The Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon and the Samir Kassir Foundation have announced the results of the 20th edition of the Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press, in a ceremony held at the Sursock Palace Gardens, in Beirut.

This Award, established and funded by the European Union, is recognized internationally as a flagship prize for press freedom and the most prestigious journalism award in the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf region. Since 2006, the Award ceremony has been held annually to commemorate the anniversary of Lebanese journalist Samir Kassir’s assassination on 2 June 2005 in Beirut, and celebrate his life, his values, and his memory.

Beirut port blast investigator Judge Tarek Bitar on Tuesday scheduled a June 13 interrogation session for former public works minister Ghazi Zoaiter, an Amal Movement member who is one of the accused in the case, the state-run National News Agency said.

Former public works and transportation minister Ali Hamie, who was named by Hezbollah to the previous government, has been appointed as President Josep Aoun’s adviser for reconstruction affairs, media reports said on Tuesday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday told his Lebanese counterpart Youssef Rajji in a meeting in Beirut that the issue of disarming Hezbollah is a decision that is up to Lebanon to take, sources told Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath channel.

Young men from the Tyre district town of Siddiqin on Tuesday intercepted a UNIFIL patrol that was trying to enter the Grand Mountain area, the state-run National News Agency said.

President Joseph Aoun on Tuesday told visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that “Lebanon is looking forward to enhancing state-to-state relations with Iran.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived Tuesday in Beirut on an official visit and met with President Joseph Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri.

On Beirut's chaotic, car-choked streets, Lebanese student Fatima Fakih rides a shiny purple bus to university, one of a fleet rolled out by authorities to revive public transport in a country struggling to deliver basic services.

The 19-year-old says the spacious public buses are "safer, better and more comfortable", than the informal network of private buses and minivans that have long substituted for mass transport.

Lebanese security forces have arrested Hezbollah member Mahmoud Ayoub in the Nabatieh district town of Harouf on charges of collaborating with Israeli intelligence services, sources told Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath channel on Monday.

A “region-by-region” plan for Hezbollah’s disarmament may be proposed when “serious dialogue” kicks off between President Joseph Aoun and Hezbollah, a media report said on Monday.