Lebanon: Diab Sues American University of Beirut over Exit Package

Lebanon's Prime Minister Hassan Diab speaks during a televised address to the the nation at the governmental palace in Beirut, Lebanon March 7, 2020. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
Lebanon's Prime Minister Hassan Diab speaks during a televised address to the the nation at the governmental palace in Beirut, Lebanon March 7, 2020. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
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Lebanon: Diab Sues American University of Beirut over Exit Package

Lebanon's Prime Minister Hassan Diab speaks during a televised address to the the nation at the governmental palace in Beirut, Lebanon March 7, 2020. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
Lebanon's Prime Minister Hassan Diab speaks during a televised address to the the nation at the governmental palace in Beirut, Lebanon March 7, 2020. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab is suing the American University of Beirut (AUB), where he worked for 35 years as an academic in a dispute over his exit package, his spokesman said.

Diab presented his-long planned resignation in January - the month he became prime minister.

"... He asked for an exit package in line with common practices and precedents at AUB. This request was denied ...," the spokesman said.

AUB, which has been hit hard by Lebanon's economic meltdown, declined to comment on the case, Reuters reported.

Diab had "never made any special request for any payments to be made either in foreign currency or into foreign bank accounts. All AUB professors have their pensions paid in US dollars, from a AUB foreign account", the spokesman noted.

"What the PM expressed was only what was already stated in the AUB retirement plan regulations and policies."

President of private AUB, which was founded in the 1860s, told Reuters in May that Lebanon's catastrophic collapse represented one of the biggest challenges in the history of a university which has weathered many crises, including Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.

Lebanon is grappling with a crisis caused by decades of state corruption and bad governance. A hard currency liquidity crunch has led to an 80% weakening of the local currency since October.



Israel Seals off the Occupied West Bank

Palestinians walk by the closed Deir Sharaf checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians walk by the closed Deir Sharaf checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
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Israel Seals off the Occupied West Bank

Palestinians walk by the closed Deir Sharaf checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians walk by the closed Deir Sharaf checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)

Israel closed all checkpoints to the Israeli-occupied West Bank Friday as the country attacked Iran, a military official said Friday.

The move sealed off entry and exit to the territory, meaning that Palestinians could not leave without special coordination.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military recommendations.

Around 3 million Palestinians live in the West Bank under Israeli military rule.

With the world’s attention focused on Gaza, Israeli military operations in the West Bank have grown in size, frequency and intensity.

The crackdown has also left tens of thousands unemployed, as they can no longer work the mostly menial jobs in Israel that paid higher wages.

Israel launched a wave of strikes across Iran on Friday that targeted its nuclear program and military sites, killing at least two top military officers and raising the prospect of an all-out war between the two bitter adversaries. It appeared to be the most significant attack Iran has faced since its 1980s war with Iraq.

The strikes came amid simmering tensions over Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program and appeared certain to trigger a reprisal. In its first response, Iran fired more than 100 drones at Israel. Israel said the drones were being intercepted outside its airspace, and it was not immediately clear whether any got through.

Israeli leaders cast the attack as necessary to head off an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs, though it remains unclear how close the country is to achieving that.