In a major about-face, the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday revised the way it monitors foreign exchange rates of member countries, acknowledging that its efforts to label currencies had backfired. In a staff report, the IMF said it would no

US President Barack Obama wants to foster the historic US relationship with Saudi Arabia and defend trade links from competition, without raising questions about democracy in the Gulf Arab ally. Washington is still the big?gest trading partner for the world's

Fitch Ratings says in a new report the global economy has likely stopped shrinking and will slowly begin to recover during the second half of this year. But economic recovery will be anemic and unemployment will continue to rise through

Lebanon was ranked the 29th most failed state in the world by Foreign Policy's online annual index released last Wednesday. The placement is an 11-rank improvement from last year's ranking of 18th, but still a far cry from the country's

The Worldwide Alumni Association of the American University of Beirut (WAAAUB) announced the results of its second election on Wednesday, bringing to fruition the planned structure of the association. Around 3000,000 alumni worldwide have participated in the WAAAUB election and

Hundreds of fires tore through Lebanon Tuesday and Wednesday, despite warnings to citizens that fire-starting is an imprisonable offense. Environment Minister Dr Tony Karam praised Civil Defense Force efforts in tackling more than 305 fire-related incidents, including 88 rescue and

The number of diagnosed cases in Lebanon of A(H1N1), otherwise known as swine flu, has risen to 47 after the discovery of four new cases, the Health Ministry said Wednesday. The latest patients had arrived recently from Australia, a statement

If you could send a message to Beirut, what would it say? Some people are doing just that in letters addressed to a city they both love and lament. "I hope you will excuse my honesty: Beside other cities of

It doesn't really matter whether one is a fan of a given politician - certain figures have legacies that remain for years after their time in office. Mention the name Fouad Shehab, and one might recall the establishment of key

Turn 100,000 LBP into art!" is the tagline for the Beirut Art Center's first ever fundraising party. The art space, located near Jisr al-Wati, is throwing open its doors on July 16 for a night of revelry in order to

The Palestinian political cartoonist Naji al-Ali was assassinated in London in July 1987 and to this day he remains one of the most popular artists in the Arab world. His drawings are relentlessly critical of despotism and repression and are

Visiting United States Central Command head General David Petraeus said on Monday he hoped for a swift formation of a new Cabinet in Lebanon and underlined "significant improvement" on the Lebanese domestic front since his visit last year. Following talks

Deputy Parliament Speaker Farid Makari said on Tuesday that Hizbullah's weapons arsenal should be tackled "in a realistic manner." "No group is telling the Resistance that it has to disarm, and everybody knows that there have not been any incidents

Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Ali Ammar called on President Michel Sleiman on Tuesday to have the Cabinet should "shoulder its responsibilities and tackle the dire electricity situation, which is affecting the ability of citizens to work and live,

Prime Minister-designate MP Saad Hariri said Tuesday that the consultations with parliamentary blocs on Monday to form a national-unity Cabinet were "positive," adding that the upcoming phase will focus on the government's make-up and the distribution of ministerial portfolios.

mbent Social Affairs Minister Mario Aoun said on Tuesday that the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) was asking for seven ministers in the next cabinet. "Regardless of the seats our allies get, because this number will barely be enough for the