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Beirut Port, Five Years On: Has the Investigation Stalled or Is Justice Moving Forward?
Natasha Metni Torbey 03/08 19:30 - Reading : 7 minute(s)
Justice Tarek Bitar Lebanon August 4 2020
Five long years. Five years since the explosion on August 4, 2020, that mushroom-shaped cloud that swallowed the capital, crushed hundreds of lives, and left a nation in shock. Yet in Beirut, life has gone on as if nothing happened. As if more than 240 people had not died, as if over 7,000 had not been wounded, and as if the country were not ...
Bedouins, Not So Nomadic After All
Natasha Metni Torbey 23/07 16:50 - Reading : 9 minute(s)
Clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze factions in Syria’s Sweida province have reignited attention on the political and militarized role of these communities. But across the border in Lebanon, another question emerges: Who are the Lebanese Bedouins? The issue takes on renewed urgency amid reports that several of them, notably from Wadi ...
From Strategy to Reality: What Will It Take to Disarm Hezbollah?
Natasha Metni Torbey 01/08 15:30 - Reading : 8 minute(s)
Hezbollah United Nations European Union Internal Security Forces Israel
The question of disarming Hezbollah in Lebanon, long a political taboo, is now back at the heart of both political and diplomatic discussions. This shift comes amid mounting international pressure and a changing balance of power in the region. Although the topic remains deeply divisive within Lebanon’s political class, experts believe there are ...
WE4LEAD Drives Real Change for Gender Equality at Universities
Sana Richa Choucair 27/07 18:30 - Reading : 8 minute(s)
Lebanese University WE4LEAD Gender equality Erasmus
Two Years After Its Launch in 2023, Where Does the Euro-Mediterranean Project Women’s Empowerment for Leadership and Equity in Higher Education Institutions (WE4LEAD) Stand? The project’s mission is to increase the representation of women in key academic leadership roles by transforming institutional practices and fostering a genuine culture ...
Unseen and Unspoken: The Enigma of Pregnancy Denial
David Sahyoun 24/07 22:55 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Women Children Motherhood Mothers
Some births occur without anticipation, as if the child arrived out of time. Pregnancy denial is neither deception nor performance. It is a psychic reality that takes shape without words, a pregnancy the body conceals and the mind excludes. This clinical enigma raises profound questions about motherhood, the female body, generational transmission ...
The Politics of Frozen Conflicts and Their Antidotes
Charles Chartouni 28/07 09:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Iran Israel Yemen Lebanon Hezbollah United States Syria
Paradoxically enough, the strategic contexts throughout the Middle and Near East extending between Iran and Gaza are in a state of volatility, and none of the security issues at stake have been addressed in a conclusive manner — or were ever meant to be. After the consecutive defeats that have unraveled the strategic and political realms of ...
The Druze of Syria: A Minority Seeking Stability in the Post-Assad Transition
Natasha Metni Torbey 24/07 13:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Damascus Israel Druze Minority
Since July 13, deadly clashes in Syria’s southern province of Sweida have left more than 1,300 people dead, including at least 630 local residents, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The violence erupted after the abduction of a merchant from the Druze community, triggering a wave of bloodshed that underscores the region’s ...
The Shebaa Question: Sovereignty, Strategy, and the Price of Peace
Philippe Abi-Akl 08:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
UN Security Council Damascus Donald Trump Hezbollah Shebaa
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad and the rise of Ahmad al-Sharaa as Syria’s president, the political landscape has dramatically shifted. Long-held narratives have unraveled, and entrenched positions reversed, including those concerning territory, borders, and the disputed Shebaa Farms. No longer using Shebaa as a pretext for resistance under ...
Italy’s Fast Fashion Hub Turns Into Chinese Mafia Crime Battleground
This is Beirut 04/08 13:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Fashion Italy China Culture Art Fast-fashion
When Zhang Dayong lay in a pool of blood on a sidewalk in Rome after being shot six times, few suspected a link to Italy's storied textile hub of Prato. But a "hanger war" is raging in the city near Florence — turning Europe's largest apparel manufacturing center and a pillar of Made in Italy production into a battleground for warring Chinese ...
UNIFIL Mandate Shift Could Ignite Region: Will the US Push Back on Israeli Demands?
Philippe Abi-Akl 29/07 08:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
United Nations Israel UNIFIL USA France
One month separates Lebanon from a critical juncture, one of the most sensitive in its modern history. At the end of August, the United Nations Security Council will decide whether to renew the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for another year. The decision could either reaffirm the mission’s role or mark its ...
From Sweida to Hasbaya: The Druze Soul Under Strain
Katia Kahil 31/07 13:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
While Syria’s Sweida province remains on edge following July’s deadly clashes, the reverberations are deeply felt across the border in Hasbaya. In this part of southern Lebanon—as elsewhere in the Druze world—identity transcends borders. The people of Hasbaya have lived this tragedy as their own, with Druze Sheikh al-Aql, Sami Abi ...
Barrack to This is Beirut: There Is a Sense of Readiness in Lebanon Towards Normalisation with Israel
Tylia El Helou 23/07 14:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
United States Tom Barrack Syria Hezbollah Israel Lebanon
As Lebanon teeters on the edge of another potential war, with Hezbollah’s arms drawing the country closer to full-scale conflict with Israel, a more existential question arises: Why does the Lebanese state continue to abdicate its constitutional responsibilities? Why is the government still unwilling, decades after the Taif Agreement, to assert ...
Five Years On: Lebanon Marks Beirut Port Blast Anniversary with Calls for Justice and Remembrance
This is Beirut 04/08 14:52 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Beirut Lebanon August 4 explosion Beirut Port explosion justice
On the fifth anniversary of the devastating Beirut Port explosion, which killed over 200 people and injured thousands, officials and institutions have renewed their calls for justice and remembrance, while tributes were held across the country. Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar visited the Beirut Fire Brigade headquarters, where he laid a wreath at ...
The Female Body: Object of the Gaze, Forbidden Subject (1/2)
David Sahyoun 23/07 18:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Female Body Psychoanalysis Object Subject Fantasy Desire
The female body is never simply a body. It carries myth and memory. It feeds both fantasy and repression. It often appears where it is least expected, slips through language, escapes definition and resists categorization. From cave paintings to fashion runways, from fairy tales to biology textbooks, the female body has been spoken about, ...
The Fantasized Body: When the Image Erases the Woman (2/2)
David Sahyoun 30/07 18:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Psychoanalysis Female Body Fantasy Image
In today’s world, the female body is under constant pressure. It must be smooth, toned, youthful, desirable but not vulgar, slim but not unhealthy, maternal yet flawless. On social media, in advertising and in television shows, a single ideal takes hold: a body that is controlled, edited and put on display. The ideal is now algorithmic. It is ...
Lebanon’s Hidden Underwater Mysteries
Natasha Metni Torbey 29/07 14:20 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
An entire city, named Saidoun, emerged from the depths: monumental walls, sacred chambers, freshwater wells, marble slabs and massive stone blocks dating back to around 1370 BCE, nearly 4,000 years ago. To this day, this excavation remains one of the most significant breakthroughs in the underwater exploration of southern Lebanon. Yet, since then, ...
Thomas Barrack: When Diplomacy Moves in Circles and Lebanon Follows
Natasha Metni Torbey 29/07 09:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Hezbollah Israel Joseph Aoun Saudi Arabia Lebanon Tom Barrack
Listening to Thomas Barrack, one might think Lebanon is close to redemption or on the edge of a cliff, perhaps both at once. For months now, the American special envoy has issued statements that are sometimes hopeful, sometimes threatening, often confusing, and always repetitive. With every tweet and announcement, the same message comes through: ...
Elation as Pope Arrives by Helicopter to Open-Air Youth Vigil in Rome
This is Beirut 02/08 18:05 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Hundreds of thousands of young faithful cheered Pope Leo XIV Saturday as he arrived by helicopter for an open-air prayer vigil outside Rome, in a rock star welcome for the new head of the Catholic Church. Pilgrims began crying and cheering when the white military helicopter descended over the sprawling, dusty, open-air site in Rome's eastern ...
Invisible but Unbroken: Women Fighting Iran’s Repression
Soumia Benmerzoug 23/07 10:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Iran women repression Tehran Khamenei
Repression of women in Iran is not new. Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, their freedoms have been tightly controlled by an institutionalized patriarchal system that monitors every aspect of their lives, such as education, work, movement and expression. The veil, often internationally seen as the symbol of this oppression, is only the most ...
The Fearless Genius Is Gone: Ziad Rahbani Carries Lebanon’s Memory Into the Beyond
Marie-Christine Tayah 26/07 20:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Ziad Rahbani Music Heritage Fairuz Culture Lebanon
Born on January 1, 1956, in Lebanon, Ziad Rahbani embodied the rebellious, artistic and restless soul of his nation. Raised in a musical dynasty, he built his own identity note by note, word by word. At only 17, he composed Sa’alouni el-Nass, a politically charged and deeply emotional work that marked the beginning of a prolific, independent ...
Germs, Pollution, Junk Food: Lebanon’s Summer of All Dangers
Makram Haddad 24/07 12:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
A Feverish Country, Citizens Out of Breath A morning like any other in Beirut. Unusual lines at the pharmacy, overwhelmed medical offices, worried parents in pediatric waiting rooms. Fever, cough, diarrhea, vomiting… For several weeks, Lebanese citizens have been falling ill. Gastroenteritis, rotavirus, summer flu, COVID and lung infections are ...
Exploring and Excavating Underwater Heritage
Natasha Metni Torbey 29/07 14:25 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Before any underwater excavation begins, one fundamental question must be answered: Should the findings be brought to the surface? “In some cases – particularly when dealing with a submerged city – preserving the site’s integrity means leaving everything untouched,” explains marine biology expert Marcos Hado. “But when valuable ...
Can Hezbollah Still Claim Resistance With Its Arsenal Depleted?
Mario Chartouni 14:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Hezbollah Israel Middle East Syria Iran weapons
Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Naim Qassem, warned on July 30 that any withdrawal of the group’s forces from south of the Litani River would be “a gain for Israel,” insisting that the party’s weapons remained “a domestic Lebanese matter.” Speaking at a memorial ceremony marking the first anniversary of the death of senior Hezbollah ...
Israeli Hostage Videos: Standoff Between Netanyahu and Hamas
This is Beirut 03/08 22:25 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Benjamin Netanyahu Hamas Palestine European Union Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross on Sunday to aid hostages in Gaza, as outrage built at videos showing two of them emaciated. The premier's office said he spoke to the ICRC coordinator for the region, Julien Lerisson, and "requested his involvement in providing ...
Lebanon, the Unraveling Republic
Charles Chartouni 04/08 09:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Lebanon Hezbollah Iran Israel United States
American political scientists in the sixties were quite pessimistic when analyzing the cascading political crises befalling Lebanon since the late fifties. Leila Meo used the label of “improbable nation” (1963), and Michael Hudson characterized it as a “precarious republic" (1965). This sense of instability prompted numerous scholars to ...
Victims’ Families Demand Justice on 5th Memorial of Port Blast
This is Beirut 04/08 19:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Lebanese Forces Beirut Port Hezbollah Lebanese Army United Nations August 4
On Monday evening, the fifth anniversary of the devastating Beirut port explosion, families of the victims led a solemn march, reaffirming their calls for truth, justice and accountability. Two groups set off from Martyrs’ Square and the Karantina Fire Station, converging at the Statue of the Emigrant near the blast site, carrying portraits of ...
Trump and Netanyahu Vow “Alternative Options” After Talks with Hamas Break Down
This is Beirut 25/07 19:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Donald Trump Gaza Hamas Israel
US President Donald Trump accused Hamas on Friday of not wanting to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza as Israel said it would explore "alternative options" to rescue hostages after negotiations had collapsed. An Israeli official, meanwhile, told AFP air drops of aid would resume soon over the Gaza Strip, where aid groups warned of surging numbers of ...
From Beirut’s August 4 Tragedy to 'Blooming Joy' by Rana Hatem Slim
Marie-Christine Tayah 04/08 19:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Painting August 4 Beirut Culture Art Beirut
Gemspace Art Gallery, tucked in the heart of Beirut, is hosting the solo exhibition of artist Rana Hatem Slim. Titled Blooming Joy, the collection invites visitors into a luminous, sensory world where color and emotion intertwine to celebrate joy in all its forms. Rana Hatem Slim spoke to This is Beirut about her work. In the gentle chaos of ...
Azerbaijan: The Triumph of Pragmatism over Religious Identity
Mario Chartouni 31/07 19:05 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
European Union Damascus Israel Middle East Tehran
In the heart of the Caucasus, Azerbaijan stands out for its unconventional geopolitical alignments. Though predominantly Shia in religious composition, this secular post-Soviet republic has positioned itself as one of Israel’s closest allies and a strategic partner to the West, all while maintaining a strained relationship with neighboring ...
Trump Secures "Massive" Trade Deal with Japan as Deadline Looms for Global Tariff Threats
This is Beirut 23/07 08:50 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Donald Trump Japan Trade deal Tariffs
Donald Trump announced Tuesday a "massive" trade deal with Japan, marking a key breakthrough for major US trade partners as they scramble to strike agreements before the end of the month. In an attempt to slash his country's colossal trade deficit, the US president has vowed to hit dozens of countries with punitive "reciprocal" tariffs if they do ...