Beirut port blast: three years on, victims still await accountability
Beirut, LebanonReuters Lebanon on Friday marks the third anniversary of the Beirut port explosion which killed at least 220 people, wounded thousands, and damaged swathes of the city. Despite the devastation, an investigation has brought no senior official to account. Here is a summary of what happened and how the investigation has been stymied: Smoke […]
“Shameful” delay in cabinet formation causing Lebanon’s decay, top Christian cleric says
Beirut, LebanonReuters Lebanon’s top Christian cleric said on Sunday it is “shameful” that politicians have yet to form a new cabinet nearly three months after elections, blaming their chronic feuding for the country’s “decay”. Many Lebanese see the long-entrenched governing elite as hamstrung by corruption and dysfunction, and blame it for pushing Lebanon into a […]
Thousands of protesters mark two years since Beirut blast
Beirut, LebanonReuters Thousands of protesters marched tearfully in the Lebanese capital on Thursday, marking two years since a cataclysmic explosion at the Beirut port, with chants denouncing the government’s failure to uncover the truth behind the blast. In a grim reminder of the disaster, several grain silos that were left heavily damaged by the blast collapsed on […]
Pope Francis to visit Lebanon in June during economic crisis
Beirut, LebanonAP Pope Francis will visit Lebanon in June, the President’s office said Tuesday, in an apparent show of support for the country experiencing an unprecedented economic meltdown. Francis has held special prayers for Lebanon and has repeatedly said he plans to visit the small country since the economic meltdown began in October, 2019. Pope […]
Vatican envoy slams Lebanese politicians during visit to Beirut
Beirut, LebanonReuters A Vatican envoy criticised Lebanon’s politicians on his visit to Beirut on Tuesday, calling for an end to “the few profiting of the suffering of many” in a financial crisis which has plunged the bulk of the country into poverty. Vatican’s foreign minister Archbishop Paul Gallagher speaks at the presidential palace in Baabda, […]
Explainer: How bad is the crisis in Lebanon?
Beirut, LebanonReuters Lebanon’s financial meltdown has swiftly worsened in the last month, with much of the country crippled by fuel shortages that have ignited country-wide security incidents. Exacerbated by political deadlock, Lebanon’s rapid deterioration has prompted Western concern. Some senior Lebanese officials have sounded the alarm about a country that has spent 30 years slowly recovering from a […]
Analysis – Leaderless Lebanon on slippery slope to mayhem
Beirut, LebanonReuters Lebanon’s financial meltdown is dragging the country towards mayhem at a quickening pace, forcing its feuding leaders to face a choice between finally doing something about the crisis or risking yet more chaos and insecurity. The economic collapse that has caused Lebanese mounting hardship for two years hit a crunch point this month […]
Lebanon’s Aoun shields Patriarch after he urged halt to rockets
Beirut, GermanyReuters President Michel Aoun on Tuesday condemned criticism of Lebanon’s Christian Maronite Patriarch after he expressed opposition to the Iran-backed Shi’ite group Hezbollah, warning that insults must be avoided to safeguard national unity. Following a cross-border salvo between Israel and Hezbollah, Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai was sharply critical of Hezbollah on Sunday, saying no […]
Lebanon’s top Christian cleric berates politicians as deadlock drags on
Beirut, LebanonReuters Lebanon’s most senior Christian cleric on Wednesday bemoaned the inability of the country’s senior politicians to agree a government as the country sinks further into financial collapse. “We don’t have bread, we don’t have medicine, we don’t have fuel, what are they waiting for?” Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai said after a meeting […]
Beirut reels from huge blast as death toll climbs to at least 135
Beirut, LebanonReuters Lebanese rescue teams pulled out bodies and hunted for missing in the wreckage of buildings on Wednesday as investigations blamed negligence for a massive warehouse explosion that sent a devastating blast wave across Beirut, killing at least 135. More than 5,000 other people were injured in Tuesday’s explosion at Beirut port, Health Minister […]