is facing multiple crises that pose an unprecedented threat to the small country’s existence. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, Pool)

Lebanon asks world's help 'trying to rise from its rubble'

Sep. 23, 2020 4:32 PM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — Facing an economic meltdown and other crises, Lebanon’s president on Wednesday asked for the world's help to rebuild the capital's main port and neighborhoods that were blown away in last month’s catastrophic explosion. President Michel Aoun made the plea in a prerecorded...

Nour Ardakani, a teenage singer from Lebanon, gives an interview to The Associated Press in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020. Ardakani became the latest to join a global pop band formed by Simon Fuller, the man behind the Spice Girls and “American Idol,” which aims to transform young unknowns into internet superstars. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

Lebanese teen from Beirut joins global pop band

Sep. 23, 2020 5:55 AM EDT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A teenage singer from Lebanon this week became the latest to join a global pop band formed by Simon Fuller, the man behind the Spice Girls and “American Idol,” which aims to transform young unknowns into internet superstars. That may seem a grandiose...

Lebanese army vehicles pass next to a portrait of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, as they patrol on a road that leads to the site of an explosion that rocked a Hezbollah stronghold, in the southern village of Ain Qana, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020. The powerful explosion sent thick grey smoke billowing over the village, but the cause was not clear. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Powerful blast rocks Hezbollah stronghold in south Lebanon

Sep. 22, 2020 1:14 PM EDT

AIN QANA, Lebanon (AP) — A powerful explosion shook a Hezbollah stronghold in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, sending thick grey smoke billowing over the village, but the cause was not clear. The Lebanese army said the blast occurred in a building in the southern village of Ain Qana, above the port city of...

FILE - In this Sept. 1, 2020 file photo, French President Emmanuel Macron, left, smiles as he meets Lebanon's President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020. In a televised address Monday, Sept. 21, 2020, Aoun warned that the crisis-hit country could be going to “hell” if a new government is not formed. An initiative led by Macron called for a Lebanese government of independent specialists that was to be formed by Sept. 15. (Gonzalo Fuentes/Pool via AP, File)

Lebanese president warns of 'hell' if no new gov't formed

Sep. 21, 2020 10:31 AM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon's president said Monday that the crisis-hit country could be going to “hell” if a new government was not formed, suggesting it would require a “miracle” for that to happen at this point. The stark warning comes as the country struggles to contain a...

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