Lebanon

BEIRUT, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of Lebanese citizens on Sunday took part in the biggest national beach clean-up campaign, the National News Agency (NNA) reported.

The campaign "Save Our Face," launched by Lebanese Environment Minister Fadi Jreissati in several locations including Beirut, Akkar, Zahrani, Batroun and Tripoli, aims at conveying a cleaner picture of Lebanon.

BEIRUT (AP) — The father could hardly bear seeing his 18-month-old daughter’s panic every time the Syrian government warplanes flew over their home. Every day for a month, she ran to him to hide in his arms, tearful and breathless.

Abdurrahim had refused to flee his hometown throughout years of violence, and he was determined to hold out through the new, intensified government offensive launched in April against Idlib province, the last significant territory held by Syria’s rebels.

But now he had his first child, Ruwaida, to think about.

BEIRUT, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The United States is unwilling to lose its global dominance, taking aggressive and hostile measures against many countries, including trade frictions with China, said Lebanese experts.

It is not the first time that the United States waged such "wars", Hanna Gharib, head of the Lebanese Communist Party, told Xinhua.

"For the United States, no other country is allowed to advance technologically and scientifically. These are not new wars. It waged such wars against a lot of countries in the world such as Japan and Iraq," Gharib said.

BEIRUT (AP) — Israel attacked Syrian military positions in the country’s south early Sunday, killing three soldiers and wounding seven others, Syria’s state-run media reported.

State news agency SANA quoted an unnamed military official as saying the attacks struck military positions in the southern region of Quneitra, near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. They also caused material damage, it said.

BEIRUT (AP) — New satellite photos obtained on Tuesday show significant damage to Syrian villages and surrounding farmland as a result of a government offensive on the last rebel stronghold in the country.

The images, provided to The Associated Press by the Colorado-based Maxar Technologies, show fires in olive groves and orchards during harvest season around Kfar Nabudah and nearby Habeet, two villages on the edge of Idlib province where the latest fighting has focused.

The fires were apparently sparked by intense bombing in the area.

BEIRUT, May 20 (Xinhua) -- A confrontation took place on Monday between protesters and police soldiers in the capital Beirut during a demonstration organized by retired military personnel and other public sector employees against proposed austerity measures, local media reported.

Local TV channels broadcasted footage of soldiers using water cannons to disperse demonstrators and prevent them from reaching the Grand Serail where the council of ministers is convening to discuss the 2019 state budget.

6 May 2019; MEMO: Lebanese central bank employees went on strike on Monday over state budget proposals that would cut their benefits but said they may be ready to take a decision to “relieve” pressures caused by the move, reports Reuters.

The strike prompted the Beirut Stock Exchange to suspend trading until further notice because the clearance and settlement process for transactions could not be done on time, it said in a statement.

CHEBAA, Lebanon (AP) — Akram Kanaan looked toward an Israeli military position on a snow-capped mountain that overlooks the village of Chebaa in southern Lebanon, pointing toward the scenic area captured by Israel more than five decades ago. No matter how long it takes, he says, it will eventually return to Lebanon’s sovereignty.

BEIRUT, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Khaled Hanafy, secretary general of the Union of Arab Chambers, said Saturday that China's trade with the Arab world will exceed 300 billion U.S. dollars before 2025.

"China is the world's second biggest economy after the United States and it is considered a good partner by Arab countries who wish to diversify export sources and attract Asian investments," Hanafy said during the China Lebanon Investment Forum.

He added that Chinese products are also popular in the Arab world, including Morocco and Tunisia.

BEIRUT, March 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday that the U.S. will continue to use all peaceful means to deter Hezbollah and Iran's influence in the region, local TV Channel OTV reported.

"Hezbollah is stockpiling its rockets in Lebanon to use them against Israel. It is working under the authority of Iran, while Iran believes that Lebanon's stability threatens its dominance in the region," Pompeo said during a joint press conference with Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil.