BEIRUT — A powerful explosion shook a Hezbollah stronghold in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, sending thick grey smoke billowing over the village, but the cause was not clear. Lebanon's official news agency, NNA, said the explosion in the southern village of Ain Qana, above the port city of Sidon, coincided...
French Leader Warns Lebanese Politicians of ‘Last Chance’
BEIRUT — French President Emmanuel Macron issued a stern warning to Lebanon's political class Tuesday, urging them to commit to serious reforms within a few months or risk punitive action, including sanctions, if they fail to deliver. Macron is on a two-day visit to Lebanon, marking the country's centenary and...
Diplomat Tapped To Be PM Vows Reforms in Crisis-Hit Lebanon
BEIRUT — Lebanon's prime minister-designate on Monday called for a new government to be formed “in record time,” pledging to speed up the investigation into the massive Beirut explosion and implement reforms after winning the backing of major parties in the crisis-hit country. Mustapha Adib, Lebanon's ambassador to Germany, spoke...
US Official: FBI to Join Beirut Explosion Investigation
BEIRUT — Visiting U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs David Hale says the Federal Bureau of Investigation will be joining Lebanese and other international investigators in the probe into the Beirut port blast that killed and wounded thousands. Hale said during a visit to one of the impacted neighborhood in...
Lebanon’s Cabinet Resigns Over Beirut Blast Amid Public Fury
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s government resigned Monday amid widespread public fury at the country’s ruling elite over last week’s devastating explosion in Beirut. The move risks opening the way to dragged-out negotiations over a new Cabinet amid urgent calls for reform. Prime Minster Hassan Diab headed to the presidential palace to...
A Look at Some Deadly Explosions Involving Ammonium Nitrate
The investigation into an explosion in the harbor of Lebanon's port city of Beirut is focusing on how 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive chemical used in fertilizers, came to be stored at the facility for six years, and why nothing was done about it. The explosion Tuesday...
World Responds to Lebanon’s Plight After Massive Blast
PARIS — As stunned Lebanese rescuers counted the dead and combed rubble for signs of life a day after a huge explosion shattered swaths of Beirut, nations near and far pledged Wednesday that the country, already trapped in a deep economic crisis, would not be left alone. The explosion at...
More Than 135 Killed in Massive Beirut Blast. Search Continues for Victims.
BEIRUT — A massive explosion rocked Beirut on Tuesday, flattening much of the port, damaging buildings across the capital and sending a giant mushroom cloud into the sky. At least 135 people were killed and thousands are injured, with bodies still buried in the rubble, according to news reports. Hours...
Huge Explosions Rock Beirut With Widespread Damage, Injuries
BEIRUT — Massive explosions rocked downtown Beirut on Tuesday, flattening much of the port, damaging buildings and blowing out windows and doors as a giant mushroom cloud rose above the capital. Witnesses saw many people injured by flying glass and debris. An Associated Press photographer near the port saw people...
2 Americans Imprisoned in Iran, Lebanon Released
WASHINGTON — An American jailed for months in Lebanon was released from custody Thursday, while a Navy veteran was granted medical furlough from an Iran prison as the country struggles to curb the spread of coronavirus, U.S. officials said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that Michael White, imprisoned more...