An outsider reading the cultural and political news coming out of Beirut in recent months might be forgiven for thinking there were two different places called "Beirut, Lebanon." On one hand there has been the political stasis afflicting the country

Any art exhibition that includes a painting entitled "Wuthering Heights" might be expected to yield a heady sense of emotion and corporeality. Emily Bronte's classic Victorian gothic novel is a tale of fierce passion set among the moors of Yorkshire,

The deputy commissioner general of UNRWA, Filippo Grandi, inaugurated Friday new housing for over 10 families near the Nahr al-Bared camp in North Lebanon, which was destroyed by fighting last year. This will bring the total number of temporary shelters

Tomorrow will mark 33 years since the date commonly accepted as the start date of Lebanon's 1975-90 Civil War, and while so much has changed, a lot has not - and it can be difficult to tell the difference. Religion

Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah said on Friday that the Lebanese political crisis remains at a standstill despite widespread talk among both the opposition and pro-government alliances of commitment to the Arab initiative, which he said was "a

Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said Friday the Lebanese aspire for peace as they are victims of an Israeli terrorism supported by the US. Speaking during a debate organized by the Maharat Foundation Beirut's Le Meridien-Commodore Hotel, he said: "The media

Decades after the outbreak of its last civil war, Lebanon is teetering on the edge of a new conflict as a bitter political power struggle pits Muslim against Muslim and Christian against Christian. Lebanese are faced with difficult choices and

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora called the head of the Press Federation, Mohammad Baalbaki Friday to inquire about an article published in Lebanese newspaper Ad-Diyar, a judicial report said. The daily's owner and editor in chief, Charles Ayyoub had written

Jacques Bitlou, Head of General Political Security for Federal Foreign Affairs in Berne, Switzerland, gave a lecture Friday at the Lawyers Home within the framework of a program by the Lebanese Association of Political Studies (LAPS). The lecture, "Swiss defense

The Internal Security Forces (ISF) have started investigating the possibility that a mass grave was located under the Halat highway in the qada of Jbeil north of Beirut. According to a report in An-Nahar Youth Supplement, residents of the the

Hizbullah International Relations officer Nawwaf Moussawi said there was a Lebanese faction which was being used as a tool by the US and "whose independence and will is being taken away." "There is a war to cancel out the Free

Public Works and Transport Minister Mohammad Safadi confirmed on Thursday that the Tripoli parliamentary bloc remained committed to the central beliefs of the March 14 Forces. Safadi said inter-Lebanese dialogue is the gate to any real solution to the political

Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Sergei Boukine reiterated on Friday Moscow's support for the international tribunal that would try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and related crimes. Pukin told reporters the ongoing investigation into the

The US Department of Defense said it would begin shipping $7.2 million worth of light weapons, trucks and clothes to the Lebanese Armed Forces 30 days after the US Congress passed the request without objections, according to reports published in

The debate over the minimum wage in Lebanon reignited on Friday, with trade unions threatening a general strike on May 7 and business leaders insisting on reactivating the sluggish economy before discussing any new raises. Some local newspapers quoted sources

Pirates have freed the crew of 30 from a French luxury sailing ship which was seized off Somalia one week ago and had been tailed by the French Navy, officials said Friday. The hostages, including 22 French members of the

Microsoft's unwanted courtship of Yahoo is spinning into a dramatic soap opera that analysts say is playing into the hands of Internet search king Google. While the software giant says Google's dominance online is the reason it is eager to

Contrary to common belief, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' pending visit to the United States later this month is not entirely futile. The president would do Palestinians a great service by using this opportunity to talk the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)