This is Beirut 21/05 19:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Iraq signed a major energy deal Wednesday with a Chinese petroleum company in the southern province of Basra, aiming to boost oil production and build a refinery and electricity plants. China has gained a major foothold in oil-rich Iraq in recent years, becoming a major player across various sectors and now one of the largest importers of Iraqi ...
This is Beirut 21/05 12:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
commercial lease rent law Lebanon Property rights Landlords
In a statement issued following the Constitutional Council's decision on May 20, 2025, the Syndicate of Property Owners of Leased Buildings responded to the ruling concerning the new law on commercial leases. The syndicate clarified that the Constitutional Council did not rule on the content of the law, which aimed to liberalize long-standing ...
This is Beirut 21/05 11:45 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Agriculture Lebanon Sustainability Climate Food Security Farming
An agricultural conference titled “Agriculture is the Earth’s Pulse” was held on Wednesday, gathering key political, agricultural and economic figures to address the challenges and future of Lebanon’s agricultural sector. In the opening session, Charles Arbid, President of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (ESEC), noted the ...
This is Beirut 21/05 10:35 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Lebanon HDI UNDP Education Development
In its 33rd Human Development Report, titled “Breaking the Gridlock: Reimagining Cooperation in a Polarized World,” the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) ranks Lebanon among countries with high human development, assigning it a Human Development Index (HDI) score of 0.752 for the year 2023. Lebanon ranks 102nd out of 193 globally and ...
This is Beirut 21/05 10:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Crude prices surged Wednesday following a report that US intelligence suggested Israel was planning a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, which would send geopolitical tensions into overdrive and fuel regional conflict fears. While safe haven gold pushed almost two percent higher, the news from CNN appeared to be having little detrimental ...
This is Beirut 21/05 09:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Epic Games on Tuesday said its hit game "Fortnite" has returned to Apple's digital App Store in the United States after being sidelined for years due to a legal battle with the iPhone maker. "Fortnite is BACK on the App Store in the US on iPhones and iPads... and on the Epic Games Store and AltStore in the EU!" the game maker proclaimed in a post ...
This is Beirut 21/05 09:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
USA Donald Trump Huawei China Semiconductor
Beijing condemned on Wednesday new US warnings on the use of AI chips by Chinese tech giant Huawei, vowing it would take steps against "bullying" efforts to restrict access to high-tech semiconductors and supply chains. Washington has sought in recent years to curb exports of state-of-the-art chips to China, concerned that they could be used to ...
Christiane Tager 20/05 16:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Syria, long recognized as the birthplace of distillation and fermentation, is a land where arak and wine embody the essence of the terroir, the resilience of its people, and the vibrancy of its local communities. The Alawite and Christian populations play a vital role in sustaining this heritage, actively shaping the production of both arak and ...
Christiane Tager 19/05 21:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
As Lebanon’s farmers grapple with worsening drought, labor shortages and rising tensions along the border, another crisis is taking root – literally. A familiar pest, the sunn pest, is back, and it’s putting the country’s wheat harvest at serious risk. The sunn pest (Eurygaster integriceps), commonly known as the wheat bug, may be small, ...
This is Beirut 19/05 11:38 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
United States USA Huang Nvidia
Nvidia boss Jensen Huang announced plans for Taiwan's "first AI supercomputer", as he showcased on Monday the company's latest advances in artificial intelligence. Global semiconductor chip giants have gathered in Taiwan for the island's top tech expo, Computex, as the sector grapples with the impact of US tariffs and disrupted supply ...
This is Beirut 17/05 20:55 - Reading : less than a minute
Lebanon Brazil Olive oil Tariffs
Brazil has officially scrapped import tariffs on Lebanese olive oil, a move expected to boost the Lebanese exports and enhance the product's competitiveness in a key international market. In a statement released on Saturday, Lebanon’s Ministry of Agriculture announced that Brazilian authorities have decided to eliminate the 9% customs duty ...
Liliane Mokbel 17/05 14:00 - Reading : less than a minute
2% — that’s the average interest rate on deposits in Lebanese pounds, according to the latest figures released by the Banque du Liban for March 2025. This represents a clear decline from 2.86% in February, although it remains higher than the rate recorded a year earlier in March 2024, when it stood at just 1%. In contrast, interest rates on ...