Lebanon

BEIRUT, Aug 31 (NNN-NNA) – The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), yesterday said, it is seeking 15.5 million U.S. dollars, to address the emerging needs arising from armed clashes in Ain Al-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp, in southern Lebanon.

“Thousands of civilians were forced to flee their homes, which were damaged or destroyed. All eight UNRWA schools, providing education for 5,900 children, have been occupied by armed militants and severely damaged,” the agency said in a statement.

BEIRUT, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian arrived in Beirut Thursday for an official visit to Lebanon after wrapping up his tour in Syria, Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Upon his arrival at the airport, the Iranian diplomat told the press that his country called on the international community to help Lebanon, which has been mired in a major financial crisis and political impasse, according to the NNA.

BEIRUT (AP) — Anti-government protests in southern Syria have stretched into a second week, with demonstrators waving the colorful flag of the minority Druze community, burning banners of President Bashar Assad’s government and at one point raiding several offices of his ruling party.

The protests were initially driven by surging inflation and the war-torn country’s spiraling economy but quickly shifted focus, with marchers calling for the fall of the Assad government.

BEIRUT, Aug 27 (NNN-NNA) – Lebanon’s Ministry of Health, yesterday warned that, the number of Hepatitis A cases has sharply increased, since the beginning of this year.

The ministry said, some 1,785 cases have been detected in Lebanon so far, of which 204 are in the Baalbek district in eastern Lebanon.

There were less than 600 Hepatitis A cases in 2022.

The districts of Tripoli, Akkar, Minyeh-Danniyeh and Baalbek registered the biggest surge in cases, and water samples have been collected from epicentres for epidemiological analysis.

BEIRUT, Aug 24 (NNN-NNA) – A Lebanese Air Force helicopter crashed last night, in Hammana, a town in central Lebanon, about 26 kilometres east of Beirut, killing two army service members and injuring another, local TV channel LBCI reported.

LBCI said, the helicopter crashed while conducting a training flight.

The reason behind the incident is still unknown.

BEIRUT, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed, and six others were injured in a car accident on the Qalamoun highway in northern Lebanon, LBCI local TV channel reported.

The accident happened as two cars collided, causing one to hit a utility pole.

The victims were transported to nearby hospitals.

17 August 2023; MEMO: Lebanon’s Minister of Works Ali Hamieh yesterday announced the arrival of an oil and gas exploration vessel in Block 9.

This came about ten months after Israel and Lebanon reached a US-brokered agreement to demarcate their maritime borders. The two sides discussed – through mediators – the issue of gas exploration in the Mediterranean.

17 August 2023; MEMO: The Electricity Corporation of Lebanon (EDL) announced yesterday that two power stations have stopped operating for financial reasons, resulting in power cuts throughout the country. The corporation said that the operator, Primesouth, had informed it of the suspension of operations at the Deir Aamar and Zahrani power stations due to the failure to pay the operating company in foreign currency. A sum of at least $10 million is required.

BEIRUT (AP) — Libya’s judicial authorities have formally asked Lebanon to release one of the late dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s sons, held without charges in Lebanon since 2015 because of his deteriorating health, officials said Monday.

The health of Hannibal Gadhafi has been deteriorating since he went on hunger strike on June 3, to protest his detention without trial. He was taken to hospital at least twice since then and has been only drinking small amounts of water.

BEIRUT, Aug 13 (Reuters) - The Jordanian military on Sunday downed a drone carrying crystal meth that was flying into Jordanian territory from neighbouring Syria, the state news agency Petra reported.

War-torn Syria has become a hub for a multi-billion-dollar drugs trade, with Jordan a main transit route to the oil-rich Gulf states for a Syrian-made amphetamine known as captagon, Western anti-narcotics officials and Washington say.

Citing a source within the Jordanian armed forces, the state agency said in a statement the drone was "taken control of and downed".