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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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
The Council of Ministers Unanimously Approves the Objectives of the US Proposal
This is Beirut 07/08 15:45 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Information Minister Paul Morcos announced Thursday that Lebanon’s Cabinet approved the removal of all armed groups from Lebanese territory, “including Hezbollah,” and the deployment of the Lebanese Army (LAF) to border areas. “We will make the appropriate decisions based on the implementation plan to be submitted by the ...
First Post-Assad Parliament and the Challenge of Transition
Kaline Antoun 15:30 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Syria’s first legislative elections since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime are scheduled for September 2025. Conducted through an unprecedented indirect voting system, these elections aim to lay the groundwork for political renewal. Yet, amid promises of representation, significant uncertainties leave the outcome fragile. According to the ...
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 ...
And Just Like That… Fades Away: When Nostalgia Alone Isn’t Enough
Bélinda Ibrahim 08/08 19:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
New York Sex and the City Sarah Jessica Parker TV Series And Just Like That
And Just Like That… The story ends here. On August 14, 2025, HBO will air the final episode of a show that always walked a fine line, the line of memory. The memory of a cult quartet from the late 1990s. The memory of a fantasized New York, filled with cosmos, heels, and raw confessions. But above all, the memory of a series that gave voice and ...
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 ...
The Body as Legacy: Building Sexual Identity
David Sahyoun 06/08 18:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Psychoanalysis Sexuality Desire Freud Gender
Human sexuality is a journey. It doesn’t suddenly surface at adolescence or with a first sexual experience. It develops from birth, woven over time through sensations, taboos, fantasies, emotional attachments and inner conflicts. The libido, understood as the energy of desire, begins to form in early childhood, gradually finding shape, ...
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 ...
Saint-Gilles of Tripoli
Amine Jules Iskandar 11:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Lebanon Tripoli History Heritage Culture
Christian rule over Tripoli came to an end with the death of Byzantine emperor Nicephorus II Phocas in 969. Some 130 years later, the Crusaders reached the city gates and found a fortified settlement where the Arabs had firmly consolidated their presence. Despite reinforcements from the Christian mountain regions, it took them a full decade to ...
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: ...
Lebanon’s Moment of Truth: Disarm or Disintegrate
Salam El Zaatari 07/08 10:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Lebanon Israel United States Hezbollah
There’s a phrase I’ve heard a lot in Beirut lately. It's whispered between sips of Turkish coffee, murmured across newsrooms and tossed around military circles like a live grenade: “Either we get our country back, or we become a geography with a flag.” And this week, for the first time in nearly two decades, the Lebanese government ...
Higher US Tariffs Kick in for Dozens of Trading Partners
This is Beirut 07/08 11:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Ukraine Donald Trump Washington China Tariffs
The United States began charging higher tariffs on dozens of trading partners Thursday, in a major escalation of President Donald Trump's drive to reshape global commerce in America's favor. Shortly before the new levies kicked in, the United States separately announced it would double tariffs on India to 50 percent and hit many semiconductor ...
Israel Approves Plan to Seize Gaza, Citing Push to ‘Defeat’ Hamas
This is Beirut 08/08 12:09 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Hamas Israel Palestine Benjamin Netanyahu United Nations
Israel's military will "take control" of Gaza City under a plan proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and approved by his security cabinet, his office said in a statement Friday. Nearly two years into the war in Gaza, Netanyahu faces mounting pressure at home and abroad for a truce to pull the territory's more than two ...
The Shebaa Question: Sovereignty, Strategy, and the Price of Peace
Philippe Abi-Akl 05/08 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 ...
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 ...
What Options for Hezbollah After Lebanon's Decision to Disarm It?
This is Beirut 07/08 09:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Hezbollah Israel Joseph Aoun Tehran Government
Lebanon's government has decided to task the army with setting a plan to disarm Hezbollah, a thorny issue decades after the last time the country had made factions give up their weapons. AFP looks at how the government's decision may be implemented, and whether the Iran-backed militant group can still block it. Why is the move ...
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 ...
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 ...
Gaza: Israel Approves Controversial Military Plan, International Community Reacts
This is Beirut 08/08 16:25 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Israel Palestine United Kingdom UN
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday asked Israel to reconsider its plan to take control of Gaza City, which he branded as "wrong". "This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages," he said, warning that it "will only bring more bloodshed". The ...
No Matter Time, Stubbornness Holds Tight…
Marc Saikali 07/08 08:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Hezbollah Israel Palestine Tehran USA
The famous Georges Brassens song, adapted to Lebanon’s reality, manages to make you both smile and cry. On Tuesday, while the government carefully navigated the minefield surrounding Hezbollah’s weapons, trying to find wording that could pass as a compromise, the secretary-general of the pro-Iranian militia spoke openly, without holding ...
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 ...
Tradition, Temperature, and the Parisian Home: The A/C Dilemma
This is Beirut 10:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Climate A/C Health Climate Change France Culture
As summer temperatures rise, many Parisians are warming to the idea of installing air conditioning in their apartments, ending a longstanding resistance to what is considered a basic comfort in many capitals elsewhere. Although commonplace in the French capital's modern office buildings and large stores, air conditioning has never been the norm ...
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 ...
UN to Use 'Humanitarian Pauses' to Try to Reach Gaza's Starving
This is Beirut 27/07 19:15 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
United Nations World Food Programme Humanitarian Aid Gaza
The United Nations said it would try to reach as many starving people as possible in Gaza after Israel announced it would establish secure land routes for humanitarian convoys. The UN's World Food Program (WFP) said it had enough food in, or on its way to, the region to feed the 2.1 million people in the Gaza Strip for almost three ...
Trump Envoy to Inspect Gaza Aid as Pressure Mounts on Israel
This is Beirut 01/08 13:55 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
President Donald Trump's envoy met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday ahead of a visit to inspect aid distribution in Gaza, as a deadly food crisis drove mounting international pressure for a ceasefire. Steve Witkoff, who has been involved in months of stalled negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal, met ...