Arab nations extended a deadline early Monday for Qatar to respond to their list of demands in a diplomatic crisis roiling the Gulf, saying Kuwait’s emir requested the delay as part of his efforts to mediate the dispute. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut off ties ...

Minister of State for Refugee Affairs Mouin Merehbi Monday insisted that Lebanon’s borders are “open” for the return of refugees in coordination with the United Nations, but not with the Syrian government. “The Syrian regime is criminal,” Merehbi said in an interview with Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5). “Calls to ...

The Cabinet is set to meet this week to discuss some 92 items and follow up on the government’s controversial electricity reform plan, ministerial sources said yesterday. Set to be chaired by President Michel Aoun at Baabda Palace at 11 a.m. Wednesday, the meeting will be the first since the ...

Iraq’s military pushed deeper into Mosul’s Old City Wednesday, taking two more districts from Daesh (ISIS) and bringing it closer to total control of the city. The army’s 16th infantry division captured Hadarat al-Saada and Al-Ahmadiyah, the military said in a statement. The areas are northwest of the historic Grand ...

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro vowed Wednesday to fend off what he called a coup attempt after a rogue cop allegedly dropped grenades from a helicopter in an attack the opposition and analysts said could be a hoax. The socialist president put the military on alert after the attack, a potentially ...

An initiative to boost joint public and private sector projects in Lebanon took a step forward Tuesday with the committee overseeing the bill finalizing a draft. “The administration and Justice Committee finished deliberations on two laws regarding public-private partnerships [PPPs],” the committee’s chair MP Robert Ghanem said after it met ...

The following security-related incidents took place across the country Wednesday: BEIRUT BANK ROBBED IN BROAD DAYLIGHT Two masked men stormed into a bank in Beirut and stole an estimated $70,000 a security source told The Daily Star. The suspects, one with a handgun, fired once inside the Al Baraka Bank ...

United States President Donald Trump sent a message to President Michel Aoun Wednesday to commemorate Eid al-Fitr. “On behalf of the American people, Melania and I send our warm greetings to you and the people of Lebanon as you celebrate Eid al-Fitr,” Trump was quoted as saying in the message ...

Syrian Bishop Joseph Absi Wednesday was elected the new patriarch of the Melkite-Greek Catholic Church. “It’s great, he’s an educated man, an administrative man, a man of reconciliation and an open man,” President of the Melkite-Greek Catholic League Maroun Bou Rjeily told The Daily Star. The election of Absi comes ...

Top political party leaders represented in the Cabinet will meet Thursday at the invitation of President Michel Aoun with talks expected to center around means to streamline the work of both the executive and legislative bodies over the coming months. Thursday’s meeting comes after Wednesday’s Cabinet session decided to refer ...