Tag Archives: Lebanon

Beirut Crowds Mob French President As He Offers Help

CNN reports: Large crowds mobbed French President Emmanuel Macron in Beirut as he toured a neighborhood of the Lebanese capital devastated by Tuesday’s massive explosion. “Revolution, revolution!” people chanted, as shock at the devastation in the city gave way to anger on Thursday. New information reveals that Beirut officials had ignored repeated warnings about a stockpile of dangerous chemicals linked …

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Beirut Explosives Were Abandoned By Russian Owner

The Moscow Times reports: Nearly 3,000 tons of a highly explosive fertilizer that caused Tuesday’s devastating blast in Beirut came from a ship owned by a Russian businessman, the Mediazona news website reported Wednesday, citing Lebanese television and members of the ship’s crew. Lebanese authorities in 2014 confiscated 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate from a Moldovan ship called the Rhosus, …

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Officials: Up To 300K Left Homeless In Beirut Explosion

Al Jazeera reports: Lebanese President Michel Aoun called for an emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday and said a two-week state of emergency should be declared following a massive explosion in Beirut that killed at least 100 people and injured 4,000 others. The explosion on Tuesday sent shockwaves across the city, causing widespread damage as far as the outskirts of the …

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Pentagon Denies Trump’s Claim Of Beirut “Attack”

The Daily Beast reports: Pentagon officials have reportedly said that they have absolutely no idea what President Donald Trump was talking about when he described the gigantic and deadly Beirut explosion as a “terrible attack” carried out using a “bomb of some kind.” On Tuesday, hours after the explosion killed at least a hundred people and wounded thousands, Trump said: …

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Officials: Thousands Hurt, Dozens Dead In Beirut Blast

The BBC reports: A large blast in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, has killed at least 50 people and injured more than 2,700 others, the health minister says. It is not yet clear what caused the explosion. Videos show smoke billowing from a fire before the blast, which is followed by a mushroom cloud. Hospitals are said to be overwhelmed and …

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Massive Explosion Rocks Central Beirut [VIDEO]

The Guardian reports: A massive explosion has rocked central Beirut that shattered windows, knocked down doors and shook buildings several hundred feet away. The source of the blast, which appeared to occur around the Lebanese capital’s port, is unclear. An enormous cloud of smoke could be seen from across the city and witnesses said there were reports of a fire …

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Interpol Issues Warrant For Fugitive Ex-Nissan Boss

CNBC reports: Lebanon received an Interpol arrest warrant on Thursday for ousted Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, a Lebanese judicial source told Reuters. The request, an Interpol red notice that calls on authorities to arrest a wanted person, was received by Lebanon’s internal security forces and has yet to be referred to the judiciary, the source said. Ghosn fled to Beirut …

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Ex-Nissan Boss: I Fled Japan’s Injustice, Discrimination

The Associated Press reports: Nissan’s former Chairman Carlos Ghosn said Tuesday from Lebanon that he was not fleeing justice but instead left Japan to avoid “injustice and political persecution” over financial misconduct allegations during his tenure leading the automaker. “I am now in Lebanon and will no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system where guilt is …

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Lebanon Sees Riots Amid Economic Crisis [VIDEO]

The Associated Press reports: Lebanese security forces fired tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons Sunday to disperse hundreds of protesters for a second straight day, ending what started as a peaceful rally in defiance of the toughest crackdown on anti-government demonstrations in two months. The violence comes on the eve of a meeting between the president and parliamentary blocs …

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US Quietly Releases $100M In Withheld Aid To Lebanon

The Associated Press reports: The Trump administration has quietly released more than $100 million in military assistance to Lebanon after months of unexplained delay that led some lawmakers to compare it to the aid for Ukraine at the center of the impeachment inquiry. The $105 million in Foreign Military Financing funds for the Lebanese Armed Forces was released just before …

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LEBANON: Government Blocks Access To Grindr

The Independent reports: The gay dating app Grindr has been blocked for most users in Lebanon, sparking concern over a widening crackdown on the LGBT+ community in the country. The social networking app, which connects users based on their location, went offline for users of the state-owned internet service provider over the weekend and has been unusable since. The local …

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LIVE VIDEO: Trump Holds Presser With Lebanese PM

CBS News reports: During President Trump’s joint news conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri Tuesday, there are a number of issues he may be asked about, including his relationship with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, as well as the health care bill which is being considered in the Senate. Mr. Trump and Hariri are meeting about fighting terrorism, the economy …

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BERLIN: Court Fines Family For Trying To Force 15 Year-Old Gay Boy Into Marriage

Via the Associated Press: A Berlin court has fined three Lebanese men on allegations they seized a 15-year-old relative against his will in what he says was an attempt to force him into marriage because he’s gay. State Court spokesman Tobias Kaehne said Thursday the boy’s father and two uncles were each fined 1,350 euros ($1,430), or 90 days in …

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LEBANON: Activists Hail “Landmark Ruling” On Criminalization Of Gay Sex

Via the Lebanon Daily Star: A judge presiding over a case prosecuting homosexuality has ruled that a notorious piece of legislation criminalizing gay sex is not valid, a decision that has been hailed as a major achievement by activists in Lebanon. The latest edition of The Legal Agenda, a quarterly magazine published by the non-governmental organization of the same name, …

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BBC: Gay Rights Threatened In Lebanon

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LEBANON: Rioters Destroy US Businesses

More photos here.

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Beirut, New Gay Hotspot?

For about as long as I can remember, Beirut has been the go-to comparison for describing another place as desolate and dangerous. As in “the Bronx is the Beirut of America.” But according to a lengthy travel piece in yesterday’s New York Times, Beirut is now the “Provincetown of the Middle East.” While homosexual activity (technically, sexual relations that officials …

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Gays Protest Police Brutality In Beirut

In what at an Arab gay blogger calls a first of its kind for the region, last week Lebanese gays protested recent beatings by local police. The protest was organized by Lebanese LGBT rights group Helem, which reports: Nearly two hundred people gathered yesterday afternoon at the crossroads of Sodeco in Beirut to protest against violations of the rights of …

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