Al Akhbar (Lebanon)
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| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Semi Tabloid |
| Publisher | Akhbar Beirut |
| Editor-in-chief | Ibrahim Al Amine |
| Founded | 1938, new version 2006 |
| Headquarters |
Rue Verdun Beirut  Lebanon
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| Website | Al Akhbar |
Al Akhbar (Arabic: الأخبار, literally "The News") is a daily Arabic language newspaper published in a semi tabloid format in Beirut. It also started an English version published on the Internet. The paper describes itself as independent and progressive, and it supports what it describes as "the Resistance" against Israeli occupation of Palestine and violations of Lebanese territorial integrity.
The newspaper started printing and distribution in 2006. It was established by Joseph Samaha (a leftist intellectual and former editor-in-chief of As-Safir) and Ibrahim Al Amine. A 2009 survey by Ipsos Stat established that the daily is among the five most popular newspapers in Beirut.
On 18 July 2011 the paper together with As Safir, another daily published in Lebanon, was banned in Syria.
The paper's online version was the 12th most visited website for 2010 in the MENA region.
Al Akhbar's English-language website ended operations on 6 March 2015, and plans to shift to a print newspaper were cancelled, in part due to a lack of funds.
Al Akhbar declares its political orientation as independent and progressive, supporting movements working for independence, freedom, and social justice, and against war and occupation, in Lebanon and around the world. The social justice commitment includes publication of articles and columns advancing women's and gay rights. In his "Comprehensive Guide to Lebanese Media," journalist Deen Sharp describes Al Akhbar as "critical of all Lebanese groups," but "perceived as pro-March 8th," a coalition of political parties in Lebanon that includes Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement.
In 2010 Ibrahim Al Amine, editorial chairman of Al Akhbar, described the founding ambitions of the newspaper: "We wanted the U.S. ambassador to wake up in the morning, read it and get upset.” Responding in a letter to the New York Times, Jeffrey Feltman, who was US ambassador to Lebanon when Al Amine made the remark, wrote that Al Amine "did get my attention, but not in the way he intended. The hilariously erroneous accounts of my activities reported as fact in his newspaper provoked morning belly laughs." Later, in 2013, Al Amine attacked the U.S. as "the main source of policies of oppression, hegemony, and injustice in the world."
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