In this Feb. 23, 2017 file photo, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas listens to his Lebanese counterpart Michel Aoun address a speech, at the presidential palace, in Baabda east Beirut, Lebanon. Abbas will speak by telephone with U.S President Donald Trump in the first contact between the two leaders since Trump took office.
Category: Lebanon
Syrian government takes back Palmyra from ISIS
Syrian government had previously seized back the town from Islamic State last March but lost it again 10 months later BEIRUT-Syria’s military announced on Thursday it has fully recaptured the historic town of Palmyra from the Islamic State group as the militants’ defences crumbled and IS fighters fled in the face of artillery fire and intense Russia-backed airstrikes. The development marks the third time that the town-famed for its priceless Roman ruins and archaeological treasures IS had sought to destroy-has changed hands in one year.
End of the euro? French candidate plots return of the franc
French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, speaks during a press conference, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. Le Pen refused to go into a meeting with Lebanon’s Grand mufti after his aides asked her to wear a head scarf.
France’s Le Pen refuses headscarf to meet Lebanon’s mufti
An aide of Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel-Latif Derian, left, gives a head scarf to French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, right, to wear during her meeting with the Mufti but she refused, upon her arrival at Dar al-Fatwa the headquarters of the Sunni Mufti, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. Le Pen refused to go into a meeting with Lebanon’s Grand mufti after his aides asked her to wear a head scarf.
How Will We Get Over Our Trump Addiction?
Not long after the Lebanese civil war ended more than a quarter of a century ago, I found my landlord in a depressed mood.
France’s Le Pen arrives in Lebanon
The far-right French leader Marine Le Pen has arrived in Beirut to meet with the Lebanese head of state and leading Christian figures. The National Front leader is hoping to burnish her credentials as a defender of Christians in the Middle East, ahead of France’s April 23 presidential elections.
Report: At least 13,000 hanged in Syrian prison since 2011
In this combination of two photos of Omar Alshogre, a 21-year Syrian former detainee, now living in Stockholm, Sweden. The left picture is of Alshogre taken on January 2017 in Stockholm, Sweden.
UN refugees agency concerned by US travel ban implications
The U.N.’s top official on refugees says it’s up to the U.S. to decide the l… . Filippo Grandi, the head of U.N. refugee agency UNHCR speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017.
Lebanon’s unsung heroes
Lebanese security forces secure the street near the cafe in Hamra street in Beirut where a suicide bomber was arrested minutes before exploding himself on January 22, 2017. / AFP / ANWAR AMRO A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on January 23, 2017, on page 7.
Ex-hostage’s daughter finds dad’s love by meeting his captor
She tried drugs. She tried arguing. She tried writing a book. After a quarter century, the daughter of the longest-held American hostage during Lebanon’s civil war says she’s found her father’s love.
In time of troubles, Davos organizers send in the clown
With an ear-piercing whistle, a professional clown in the crowd startles to order a conference room full of some of the world’s elite thinkers, writers and religious minds. The Lebanese-born, curly-haired artist in baggy green trousers and with a frequent raspy laugh made her debut this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a special invitee more accustomed to entertaining refugees than livening up serious thought-fests.
Dr. Walid Abi-Saab joins Galapagos as Chief Medical Officer
Galapagos NV announces the appointment of Dr. Walid Abi-Saab to the role of Chief Medical Officer, beginning on 1 March 2017. The Chief Medical Officer will be a member of the Executive Committee and drive the overall medical strategy of the Company.
Lebanese Army refers extremist to judiciary
Lebanon’s Military Tribunal in Beirut is seen in this Thursday, June 20, 2013, photograph. (The Daily Star/Hasan Shaaban)
Faith Briefs
On Feb 19, the Rev. Howard Dotson will be joining family and friends of Shaza Messri in Amman, Jordan and Beirut, Lebanon to advocate and case manage her humanitarian asylum case.
Lebanese President on landmark visit today
President of the Lebanese Republic General Michel Aoun will arrive in Qatar today on two-day official visit. Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will hold official talks with the Lebanese President on bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues of joint interest.
FBI agent who interrogated Saddam Hussein leads airport case
The FBI agent who interrogated Saddam Hussein alone for months after the former Iraqi leader’s capture is now leading the investigation into the Florida airport shooting rampage blamed on an Iraq war veteran. George Piro, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami field office, was Saddam’s sole interrogator beginning in January 2004.
Face to Face
Like many authors, Charles Henderson writes about what he knows best. A retired United States Marines officer, Henderson has written six books, each woven with a military theme.
Syrian cease-fire crumbles as government forces advance around Damascus
BEIRUT - A Syrian cease-fire backed by Russia and Turkey is crumbling five days after it began, with government forces pushing offensives around Damascus and rebels threatening to suspend participation in further talks. The truce was to have been followed by a meeting between government representatives and mainstream rebel factions in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.
Video shows man believed to be nightclub attacker in Turkey
To continue reading up to 10 premium articles, you must register , or sign up and take advantage of this exclusive offer: In this photo obtained Tuesday Jan. 3, 2017, undated photo of a man believed to be the gunman who killed dozens at an Istanbul nightclub, films himself as he wanders nearby to Istanbul’s Taksim square. An assailant armed with a long-barrelled weapon, opened fire at the nightclub in Istanbul’s Ortakoy district during New Year’s celebrations, killing dozens of people and wounding many others.
The Latest: Lebanon bids farewell to Istanbul victims
In this photo released by the Lebanese Government, Lebanese Red Cross volunteers unload the coffin of a Lebanese victim who was killed in the Istanbul nightclub attack, at Rafik Hariri international airport, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday Jan. 2, 2017. A jet carrying the bodies of three Lebanese citizens killed in the shooting at an Istanbul nightclub has landed in Beirut, with three others who were wounded aboard.
The Latest: Raid at Istanbul apartment ends without arrests
An assailant believed to have been dressed in a Santa Claus cos… . This image taken from CCTV provided by Haberturk Newspaper Sunday Jan. 1, 2017 shows the attacker, armed with a long-barrelled weapon, shooting his way into the Reina nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey on Sunday morning.
The Latest: Reports: Turkey detains 8 over nightclub attack
This image taken from CCTV provided by Haberturk Newspaper Sunday Jan. 1, 2017 shows the attacker, armed with a long-barrelled weapon, shooting his way into the Reina nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey on Sunday morning. The assailant opened fire at the nightclub in Istanbul’s Ortakoy district during New Year’s celebrations, killing dozens of people and wounding dozens of others in what the province’s governor described as a terror attack.
United Nations backs Russian-Turkish Syria efforts as cease-fire wavers2 min ago
Beirut, Jan 1: The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution supporting efforts by Russia and Turkey to end the nearly six-year conflict in Syria and jump-start peace negotiations, as a fragile country-wide cease-fire wavered.The resolution also calls for the “rapid, safe and unhindered” delivery of humanitarian aid throughout Syria. And it anticipates a meeting of the Syrian government and opposition representative in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana in late January.
Explosion rocks east Aleppo in Syria as residents return
Syrian rebels outside Aleppo on Friday … . This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA shows Syrian army soldiers marching through the streets in the Ansari neighborhood, east Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec 23, 2016.
The year of the fentanyl crisis: How we got here
Marchers carried a coffin to remember friends, family and community members during a procession to mark Overdose Awareness Day in Vancouver in August. The highly potent opioid fentanyl was detected in more than 370 drug overdose deaths in British Columbia between January and October 2016.
The year of the fentanyl crisis: How we got here
Marchers carried a coffin to remember friends, family and community members during a procession to mark Overdose Awareness Day in Vancouver in August. The highly potent opioid fentanyl was detected in more than 370 drug overdose deaths in British Columbia between January and October 2016.
Last remaining rebels and civilians await Aleppo evacuation
When the province announced last week that it had found a buyer for Thunder Bay’s casino, it was reassuring to learn that the more than 300 pe BEIRUT – Hundreds more Syrians left the rebels’ last foothold in eastern Aleppo in convoys of buses escorted by the Syrian Red Crescent and the international Red Cross on Tuesday under a cease-fire deal brokered by Ankara and Russia. The evacuations came as Moscow was hosting the foreign ministers of Iran and Turkey in three-way talks on Aleppo’s future and prospects for peace in Syria.
Deal reached that could restart Aleppo evacuation
This image released by Aleppo 24, shows residents of eastern Aleppo arriving in western rural Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016, as part of an evacuation deal. The evacuation of eastern Aleppo stalled Friday after an eruption of gunfire, as the Syrian government and rebels threw accusations at each other, raising fears that a peaceful surrender of the opposition enclave could fall apart with thousands of people believed to be still inside.
Deal reached that could restart Aleppo evacuation
A Syrian man pulls their belongings after he was evacuated with his family from Aleppo, near Idlib, Syria, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says 7,500 civilians have been evacuated from the Syrian city of Aleppo and that he has reached out to Tehran in a bid to keep the process on track.