Lebanon

BEIRUT, Oct 25 (Reuters) - A Lebanese judge on Monday charged 68 people including 18 detainees with murder and incitement to sectarian strife over fatal clashes this month in Beirut, Lebanon's National News agency said.

Seven followers of Lebanon's Shiite Iran-backed Hezbollah group and its ally, the Amal Movement, were killed on Oct. 14 in the worst street violence in Beirut in over a decade.

Oct 22 (Reuters) - Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Friday sent a law amending legislative election rules back to parliament for reconsideration, the presidency said in a statement.

The development could affect Lebanon's ability to hold an election on the March 27 date agreed to this week.

Lebanon's parliament had voted on Tuesday to hold an election at that time, giving Prime Minister Najib Mikati's government only a few months to try to secure an IMF recovery plan amid a deepening economic meltdown. L1N2RF0JM

21 Oct 2021; MEMO: A Lebanese military court will ask Lebanese Forces (LF) party leader, Samir Geagea, to give a statement about last week's Beirut street violence, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Thursday.

Geagea, who was due to appear shortly on a local television show, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An LF spokesperson said Geagea had, so far, not been informed of any court request to give a statement.

BEIRUT, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said on Thursday that Lebanon has increased control over its borders to prevent all kinds of smuggling activities and protect its ties with Arab countries, the National News Agency reported.

"I am personally monitoring control work on the borders as we are concerned about the safety and security of our friendly and brotherly countries, and we are conscious enough to work on preventing the smuggling of weapons and drugs through all border crossings," Mawlawi said during his visit to Beirut airport.

BEIRUT, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Lebanon's parliament voted on Tuesday to hold legislative elections on March 27, giving Prime Minister Najib Mikati's government only a few months to try to secure an IMF recovery plan amid a deepening economic meltdown.

Lebanon's financial crisis, which the World Bank labelled one of the deepest depressions of modern history, had been compounded by political deadlock for over a year before Mikati put together a cabinet alongside President Michel Aoun.

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader declared for the first time on Monday that his powerful militant group has 100,000 trained fighters. His speech appeared to be meant as a deterrent to domestic foes following the nation’s worst internal violence in years.

19 Oct 2021; MEMO: Worsening sectarian tensions in Lebanon are testing an alliance between Shia Hezbollah and its Christian ally, President Michel Aoun, who may lose ground to their rivals as they step up opposition to the Iran-backed group's influence, Reuters reports.

Analysts believe divisions that have deepened since an outbreak of violence in Beirut last week may play to the political advantage of Aoun's long-time Christian adversary, Samir Geagea, a Hezbollah opponent with close Saudi ties.

BEIRUT, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Worsening sectarian tensions in Lebanon are testing an alliance between Shi'ite Hezbollah and its Christian ally President Michel Aoun, who may lose ground to their rivals as they step up opposition to the Iran-backed group's influence.

Analysts believe divisions that have deepened since an outbreak of violence in Beirut last week may play to the political advantage of Aoun's long-time Christian adversary, Samir Geagea, a Hezbollah opponent with close Saudi ties.

BEIRUT, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Lebanon's top Christian cleric, Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, said on Sunday that the judiciary should be free of political interference and sectarian "activism" amid tensions over a probe into last year's blast at Beirut port.

The Maronite patriarch also said it was unacceptable for anyone to resort to threats or violence. In Lebanon's worst street violence in over a decade, seven people were shot dead last week as protesters headed to a rally opposing the inquiry.

BEIRUT, Oct 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Lebanon prepared to bury the victims of its deadliest sectarian unrest in years after gunfire gripped central Beirut for hours and revived the ghosts of the civil war.

  Six people were killed and dozens wounded Thursday when violence erupted following a rally by Shiite protesters demanding the removal of the judge investigating last year’s devastating Beirut port blast.