The Lebanese prime minister on Saturday headed to the Syrian capital, Damascus, for the first official visit to meet with the new government there, after clashes along the countries’ shared border left several Lebanese soldiers wounded last week. The prime minister, Najib Mikati, spoke with Ahmad al-Shara, the leader of the new Syrian government, on […]

For decades, Hezbollah’s grip on Lebanon was iron tight. With its vast arsenal, the militant group was more powerful than the country’s national military. It controlled or held sway over Lebanon’s most important government agencies as well as critical infrastructure, like its border with Syria and commercial port. Almost no major political decisions could be […]

Lebanon’s fractured Parliament overcame more than two years of gridlock on Thursday to choose a new president, a critical step toward bringing stability to a country attempting to recover from economic catastrophe and a devastating war. Lawmakers elected Gen. Joseph Aoun, the commander of the Lebanese military, by an overwhelming majority in the second round […]

Lebanon’s deeply divided Parliament is set Thursday to try to elect a new president, potentially ending a yearslong political vacuum and ushering in a degree of stability for a country reeling from its bloodiest war in decades. For more than two years, the tiny Mediterranean nation has been paralyzed by political gridlock and led by […]

The business owners arrived one by one, but all were united in their mission on a chilly December morning: Salvage anything from the pulverized market in this hillside city in southern Lebanon. A photo studio operator and his son trudged through debris and twisted metal to recover dust-coated negatives and camera lenses. A clothes shop […]

A top U.S. envoy who helped broker the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah issued reassurance on Monday that Israel would withdraw fully from southern Lebanon, as called for in the fragile 60-day truce deal that paused the bloodiest war between the two sides in decades. Speaking to reporters in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, the envoy, […]

Syria’s main international airport in Damascus will reopen next week, the new government said on Saturday, as it tries to re-establish a sense of normalcy after the uprising that toppled President Bashar al-Assad. The announcement came amid tensions along the border between Syria and Lebanon, where four Lebanese solders were wounded in clashes on Friday […]