NAJIB MIKATI

The country's caretaker premier predicted "all sorts of problems" before announcing a postponement of the switch to Daylight Saving Time. He was right.

The Lebanese prime minister's attempt to help Muslims fasting for Ramadan by delaying the start of daylight saving time led to widespread derision and confusion.

Najib Mikati, the caretaker prime minister of Lebanon, reversed the decision to delay the start of daylight saving by a month. The decision was widely criticized by citizens.

BEIRUT — (AP) — The Lebanese government’s last-minute decision to delay the start of daylight saving time by a month until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan resulted in mass confusion Sunday. The small Mediterranean country normally sets its clocks forward an hour on the last Sunday in March, which aligns with most European countries. However, on Thursday, the government announced a decision by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati to push the start of daylight saving to April 21. While public institutions, in theory, are bound by the government’s decision, many private institutions, including TV stations, schools and businesses, announced that they would ignore the decision and move to daylight saving on Sunday as previously scheduled. The 8 a.m. appointment for her residency paperwork is with a government agency following the official time, while her 9 a.m. Arabic class is with an institute that is expected to make the switch to daylight saving.

The Lebanese government’s last-minute decision to delay the start of daylight saving time by a month until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan resulted in mass confusion

The Lebanese government’s last-minute decision to delay the start of daylight savings time by a month until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan resulted in mass confusion

BEIRUT — (AP) — The Lebanese government’s last-minute decision to delay the start of daylight savings time by a month until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan resulted in mass confusion Sunday. The small Mediterranean country normally sets its clocks forward an hour on the last Sunday in March, which aligns with most European countries. However, on Thursday Lebanon’s government announced a decision by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati to push the start of daylight savings to April 21. While public institutions, in theory, are bound by the government’s decision, many private institutions, including TV stations, schools and businesses, announced that they would ignore the decision and move to daylight savings on Sunday as previously scheduled. The 8 a.m. appointment for her residency paperwork is with a government agency following the official time, while her 9 a.m. Arabic class is with an institute that is expected to make the switch to daylight savings.

The Lebanese government’s last-minute decision to delay the start of daylight saving time by a month until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan resulted in mass confusion.

BEIRUT — (AP) — Lebanon will construct a $122 million terminal at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport to be operated by a leading Irish airport company when it's completed in four years, officials said Monday. Lebanon’s only international airport had a major facelift after the country’s 1975-90 civil war and has been working at full capacity for years. Terminal 2 will be built where the airport's old cargo building used to stand, according to Hamie. “The project opens more horizons for air aviation between Lebanon and the world,” caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said. Hamie said once Terminal 2 is ready it will be operated by leading European company daa International, an airport company in Ireland.

Lebanon will construct a $122 million terminal at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport to be operated by a leading Irish airport company when it’s completed in four years,.

Lebanon’s caretaker government has approved opening credit lines totaling $116 million to help fix its crippled state electricity grid

BEIRUT — (AP) — President Michel Aoun left Lebanon's presidential palace Sunday, marking the end of his six-year term without a replacement, leaving the small nation in a political vacuum that is likely to worsen its historic economic meltdown. In a speech outside the palace, Aoun told thousands of supporters that he has accepted the resignation of Mikati's government. The move is likely to further deprive the caretaker administration of legitimacy and worsen existing political tensions in the country. He has also come under fire for grooming his son-in-law to replace him, and many blame him for the economic crisis that is rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement. That will presumably help Lebanon come out of its economic crisis that has been described by the World Bank as one of the worst the world has witnessed since the 1850s.

President Michel Aoun has left Lebanon’s presidential palace, marking the end of his six-year term without a replacement.

President Michel Aoun left Lebanon's presidential palace Sunday, marking the end of his six-year term without a replacement, leaving the small nation in a political vacuum that is likely to worsen its historic economic meltdown. As Aoun’s term ends, the country is being run by a caretaker government after Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati failed to form a new Cabinet following May 15 parliamentary elections. Aoun and his supporters warn that such a government doesn't have full power to run the country, saying that weeks of “constitutional chaos” lay ahead.

Lebanon's parliament has approved amendments to a banking secrecy law, a key demand of the International Monetary Fund before agreeing to a bailout program.

A prominent Lebanese legislator allied with the militant Hezbollah group says the war in Ukraine and rising demand for natural gas around the world has helped speed up a U.S.-mediated maritime border deal between Lebanon and Israel

France's foreign minister has urged Lebanon's political leadership to swiftly elect a new president and warned that a political vacuum could plunge the Mediterranean country into a deeper crisis.

The U.S. has delivered a maritime border demarcation proposal to Lebanese President Michel Aoun and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, as negotiations with Israel progress

Lebanon's parliament has failed to elect a president, just weeks before incumbent President Michel Aoun's six-year term comes to an end.

Over 100 people attempted to migrate to Europe in overcrowded boats to escape poverty in Lebanon. However, 95 people, including women and children, died in an accident.

Lebanon is celebrating the victory of a female dance troupe from this crisis-hit Mideast country in the America's Got Talent competition show.

The U.S. envoy mediating between Lebanon and Israel over the two countries’ disputed maritime border says some progress has been made but more work needs to be done to resolve the issue between the two nations

Lebanon's Hezbollah is airing drone footage of Israeli gas production barges in a disputed gas field in the Mediterranean Sea.

Lebanese lawmakers have voted to use a $150 million World Bank loan to import wheat for its cash-strapped country

Lebanese lawmakers have voted to use a $150 million World Bank loan to import wheat for its cash-strapped country.

Lebanon Port Blast General view of grain silos at Beirut port, Lebanon, Friday, July 22, 2022. The latest fire at the silos’ damaged north block, right part, was due to fermenting wheat and grains still trapped inside the building, outgoing Economy Minister Amin Salam told reporters. A fire in one of the port's two silos has been smoldering for the past two weeks due to 800 tons of grain inside fermenting in the hot weather. But the silos, which stand in the middle of the port next to a main highway, were badly damaged with grain spilling out amid the wreckage. Another minister warned last week that the situation at the port was "tricky and complicated", and said one of the grain silos may collapse.

Lebanon’s government says one of the massive silos that withstood a deadly blast at Beirut’s port two years ago risks collapsing

Lebanon's government says the ruin of a massive silo struck with a deadly blast at Beirut's port two years ago risks collapsing.

A Lebanese investigative judge and security personnel have raided the Central Bank in a probe against the country's embattled governor.

A Lebanese minister says the government hopes to start sending back tens of thousands of Syrian refugees within months.

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister has criticized the militant group Hezbollah for sending three unmanned aircraft over an Israeli gas installation

“We have to face the reality that today Europe’s system is dependent on gas,” Hochstein told the AP after the hearing. The European Union received roughly 40% of its natural gas from Russia before the war. Western-led sanctions and Russian cutoffs, as well as Europe's major switch to non-Russian suppliers, are depriving Europe of Russian natural gas. Renewable energy is.”Climate advocates are wary of what they see as Hochstein's support of some infrastructure projects in Europe for liquified natural gas. “Unfortunately, we don't have the clean infrastructure to replace natural gas in the short- or medium-term,” Hochstein told the AP.

President Joe Biden’s point man for global energy problems knows, he says, that transitioning away from the climate-wrecking pollution of fossil fuels is the only way to go.

Lebanon’s pound has hit a new low as deep divisions within the newly elected parliament raised concerns that political paralysis could further exacerbate one of the worst economic meltdowns in history

Lebanese voted for a new parliament against the backdrop of an economic meltdown that is transforming the country and low expectations that the voting would significantly alter the political landscape.

Lebanon Elections FILE - Campaign posters for the upcoming parliamentary candidates elections are displayed in Beirut, Lebanon on April 14, 2022. Thousands of Lebanese living in nearly 50 countries began early voting Sunday, May 8, 2022 in the country’s closely watched parliamentary elections, days after a similar vote was held in 10 predominantly Muslim nations. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File) (Hussein Malla)BEIRUT — (AP) — Thousands of Lebanese living in nearly 50 countries began early voting Sunday in the country’s closely watched parliamentary elections, days after a similar vote was held in 10 predominantly Muslim nations. About 195,000 Lebanese had registered to vote Sunday in 48 countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, Russia, European Union member states and several African nations. Parliamentary elections are held once every four years and the last vote in 2018 gave majority seats to the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah group and its allies.

Thousands of Lebanese living in nearly 50 countries began early voting in the country’s closely watched parliamentary elections, days after a similar vote was held in 10 predominantly Muslim nations.

The Lebanese Red Cross says a boat carrying 60 migrants has capsized off the Lebanese coast

A Lebanese judge on Monday froze the assets of five of Lebanon’s largest banks and those of their board of directors as she investigates possible transfers of billions of dollars aboard during the country’s economic meltdown. The state-run National News Agency said the decision by Judge Ghada Aoun with Mount Lebanon district court covers real estate, vehicles and shares that the five banks or their directors own in other companies. The move came days after Aoun imposed travel bans on the directors of the five banks.

BEIRUT — (AP) — Kuwait’s foreign minister handed Lebanese officials Saturday a list of suggestions for confidence-building measures with oil-rich Gulf states after relations between the two sides deteriorated dramatically in recent months. The visit by Sheikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah is the first by a senior Gulf official to Beirut since an unprecedented diplomatic row between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia and its neighbors broke out in October. Sheikh Ahmed told reporters after meeting Prime Minister Najib Mikati that his visit to Beirut is part of international efforts for confidence-building measures with Lebanon. In late December, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman called on the Lebanese in a speech “to end the terrorist Hezbollah’s control” of Lebanon. Mikati’s office said the prime minister told the Kuwaiti guest that Beirut wants excellent relations with all Gulf states.

Kuwait’s foreign minister says he has handed Lebanese officials a list of suggestions for confidence-building measures with oil-rich Gulf states after relations between the two sides deteriorated dramatically over the past months.

Lebanon’s president has called for an end to an 11-week deadlock that has prevented the government from convening, further undermining state institutions in the country amid an economic meltdown

France’s president and Saudi Arabia’s crown prince held a joint phone call with Lebanon’s prime minister during Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the kingdom.

Lebanon’s information minister has resigned in a bid to ease an unprecedented, weekslong diplomatic crisis with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab countries.

Vatican Lebanon Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati attends a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after their meeting at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, on Sept. 24, 2021. Pope Francis told Lebanon’s prime minister on Wednesday that he was praying that God would help Lebanon “get up” and get back on its feet following an unprecedented economic crisis that has thrown three quarters of the country’s 6 million people, including a million Syrian refugees, into poverty. Francis referred to the problems in remarks to Mikati and the Lebanese delegation and assured them of his prayers and efforts “to build a common effort to help Lebanon get back up” on its feet. According to Mikati’s office, the pope “expressed his concern about the social situation in Lebanon and the economic conditions under which the Lebanese are living." Mikati's office said the pope told him the Vatican would “make efforts to support Lebanon in international forums" and stressed the need for Lebanon to maintain good relations with Arab neighbors and the international community.

Pope Francis says he's praying that God will help Lebanon “get up” and get back on its feet following an unprecedented economic crisis that has thrown three quarters of the country’s 6 million people including a million Syrian refugees into poverty.

Troops and patrols have deployed around Baghdad following the failed assassination attempt with armed drones that targeted Iraq’s prime minister in his residence.

Lebanon Diplomatic Row Explainer FILE - Lebanese hold Saudi Arabia flags during a protest in support of the kingdom against comments made by a Lebanese minister over the war in Yemen, in front of the Saudi Arabia Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, Oct. 30, 2021. Punitive measures from Saudi Arabia, once an important ally that poured millions of dollars into Lebanon, could cause more economic pain. It is the latest escalation in the rivalry that has long played out in Lebanon between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Saudi Arabia has long been a close ally of politicians in Lebanon’s Sunni Muslim community, which chooses the prime minister under the country’s sectarian system. Saudi Arabia, as well as the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain, withdrew their ambassadors from Lebanon and expelled Lebanese envoys to the kingdom.

Lebanon Diplomatic Row Explainer FILE - Lebanese hold Saudi Arabia flags during a protest in support of the kingdom against comments made by a Lebanese minister over the war in Yemen, in front of the Saudi Arabia Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, Oct. 30, 2021. Punitive measures from Saudi Arabia, once an important ally that poured millions of dollars into Lebanon, could cause more economic pain. It is the latest escalation in the rivalry that has long played out in Lebanon between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Saudi Arabia has long been a close ally of politicians in Lebanon’s Sunni Muslim community, which chooses the prime minister under the country’s sectarian system. Saudi Arabia, as well as the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain, withdrew their ambassadors from Lebanon and expelled Lebanese envoys to the kingdom.

A televised remark by a game show host-turned Cabinet minister in Lebanon about the war in Yemen has taken Lebanon's crisis with Saudi Arabia to new depths.

For eight months, a relatively obscure Lebanese judge has been quietly investigating one of the world’s worst non-nuclear explosions with only four assistants — and a lot of powerful detractors trying to block him.

Lebanon’s state news agency reports the government has raised the price of fuel by about 25%

Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said many of the casualties were shot by snipers from buildings. The protest was let by militant group Hezbollah and its allies.

Lebanon Lebanese security forces react to gunfire during a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021. Armed clashes broke out in Beirut Thursday during a protest against the lead judge investigating last year’s massive blast in the city's port, as tensions over the domestic probe boiled over. The exchanges of fire involving snipers, pistols, Kalashnikovs and rocket-propelled grenades were a dangerous escalation of tensions over the domestic probe. The right wing Christian Lebanese Forces mobilized supporters Wednesday evening after Hezbollah and its allies called for the protest at the Justice Palace, located in a Christian area. One Hezbollah-allied minister said he and other Cabinet members would stage a walkout if Bitar isn’t removed.

AMMAN, Jordan — (AP) — Jordan’s King Abdullah II received Lebanon's prime minister in Amman Sunday, saying his country will stand by the small nation and its people during its worst-ever economic crisis. The visit to Jordan by Prime Minister Najib Mikati is his first to an Arab country since he formed his Cabinet last month. On Wednesday, Jordan agreed to supply Lebanon with electricity through Syria and work is underway for a timetable. Egypt has also agreed to supply Lebanon with natural gas to its power plants through Jordan and Syria. Jordan’s Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh visited Lebanon late last month, and said there are efforts to provide Lebanon with some electricity from Jordan.

Setting up an offshore company is not illegal, but reinforces the perception that the wealthy and powerful play by different rules—a particularly upsetting notion for many Lebanese. One focus of the revelations is Riad Salameh, who has been Lebanon’s central bank governor for nearly 30 years. He is listed as its full owner and sole director, which Daraj said appeared to violate Lebanese laws forbidding the central bank governor from activity in any enterprise. Salameh’s office told The Associated Press that the central bank governor has no comment on the documents. Prime Minister Mikati, a businessman who formed a new government last month, has owned a Panama-based offshore company since the 1990s.

A trove of leaked documents shows that for years, Lebanon’s politicians and bankers have stowed wealth in offshore tax havens and used it to buy expensive properties.

A global investigation has revealed how the rich and powerful have being hiding their investments in mansions, exclusive beachfront property, yachts and other assets for the past quarter-century.

Jordan’s prime minister says that he discussed in Beirut ways to expedite the delivery of Egyptian natural gas to Lebanon through Jordan and Syria to help the small country with a grueling energy-crisis.

Lebanon’s president is asking the international community for assistance to help the country recover from one of the worst financial crises the world has seen in modern history.

(Dalati Nohra/Lebanese Official Government via AP) (Dalati Nohra)BEIRUT — (AP) — Lebanon’s incoming finance minister signed a contract on Friday with a New-York-based company to conduct a forensic audit of the country’s central bank, a key demand of the international community to restore confidence in the crisis-struck country. Lebanon, meanwhile, struggled without a fully functional government for more than a year amid one of the world's worst economic and financial crises. A caretaker government advocated a forensic audit after the country defaulted on paying back its massive debt for the first time in 2020. A new government was named earlier this month and reinstating the forensic audit was practically the first contract signed by Finance Minister Youssef El Khalil. A former central bank official since 1982, El Khalil was last the executive director of the central bank’s financial operations department.

A convoy of tanker trucks carrying Iranian diesel has arrived from Syria to Lebanon.

Lebanon In this photo released by Lebanese government, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikat, prays as he attends Friday prayers, at a mosque in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Sept 10, 2021. Lebanese factions formed a new government on Friday, breaking a 13-month deadlock that saw the country slide deeper into financial chaos and poverty. Lebanon has been without a fully empowered government since the catastrophic Aug. 4, 2020 explosion at Beirut port, which forced the resignation of then Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s government. An economic meltdown unfolding since 2019 has been made worse by the deadlock among rival political groups— who bickered over distribution of power and roles in the new government. The announcement of a new government comes after renewed U.S. and French pressure to form a Cabinet as Lebanon’s economic unraveling reached a critical point that risked a social explosion.

The Lebanese presidency says a new government has been formed, breaking a 13-month deadlock that saw the country slide deeper into financial chaos and poverty.

Lebanon’s president is expected to appoint Monday a billionaire businessman and former prime minister as the next premier-designate, after Saad Hariri earlier this month gave up attempts to form a Cabinet amid an unprecedented financial meltdown roiling the country. Najib Mikati’s appointment is likely to come later in the day, following binding consultations between President Michel Aoun and Lebanese lawmakers. One of the richest men in Lebanon, Mikati became a favorite for the post after he was endorsed by most of Lebanon's political parties and also the powerful, Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group.

BEIRUT A Lebanese diplomat was appointed to form a new government in crisis-hit Lebanon on Monday after winning the backing of major political parties. Lebanon's president is holding consultations with heads of parliamentary blocs to designate a new prime minister for the crisis-stricken country, with a career diplomat poised to win the job Monday. Macron and other world leaders as well as the International Monetary Fund have refused to give assistance to Lebanon before its leaders enact major reforms. Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri emerged from his meeting with Aoun on Monday, telling reporters his 18-member bloc had given its backing to Adib. Adib, who has been Lebanons ambassador to Germany since 2013, served as an advisor to one of Lebanons former Prime Ministers, Najib Mikati.