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Lebanon

Lebanon

June 26, 2026

Beirut 2:30 pm

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Lebanon cancels national high school exams due to war: What to know

Lebanon has canceled its national exams for the year due to the war and ongoing hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, following weeks of pressure on the Education Ministry.

A picture shows the four seasons hotel in Beirut with the snow covered mountain of Sannine in the background on March 8, 2019.

Explainer

Lebanon advances controversial $500K golden visa law: What to know

While its supporters say the scheme would help Lebanon's economy recover, critics say it could offer a channel for corruption.

Lebanese army forces deploy in the village of Bir al-Salasel in southern Lebanon on June 15, 2026. Iran's foreign ministry on June 15 said the US must ensure that Israel commits to stopping the war in Lebanon under a deal agreed upon with the US to end the Middle East war. Lebanon was pulled into the conflict in early March when Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah launched rocket attacks on Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader, prompting Israeli strikes and a ground invasion. (Pho

Analysis

Pilot zones at center of Israel-Lebanon talks as Trump pressures Netanyahu

With the fifth round of talks set to begin Tuesday, Israel is prepared to withdraw from at least one “pilot zone,” allowing the Lebanese army to take control of the area.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Latest News

Analysis

As US reshapes Lebanon strategy, Israel finds itself sidelined

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, Lebanon, on June 9, 2026.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

US, Iran to form 'deconflicting cell' on Lebanon, sidelining Lebanese state

Cars drive past billboards showing Iran's new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei (L) and his late father Ali Khamenei (R), with the slogan "Thank you, loyal Iran," erected along the highway leading to Rafik Hariri International Airport, Beirut, Lebanon, June 22, 2026.

Syria’s Sharaa says he had ‘multiple discussions’ with Trump on Lebanon, favors dialogue

US President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in the Oval Office, Washington, DC, Nov. 10, 2025.

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Joyce Karam

Editor-in-Chief

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Hanna Davis

In Beirut, reporting on politics, migration, human rights

Rodayna Raydan

In Boqaata, reporting on culture

Christian politician and FPM founder Michel Aoun (L) talks during a news conference next to Lebanon's former prime minister Saad al-Hariri after he said he will back Aoun to become president in Beirut, Lebanon October 20, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir - RTX2PR3I

How Lebanon’s presidential problem turned into opportunity

Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced his support for former chief of the army and Hezbollah ally Gen. Michel Aoun as president, which may have been Hariri's last resort as his relationship with Saudi Arabia has been tense.

Russian Navy's reconnaissance ship Liman of the Black Sea fleet sails in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Mediterranean Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey, October 21, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX2PW0Q

Israel wary of Russian comeback to the region

Russia has extended its presence in the region to such an extent that any IDF jet crossing the Israeli border in the north immediately appears on Russian military radar screens.

Ron Arad, an Israeli air force navigator missing since he bailed out over Lebanon in 1986, is seen in this undated handout picture released by Israel's Channel One on July 13, 2008. Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah group will exchange prisoners beginning on Wednesday under a U.N.-mediated deal, Israel's Prisons Service said on Sunday. A report on Arad's fate was handed over to Israel as part of the agreement. REUTERS/Handout ISRAEL OUT. ISRAEL OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN ISRAEL. FOR EDITORIAL U

30 years on, fate of Israeli air force officer remains a mystery

Three decades after IDF navigator Ron Arad ejected from his jet in Lebanon, Israelis still cannot be sure of his fate and cannot heal from the trauma that left such a deep scar on both the military and civil society.

Syrian children are seen inside an informal settlement for Syrian refugees in Bar Elias, Bekaa valley, Lebanon, January 6, 2016. More than 1 million Syrians are enduring another winter as refugees in Lebanon. For some, it is their fifth in a row, displaced by a war that has driven 4.4 million Syrians into neighbouring states from where many are trying to reach Europe. REUTERS/ Jamal Saidi - RTX21K68

Incitement, tensions rise over Syrian refugees in Lebanon

Controversial statements by Lebanese authorities point to growing frustration over the presence of more than 1 million Syrian refugees in their country.

Alain Le Roy, under-secretary-general for Peacekeeping Operations at the United Nations, looks on in a helicopter during his visit at the Golf Hotel, headquarters of Alassane Ouattara, in Abidjan December 27, 2010, where a detachment of UNOCI peacekeepers provides security. An election meant to resolve Ivory Coast's decade-long political crisis has resulted in two rivals claiming the presidency, with incumbent Laurent Gbagbo defying world pressure to hand over to Ouattara. The standoff has killed more than

Veteran French diplomat: EU should play greater role in resolving Syria crisis

French diplomat Alain Le Roy discusses the European Union's "unstable" and "insecure" borders and its greater challenge of resolving the crisis in Syria.

Damaged buildings line a street in the besieged area of Homs January 27, 2014. The United States on Monday demanded that Syria allow aid into the "starving" city of Homs, as talks aimed at ending three years of civil war hit more trouble over the future of President Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian government said women and children could leave the besieged city and that rebels should hand over the names of the men who would remain. A U.S. State Department spokesman said an evacuation was not an alternative to i

Lebanon positions itself as hub for Syrian reconstruction

Experts say that Lebanon has to prepare for Syria’s reconstruction once the war there ends or else it will be a missed opportunity to improve the Lebanese economy.

Meet the likely successor of Islamic State’s Baghdadi

After IS spokesman and second-in-command Abu Mohamed al-Adnani was killed in an airstrike last month, there are indications that Bahraini citizen Turki al-Binali may replace him.

$The cables of a side-scan sonar is seen in the waters of the Mediterranean sea, during a tour of areas believed to have gas reserves, off Lebanon's coast near Beirut May 30, 2013. Offshore seismic surveys suggest Lebanon has at least 30 trillion cubic feet in just a small fraction of its Mediterranean waters Energy Minister Gebran Bassil said. Lebanon has selected 46 international oil companies to bid to explore for gas off its coast, where survey ships have been assessing prospects after discoveries in wat$

Did Washington ask Lebanon to negotiate with Israel over oil?

An agreement for Lebanon to begin exploiting oil and gas reserves in the Mediterranean appears to have been put on hold following an American request that Lebanon negotiate with Israel to resolve their maritime border dispute.

Syrian refugees walk at a refugee camp in Zahle in the Bekaa valley November 18, 2014. In October, Lebanon, which has the highest per capita concentration of refugees in the world at one in four residents, said it could not cope with more than one million Syrians and has asked for funds to help look after them. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: CIVIL UNREST SOCIETY IMMIGRATION POVERTY) - RTR4EK8N

Uncertain future for Syrians as EU-Lebanon migration deal looms

Increasingly harsh conditions for Syrian refugees in Lebanon may present new problems for a prospective deal with the European Union.

Vehicles of the Hashid Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) take part in a military parade in the streets of Baghdad, Iraq July 12, 2016. REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily - RTSHJ8K

Iraqi militias aspire to be like Iran’s Revolutionary Guards

Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units consider themselves as an "alternative" state institution, like the IRGC; Russia-Turkey "reset" stumbles on Syria; United States and Russia need to conclude agreement on Syria.

A Hezbollah supporter shows off a picture of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on her phone during a rally marking the 10th anniversary of the end of Hezbollah's 2006 war with Israel, in Bint Jbeil, southern Lebanon August 13, 2016. REUTERS/Aziz Taher - RTX2KKE3

Why Hezbollah won't open all-out front against Israel

Israel's arrest of activists recruited by Hezbollah through Facebook reflects the organization's current strategy of encouraging attacks in Israel orchestrated from afar.

Lebanese actress and director Nadine Labaki, a Beirut Madinati candidate, shows her ink-stained finger after casting her ballot at a polling station during Beirut's municipal elections, Lebanon, May 8, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir - RTX2DC64

Municipal elections offer political first step for Lebanese women

Female candidates won big in May's municipal elections across Lebanon, with a substantial jump in female representation from the last local elections in 2010.