Lebanon

04 August 2023; MEMO: Archbishop Atallah Hanna, the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia, has slammed events in the Ain Al-Hilweh camp in Lebanon as "shameful."

"The use of weapons in the camps between brothers is a very serious issue," he said in reference to fatal shootings that recently took place in the camp.

He expressed hope that steps being taken to end this "strife" and "thwart the satanic scheme that aims to harm our camp" and undermine the Palestinians' right of return are successful.

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon handed over to Italy on Thursday morning a notorious Italian drug dealer arrested last month north of the capital of Beirut, judicial officials said.

Bartolo Bruzzaniti was flown to Italy on a private jet that took off from Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

BEIRUT, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Syria has expressed its willingness to receive 180,000 displaced refugees from Lebanon at the first stage, said Lebanese Minister of the Displaced Issam Charafeddine on Tuesday.

"We have reached an understanding with the Syrian government to resolve the crisis of the displaced safely," Charafeddine was quoted as saying by the Elnashra news website.

BEIRUT, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon announced on Monday to suspend cultural cooperation with Sweden and Denmark in protest against the desecration of the Quran in the two Nordic countries, the National News Agency (NNA) reported.

"The Ministry of Culture suspends all cultural cooperation with Sweden and Denmark and their embassies in Beirut until the two countries' authorities take appropriate measures to correct the incident," the NNA quoted Culture Minister Mohammad Wissam Mortada as saying.

BEIRUT (AP) — Fighting raged Sunday in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp near the southern port city of Sidon, killing at least five people and wounding seven, Palestinian officials said.

UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, put the death toll at six, and Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said two children were among those wounded.

BEIRUT, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) on Wednesday reiterated its strong and determined rejection of the desecration of the Islamic holy book of Quran, said a statement released by the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon.

"Following the recent acts by individuals in Europe that have offended many Muslims, the EU reiterates its strong and determined rejection of any form of incitement to religious hatred and intolerance," the statement said.

BEIRUT, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Parts of the damaged Beirut Railway Station in the Mar Mikhael neighborhood of the Lebanese capital will soon be restored with foreign funding, according to a UNESCO-Italian deal reached Monday on recovery of the industrial heritage site.

Under the deal, the Italian government will finance 2 million euros (about 2.21 million U.S. dollars) through the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, a public agency, for the recovery work, according to a statement released by UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

24 July 2023; MEMO: If Israel's Mossad intelligence agency is behind the burning of the Quran, then there needs to be "strong popular and official positions" to stand against it, the Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah group, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has said.

BEIRUT, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's security chief said on Friday that the recent decision by the European Parliament to support Syrian refugees' stay in Lebanon is "unrealistic" and "non-binding," the National News Agency reported.

"We will not surrender to any decision issued against the interest of Lebanon, and I believe the country cannot bear such a decision," Lebanese Director General of Public Security Elias al-Baissari told a delegation from the Lebanese Press Syndicate.

17 July 2023; MEMO: The five-nation group on Lebanon, which comprises the US, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt, said on Monday they had discussed several measures against politicians and groups who were obstructing the election of a new president, Reuters reports.