Al-Balad

Al-Balad () officially Sada Al-Balad () was an Arabic-language daily newspaper in Lebanon. It was headquartered in Beirut and was published as a tabloid commercial paper. History Al Balad was first published on 15 December 2003, offering a myriad of prizes to lure subscribers "in exchange for largely insipid centrist news and popular society pages." The first editor-in-chief was Béchara Charbel, a former graphic designer. The first CEO was Bachar Kiwan, one of the owners of the newspaper. The paper had a liberal-centrist stance. In 2004, the newspaper started charging a subscription fee. Soon after, a series of crises (United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 and the assassination of Rafic Hariri) left Lebanese citizens thirsting for political and security-related news which Al Balad hadn't provided, which led to the newspaper dismissing its staff and shutting down in 2005. Other editions Al Balad published a French edition in 2008 which lasted for three years before being shut down for financial reasons. Al Balad also published a French edition in the Comoros through United Group (UG) affiliate Comoro Gulf Holding (CGH). In 2008, Al Balad was launched in Kuwait and was subsequently shut down. Closure The newspaper reopened in 2010 but shut down again by 2018 after not paying its staff. In 2018, the staff of Al Balad tweeted from the official Twitter account of the newspaper, asking for the restoration of their rights and benefits that were "swindled" from them by the owners of the newspaper, Majd Suleiman and Bachar Kiwan.