Latest Lebanon News

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...

An honor guard with the American Legion Post 374 of Millard wear face masks against COVID-19 present arms during the graveside service of David Owen Cary at the Omaha National Cemetery in Omaha, Neb., Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

The Latest: New Zealand to end restrictions except in 1 city

Sep. 20, 2020 10:11 PM EDT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand: All remaining virus restrictions will be lifted across much of New Zealand from late Monday with the exception of the largest city, Auckland, which will continue to have some restrictions for at least another 16 days. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made the announcement Monday after...

Indian passengers queue up to test for COVID-19 at a facility erected at a railway station to screen people coming from outside the city, in Ahmedabad, India, Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. India's coronavirus cases jumped by another 96,424 in the past 24 hours, showing little sign of leveling. India is expected to have the highest number of confirmed cases within weeks, surpassing the United States, where more than 6.67 million people have been infected. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

The Latest: U of Colorado shifting students for virus cases

Sep. 18, 2020 7:04 PM EDT

DENVER — The University of Colorado has forced some students to move out of their dorms to create more isolation housing for students with coronavirus infections as case numbers continue to increase at the Boulder campus. The Denver Post reported that the university said in an email to affected students...

Lebanese Afaf Adulhamid the mother of Mohammed Khaldoun, 27, who is still missing at sea while he was trying with other migrants to reach Cyprus on a boat, cries and prays her son's safe return, as she stands on the coast of Tripoli city, north Lebanon Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020. Mohammed is one of scores of people who have tried in recent weeks to flee Lebanon that is passing through its worst economic and financial crisis in decades to European Union member Cyprus. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

One family's desperate, deadly attempt to flee Lebanon

Sep. 18, 2020 3:18 PM EDT

TRIPOLI, Lebanon (AP) — Mohammed Sufian did not dream of much: a job, food on the table, the chance to buy his 2½-year-old son the little things a toddler wants. So when he heard that smugglers were taking people from his hometown of Tripoli to the nearby Mediterranean island of Cyprus, he decided to...

FILE - This Tuesday, June 11, 2013 file photo, Iran's Gholam Reza Rezaei, foreground, plays the ball, as he is followed by Mohamad Atwi, of Lebanon, in their Asian qualifiers soccer match for 2014 World Cup, at the Azadi (Freedom) stadium in Tehran, Iran. Atwi died Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, nearly a month after he was hit by a stray bullet in his head in Beirut, state-run National news agency reported. Atwi had been in intensive care unit since a stray bullet got stuck in his head on Aug. 21. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

Lebanese soccer player dies from stray bullet head wound

Sep. 18, 2020 11:25 AM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s leading soccer player Mohammed Atwi died on Friday, nearly a month after he was wounded in Beirut by a stray bullet that hit him in the head, the state-run National News Agency reported. He was 33. Atwi had been in intensive care unit since the Aug. 21 shooting. The origin...

FILE - This Aug. 18, 2009 file photo, shows Roumieh Prison, in the Beirut suburb of Roumieh, Lebanon. The head of the country's doctors union warned Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020 that Roumieh, Lebanon's largest prison, is witnessing an alarming spread of coronavirus cases with more than 200 detainees testing positive recently and more could get the infection as many of them are not abiding by preventive measures. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)

Virus hits Lebanese prison as inmates jockey for release

Sep. 17, 2020 3:06 PM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s largest prison grappled with an alarming coronavirus outbreak on Thursday as many inmates refused to take preventative measures or get tested under the impression that catching the virus could speed up their release as part of a rumored general amnesty, the head of the...

In this photo released by Lebanon's official government photographer Dalati Nohra, Lebanese President Michel Aoun, left, meets with Prime Minister-Designate Mustapha Adib, at the presidential palace, in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 14, 2020. Lebanese officials are holding eleventh-hour negotiations over the formation of a new government, a process which hit snags over the weekend despite a looming deadline to deliver on a promise made to French President Emmanuel Macron. (Dalati Nohra via AP)

US sanctions 2 Lebanon-based firms, Hezbollah-linked person

Sep. 17, 2020 11:24 AM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — The U.S. Treasury on Thursday imposed sanctions on two Lebanon-based companies and a man described as an official with the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group The United States considers the Iran-backed Hezbollah a terrorist organization and has imposed sanctions on many of the militant...

Syria blames US for harsh fuel crisis paralyzing the country

Sep. 17, 2020 10:10 AM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s oil minister claimed the severe fuel crisis that has hit his country is the result of Western sanctions, and also allegedly because oil fields in eastern regions have fallen under control of American troops and U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters. The minister, Bassam Tomeh...

In this photo released by Lebanon's official government photographer Dalati Nohra, Prime Minister-Designate Mustapha Adib speaks with journalists after his meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, at the presidential palace, in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 14, 2020. Lebanese officials are holding eleventh-hour negotiations over the formation of a new government, a process which hit snags over the weekend despite a looming deadline to deliver on a promise made to French President Emmanuel Macron. (Dalati Nohra via AP)

Warnings as Lebanon misses government formation deadline

Sep. 16, 2020 10:42 AM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — France said on Wednesday it regretted that Lebanese political leaders have failed to form a new government in line with a commitment made to President Emmanuel Macron, but that it was not too late to do so. The statement by Macron's office came after Lebanese politicians missed a 15-day...

The Commissioner-General of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees Philippe Lazzarini, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the U.N. relief agency, UNRWA, headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020. The financial crisis that the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees is experiencing could lead to ceasing some of its activities in what would raise risks of instability in this volatile region, Lazzarini said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Palestinian refugee agency warns of instability amid crisis

Sep. 16, 2020 8:23 AM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees is experiencing a financial crisis that could force it to halt some services to an already impoverished population of more than 5 million people, the head of the agency said Wednesday. Philippe Lazzarini also warned in an interview with The Associated...

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