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Lebanon

Lebanon

August 27, 2025

Beirut 9:50 am

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Lebanon’s ex-Central Bank chief to be released on $20M bail: What to know

Judicial authorities in Lebanon agreed to release former Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh on $20 million bail nearly a year after his arrest on fraud and embezzlement charges.

A truck with a container leaves the Port of Montreal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on August 1, 2025. US President Donald Trump unveiled new tariffs on July 31 on nearly 70 countries -- including a blistering 35 percent on neighbor Canada -- as he seeks to reshape global trade to benefit the US economy. However, in a minor reprieve that opens the door to further negotiations, the White House said the measures will take effect in a week for most countries, not Friday as previously expected. (Photo by ANDREJ I

Canada: Montreal port tied to Hezbollah car trade, presence in Americas

The Canadian government said Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as Sikh nationalist groups, are receiving financial support originating from Canada.

US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack speaks during a joint press conference following his meeting with Lebanon's president at the Presidential Palace in Baabda on August 18, 2025. Barrack called on Israel to honour its commitments under a ceasefire that ended its war with Hezbollah, after the Lebanese government launched a process to disarm the militant group. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

US envoys in Lebanon as Hezbollah balks at disarmament plan

Israel said it was “ready to support” Lebanon’s efforts to disarm the militant group by year's end.

Lebanese army soldiers are stationed at the Burj al-Barajneh camp for Palestinian refugees in Beirut's southern suburbs on Aug. 21, 2025, as armed Palestinian groups in the refugee camps start handing over their weapons.

Lebanon begins disarming Palestinian factions after refugee camp hands over weapons

Lebanese and Palestinian officials confirmed that the first phase of the disarmament process of Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon has begun.

Latest News

Lebanon PM in Jordan as Beirut pushes Hezbollah disarmament, Iran’s influence wanes

Jordanian King Abdullah II receives Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Amman on Aug. 19, 2025.

Lebanon's PM slams Hezbollah chief for making 'threat of civil war'

RABIH DAHER/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Lebanon key to Trump plan for turnaround in Middle East

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, right, meets with US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack, in Baabda, east of Beirut, July 7, 2025.

Andrew Parasiliti

By Andrew Parasiliti

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, national security

Iran’s Larijani in Lebanon as Beirut, Tehran spar over Hezbollah disarmament

Iran's Supreme National Security Council chief Ali Larijani (C) speaks to reporters after meeting with Lebanon's parliament speaker in Beirut on Aug. 13, 2025.

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Joyce Karam

Senior News Editor

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional geopolitics, China in the Middle East

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Hanna Davis

In Beirut, reporting on politics, migration, human rights

Rodayna Raydan

In Boqaata, reporting on culture

A Lebanese security official holds a handful of confiscated captagon pills in his palm at the judicial police headquarters in the city of Zahle in Lebanon's central Bekaa valley on July 21, 2022. (Photo by JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images)

Three Lebanese soldiers killed in Bekaa drug raid

Lebanon plays a big role in the Captagon trade, though authorities are trying to crack down on drugs.

A Lebanese protester flashes the V-sign for victory and shouts slogans as others vandalise banks in Beirut on February 16, 2023, one day after the Lebanese pound hit a record low against the dollar on the black market. - The country's grinding political and economic crises shows no signs of abating as the pound has lost more than 95 percent of its value against the greenback since the start of the economic collapse in 2019. (Photo by JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images)

Banks burn in Lebanon as exchange rate falls to historic low

Lebanese banks were already on strike and the government’s interventions have failed to alleviate the economic crisis.

Lisa Johnson, State Department

Meet Lisa Johnson, US nominee to be ambassador to Lebanon

Lisa Johnson has a background fighting the drug trade, which could relate to Lebanon’s role as a transit point for illegal Captagon.

A money changer counts notes at his shop in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on Sept. 22, 2022.

Explainer: What is behind Lebanon's new exchange rate?

There are multiple exchange rates between the Lebanese pound and the US dollar, and the official rate being below the black market rate helps financial institutions pass on their losses to the public.

Middle East corruption rankings: Syria most corrupt, UAE least, Turkey slipped

Corruption remains rampant across the Middle East and North Africa, Transparency International reports, with the region’s average score in combating corruption hitting a new low of 38.

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

Qatar's energy giant cements Lebanon deal, substituting Russia

The Qatari firm officially took over the stake previously held by a Russian company.

Tarek Bitar

Meet judge Tarek Bitar, rattling Lebanon's political class in Beirut blast probe

The leading investigative judge into the Aug. 4 Beirut port blast has come back after a 13-month stall, rattling the political and judicial establishment.

A Yemeni man looks up at pillars at the Awam, or Moon Temple, near the recently restored Arsh, or Throne of Balquis, the site of the legendary kingdom of Sheba, Marib province, Yemen, Dec. 21, 2000.

UNESCO lists two locations in Lebanon, Yemen as heritage sites in danger

In an urgent session on Wednesday, UNESCO named two sites from Lebanon and Yemen to its List of World Heritage in Danger, calling for their immediate preservation.

Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, Emir of Qatar, departs after meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Chancellery on May 20, 2022 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Qatar's energy giant joins Lebanon gas exploration group

France’s TotalEnergies, which is also part of the consortium, said they hope to start drilling in Lebanese waters for oil and gas in 2023.

A supporter of Hezbollah and the Amal movements carries a portrait of Judge Tarek Bitar.

Lebanon's prosecutor retaliates, charges judge investigating Beirut port blast

The latest charges made by Beirut port explosion Judge Tarek Bitar against Lebanon’s key political figures has angered many in the political elite who banned him from travel on Wednesday.

An exterior view of the building of US Department of the Treasury is seen on March 27, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Olivier DOULIERY / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

Breaking | Last Updated: January 25, 2023, 4:50 pm

US sanctions Hezbollah financial adviser in Lebanon

The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on Lebanese economist Hassan Moukalled, his two sons and his money-exchange business.

Smoke plume rising after the new collapse of the northern section of the grain silos at the port of Lebanon's capital Beirut, which were previously partly destroyed by the 2020 port explosion. (Photo by DYLAN COLLINS/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon's blast investigator charges former PM Diab, senior security officials

Among those charged are Prosecutor General Ghassan Oweidat, the head of Lebanon's domestic intelligence agency Major General Abbas Ibrahim, former army commander Jean Kahwaji, and other current and former security and judicial officials.