Crisis at the Philadelphi Corridor
Alissar Boulos 21/08 18:09 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Negotiations for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel appear to have broken down. One of the reasons being the tight control over the Philadelphi Corridor. This buffer zone lies between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, and its control was taken over (from Egypt) by the Israelis last May. On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that ...
Unveiling Mars' Hidden Depths: Water Beneath the Surface
Alissar Boulos 16/08 14:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
In a recent discovery that could rewrite our understanding of Mars, a study based on data from a retired NASA mission has unveiled the presence of an underground reservoir of water in the rocky outer crust of the planet. The findings, published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shed light on a hidden world ...
The Soulful Legacy of Beirut's Volunteer Army
Alissar Boulos 03/08 18:31 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
In the wake of the port of Beirut's tragic explosion, a remarkable force emerged on the city streets—hundreds of young volunteers armed with determination and compassion. Their collective efforts to clean up and rebuild in the aftermath of devastation not only restored physical structures but also nurtured a sense of community and shared ...
Unveiling of Lebanon's Mental Health Strategy 2024-2030
Alissar Boulos 27/06 23:03 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
The National Mental Health Program (NMHP), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) in Lebanon and with support from the French Development Agency (AFD), officially launched Lebanon's National Mental Health Strategy for 2024-2030 on Thursday. The event was held at ESA Business School in Beirut. The first national mental health ...
The Intelligent Recap: This Week's AI News Report
Alissar Boulos 21/06 19:00 - Reading : less than a minute
Good evening and welcome to The Intelligent Recap. Today is Friday, June 21st, and it marks the 259th day of the ongoing conflict in Gaza. In tonight's episode, we'll cover the escalating situation on the southern front, the US special envoy's visit to Lebanon and other local news highlights. Internationally, the war in Gaza continues unabated, ...
The Intelligent Recap: This Week's AI News Report
Alissar Boulos 14/06 19:00 - Reading : less than a minute
Good evening and welcome to The Intelligent Recap. It is Friday June 14th and the 252nd day of the war in Gaza. In tonight’s local edition: the situation at the southern border, yet another initiative to unblock the presidential deadlock, the Cabriolet film festival and an amazing speleology discovery. On the international front: Gaza is ...
The Intelligent Recap: This Week's AI News Report
Alissar Boulos 07/06 19:00 - Reading : less than a minute
Good evening and welcome to The Intelligent Recap. It is Friday, June 7 and the 245th day of the war in Gaza. In tonight’s edition, we dive into a particularly violent week in South Lebanon, an attack on the US Embassy, a parliamentary initiative to break the presidential deadlock and the Samir Kassir Award honoring press freedom. In ...
The Intelligent Recap: This Week's AI News Report
Alissar Boulos 31/05 19:17 - Reading : less than a minute
Good evening and welcome to The Intelligent Recap. It is Friday, May 31 and the 238th day of the war in Gaza. In tonight’s edition: the situation in the South continues to take its toll, France’s special envoy visits Lebanon and Syrian refugee camps battle the spread of disease. Internationally: the war in Gaza and its ramifications, Xi ...
The Intelligent Recap: This Week's AI News Report
Alissar Boulos 24/05 18:59 - Reading : less than a minute
Good evening and welcome to The Intelligent Recap. It is Friday May 24th and the 231st day of the war in Gaza. This week in Lebanon: the situation in the South, weapon trafficking and food tampering and how NGOs help rehabilitate people with drug addictions. In international news: all about Gaza, Iran’s president dies in a helicopter crash, ...
Iran’s Foreign Policy in Lebanon After Raisi: Possible Change?
Alissar Boulos 20/05 20:47 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Will the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi have any impact on Lebanon? This is a question many in the country have been asking since the confirmation of the president's and his Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian's disappearance in a helicopter crash on Sunday in Azerbaijan. Asked by This Is Beirut, writer and journalist Mustafa Fahs ...
The Intelligent Recap: This Week's AI News Report
Alissar Boulos 17/05 19:01 - Reading : less than a minute
Good evening and welcome to The Intelligent Recap. It's Friday, May 17th, the 224th day of the war in Gaza. In local news: The main political event of the week was the parliamentary meeting debating the European Union aid package, while Lebanon prepares for the summer season. In international news: Gaza developments, the Arab summit in Bahrain ...
Fact Sheet for Gaza Floating Aid Pier
Alissar Boulos 17/05 15:58 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
“Today at approximately 9 AM (Gaza time), trucks carrying humanitarian assistance began moving ashore via a temporary pier in Gaza.” This is how United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the completion of a temporary aid assistance pier in Gaza on Friday. US President Joe Biden had announced this maritime corridor of humanitarian ...
Syrian Migrants: Unifying Fronts in Parliament on Wednesday?
Alissar Boulos 14/05 18:16 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Last week’s rhetoric and outcry have waned as we approached Wednesday's parliamentary gathering aimed at debating the €1 billion financial aid package earmarked for Lebanon by the European Union. The aid is intended to bolster support for Lebanon’s most vulnerable populations and its army (LAF), while combating illegal Syrian migration to ...
Tribute to Dr. Robert Sacy: Limitless Empathy
Alissar Boulos 10/05 22:48 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Lebanon and its children mourn the loss of an emblematic figure in medicine, care and benevolence with the passing of Dr. Robert Sacy. His departure leaves a profound void in Lebanon's charitable sector and pediatric healthcare, as well as in the hearts of all who knew him, touched by his compassion and dedication. Dr. Sacy pursued his medical ...
The Intelligent Recap: This Week's AI News Report
Alissar Boulos 10/05 19:02 - Reading : less than a minute
Good evening and welcome to The Intelligent Recap. It’s Friday, May 10th, and the 217th day of the war in Gaza. In tonight’s episode: The staggering cost Lebanon is paying for the war, and the controversy surrounding the EU grant to Lebanon. Also, May 4th marked the 145th month since the Beirut Port explosion. In international news: The ...
The Vatican's Swiss Guard: Devotion and Shielding Legacy
Alissar Boulos 06/05 20:48 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Renowned as the world's oldest active military force and also its smallest, the Vatican's Swiss Guard boasts a storied legacy, built upon the unwavering mission of protecting the Pope and his residence at the risk of its members' lives. Today, Monday, May 6, 34 new recruits will join the ranks of the Swiss Guards. They will take the oath to Pope ...
The Intelligent Recap: This Week's AI News Report
Alissar Boulos 03/05 19:00 - Reading : less than a minute
Good evening and welcome to The Intelligent Recap. It is Friday May 3rd and the 210th day of the war in Gaza. In tonight’s episode: the situation in South Lebanon, France’s diplomatic efforts to calm tensions and a one-billion-euro EU package to Lebanon over Syrian presence. As well as a report on garbage scavengers in Beirut and other local ...
War and Diplomacy: Who Will Win in Rafah?
Alissar Boulos 29/04 22:15 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
In Saudi Arabia, Western diplomacy is discussing, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF), a ceasefire in Gaza, while in Israel, the debate continues regarding an invasion of Rafah, in the southern part of the Palestinian enclave. Time is of the essence, and it is still uncertain which option will prevail: a ground invasion of Rafah, ...
The 1949 Armistice Agreement
Alissar Boulos 26/04 21:29 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Since the beginning of the year, as part of diplomatic efforts to contain confrontations in southern Lebanon, Lebanese politicians have been referring to the 1949 armistice. On January 8, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati declared that "all international decisions must be implemented, led by the 1949 armistice declaration." More ...
The Intelligent Recap: This Week's AI News Report
Alissar Boulos 26/04 19:00 - Reading : less than a minute
Good evening, and welcome to The Intelligent Recap. It is Friday, April 26th, and the 203rd day of the war in Gaza. In tonight’s episode, the momentum in southern Lebanon increases, Parliament votes on a bill to postpone municipal elections, discussions are ongoing to resolve the issue of Syrian migrants, and Lebanon’s Armenian community ...
Municipal Elections: Controversial Parliamentary Session in the Loop
Alissar Boulos 23/04 16:12 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Caretaker Minister of Interior Bassam Mawlawi has set the following dates for the municipal elections: May 12 for Mount Lebanon, May 19 for North Lebanon and Akkar, and finally, May 26 for Beirut, Bekaa, and Baalbeck-Hermel. The door for submitting candidate applications in North Lebanon opened on Monday, but uncertainty still persists about ...
The Intelligent Recap: This Week's AI News Report
Alissar Boulos 19/04 19:00 - Reading : less than a minute
Good evening, and welcome to The Intelligent Recap It is Friday, April 19th, and the 196th day of the war in Gaza. In tonight’s episode: Israel attacks Iran, Iran replies, and the world holds its breath. In Lebanon: we take a look at the situation at the southern border, Lebanon’s political life picks up, as well as more local ...
Who Intercepted Iranian Drones over Lebanon?
Alissar Boulos 18/04 21:37 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
On Saturday, April 13, just before midnight, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles towards Israel in a first-of-its-kind direct attack. The reasons and consequences of this attack have been extensively analyzed in newsrooms, on television sets, and in diplomatic and decision-making centers around the world. The barrage included 170 ...
The Intelligent Recap: This Week's AI News Report
Alissar Boulos 12/04 19:28 - Reading : less than a minute
Good evening and welcome to The Intelligent Recap. It is Friday April 12th and the 189th day of the war in Gaza. In this week’s recap: The situation at the southern border, and the 6-month anniversary of the war. Also in Lebanon, a murder that shook the country and other local news. Internationally: What’s happening in Gaza, a new European ...
Peter Higgs, the Physicist Who Changed Our Theory of the Universe, Died, Age 94
Alissar Boulos 12/04 16:59 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Peter Higgs, the Nobel-winning physicist who proposed the existence of the “God particle,” or simply the Higgs boson, died on Tuesday, April 9th. The scientist came up with a revolutionary idea in 1964 explaining why atoms — the basic building blocks of the universe — have mass, elucidating how matter formed after the Bing Bang. He ...
Order of Engineers Elections: Political Stakes and Financial Challenges
Alissar Boulos 11/04 16:42 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
On Sunday, April 14, the Order of Engineers in Beirut is set to elect a third of its council and its new president, who will succeed Aref Yassine. This year, and as per tradition, the position of president is reserved for a Christian. The principle of alternation, between Christians and Sunni Muslims, has been in effect since the foundation of the ...
The Intelligent Recap: This Week's AI News Report
Alissar Boulos 05/04 19:00 - Reading : less than a minute
Good evening, and welcome to The Intelligent Recap. It is Friday April 5th and the 182nd day of the war in Gaza. In tonight’s Lebanese news: The security situation in the south and a potential diplomatic crisis with Cyprus regarding Syrian migrants. In international news: Gaza’s death toll has surpassed 33,000, a deadly airstrike rocks ...
The Negative Leap Second, Climate Change, and Timekeeping
Alissar Boulos 30/03 13:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
On Sunday, March 31st, just before dawn, most of the planet will set its clocks forward by one hour in what is known as daylight saving time (DST). However, another issue has sprung forward, with climate change affecting Earth’s rotation and with it, timekeeping. Weirdly, global warming could be helping to delay history’s first “negative ...
The Intelligent Recap: This Week's AI News Report
Alissar Boulos 29/03 19:00 - Reading : less than a minute
Good evening, and welcome to The Intelligent Recap. It is Friday, March 29th, and the 175th day of the war in Gaza. In tonight’s edition: events in southern Lebanon as well as other local news. And will the increasing price of cocoa be felt on the local market for Easter? In international news: Gaza still takes center stage, Turkey gets ...
Qatar’s Prime Minister: A Driving Force in High Diplomacy
Alissar Boulos 26/03 20:50 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
A year ago, in March 2023, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, appointed his Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman bin Jassim al-Thani, as Prime Minister. There is very little information available about this political figure on the internet and in open sources. We will attempt to ...