Lebanon

BEIRUT (AP) — Pressure is mounting on Lebanese leaders to remove a Cabinet minister whose comments on the war in Yemen sparked a diplomatic row with Saudi Arabia. The head of the country’s Maronite Catholic Church called for “decisive action” in his Sunday sermon, suggesting he wanted the minister to resign.

Cardinal Bechara Rai said the crisis with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations threatens to undermine the interests of thousands of Lebanese living there, as well as businesses in Lebanon that depend on the region.

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese politicians scrambled to resolve a diplomatic spat with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations on Saturday, after comments by a Cabinet minister about the war in Yemen stoked their ire.

Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates followed the Saudis with measures against Lebanon, increasing pressure on a crisis-hit country badly in need of foreign assistance amid a crippling economic and financial crisis.

BEIRUT, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Lebanon's president said on Saturday he wants the best relations with Saudi Arabia, looking to heal a rift with the kingdom after it expelled Beirut's envoy and banned Lebanese imports in a diplomatic spat that risks adding to Lebanon's economic crisis.

In a tweet Michel Aoun said Lebanon is keen on strengthening links via bilateral deals, after mounting tensions following critical comments by a Lebanese minister about the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen.

BEIRUT, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Friday expressed his regret at Saudi Arabia's decision to expel the Lebanese ambassador and ban imports from the country after a Lebanese minister's comments criticizing the Saudi-led coalition's war in Yemen, the National News Agency reported.

Mikati reiterated his government's commitment to good relations with Saudi Arabia and called on Arab partners to put the diplomatic crisis behind them.

BEIRUT (AP) — Kuwait followed Saudi Arabia and Bahrain by ordering the Lebanese charge d’affaires on Saturday to leave the emirate within two days over comments made by a Lebanese minister regarding the war in Yemen. Kuwait also recalled its ambassador from Beirut.

Later Saturday, the United Arab Emirates’ state-run WAM news agency said on Twitter that it would withdraw its diplomats from Lebanon in solidarity with Saudi Arabia. The tweet also said Emiratis would be ”prevented” from traveling to Lebanon. Travel bans have happened previously to Lebanon over politics in the past.

BEIRUT, Oct 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury has imposed sanctions on two top Lebanese contractors and a lawmaker close to the Hezbollah movement over alleged large-scale corruption that undermined the rule of law in Lebanon.

Businessmen Jihad al-Arab and Dany Khoury, close to former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri and Christian politician Gebran Bassil respectively, were sanctioned on Thursday for alleged corruption related to state contracts.

29 Oct 2021; MEMO: Lebanese President Michel Aoun has asked Russian Ambassador Alexander Rudakov for satellite images from 4 August 2020, when a huge explosion rocked Beirut's port, according to a Lebanese presidency tweet today. Reuters reports.

The blast killed more than 215 people, injured thousands and destroyed swathes of the Lebanese capital.

27 Oct 2021; MEMO: Supporters of the Christian Lebanese Forces party today blocked roads to leader Samir Geagea's residence as he failed to turn up for a hearing at army intelligence over fatal clashes in Beirut, Reuters reports.

BEIRUT (AP) — For eight months, he has quietly investigated one of the world’s worst non-nuclear explosions with only four assistants — and a lot of powerful detractors trying to block him.

In that time, Judge Tarek Bitar has become a household name in Lebanon and a staple on every news bulletin.

BEIRUT, October 25. /TASS/: An Israeli Air Force fighter jet attacked the positions of the Syrian army and pro-Iranian armed groups in Syria's Quneitra province 40 kilometers south of Damascus on Monday, the Dubai-based Al-Hadath TV channel reported. 

According to the news outlet, the airstrike hit ground targets near the city of Al-Baath and the Al-Kurum settlement, causing property damage. No casualties have been reported.