Lebanese newspaper ‘The Daily Star’ closes down

The Lebanese English-language newspaper The Daily Star has officially shut down and closed its operations, following months of its employees not being paid.

In an email to its staff, The Daily Star informed them that they will all be laid off and that the decision was taken “with a heavy heart.” The news did not come as a surprise to many, as the paper’s employees had not been paid for months and there had been rumours of its forthcoming closure circulating for a while.

The paper’s management assured the staff that arrangements are currently being made for their compensation, and wished them all luck “during these difficult times.”

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Owned by the Lebanon’s former Prime Minister, Saad Hariri—a Sunni politician hailing from one of the most prominent families in the country’s politics—the Daily Star has been a major publication in the country for decades. Many journalists, both Lebanese and foreign, worked for the organisation at some point during their careers.

The paper’s demise was predicted by many, however, as it stopped updating its website on 13 October and had been seriously impacted by the numerous economic and political crises which have hit Lebanon over the past year.

Its closure also means that it has joined the list of other news organisations in Lebanon which have been forced to close down or scale back in recent years. Such outlets include those owned by the Hariri family, which were reportedly hit by the closure of Hariri’s Saudi construction firm—Saudi Oger—in 2017.

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