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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 ...
The Institutionalized Impasses
Charles Chartouni 11/08 09:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Eight months after the Presidential election and the formation of a new cabinet, Lebanon is still debating the decommissioning of Hezbollah and the restoration of the state’s sovereignty. The constitutional terms and the international mandates were not enough to sway the recalcitrance of the government, to dissuade Hezbollah and to stop the ...
The Radical New Left Controls College Campuses
Pierre Nahas 10/08 10:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
United States Universities Left
Today’s radicalism on college campuses is all about censorship, disruption and destruction—acts that are, by nature, antithetical to academic progress and healthy intellectual exchange. American universities—and many institutions across the globe, it seems—are being transformed, not by argument, but by ideological capture by a New Left ...
Trump Orders Tariffs on Dozens of Countries in Push To Reshape Global Trade
This is Beirut 01/08 05:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Donald Trump United States Tariffs
President Donald Trump unveiled new tariffs Thursday on nearly 70 countries -- including a blistering 35 percent on neighbor Canada -- as he seeks to reshape global trade to benefit the US economy. However, in a minor reprieve that opens the door to further negotiations, the White House said the measures will take effect in a week for most ...
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 ...
August 4: Families Revive Memory With Olive Trees
Bélinda Ibrahim 01/08 18:25 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
August 4 Port of Beirut Beirut Blast Lebanon Olive Trees Lebanon
When justice falters, memory remains. A memory planted with bare hands into a soil still shaken by anger and silence. For five years, families of August 4, 2020 explosion victims have waited in vain, expecting answers, accountability, and convictions. But waiting led nowhere. So, some have stopped waiting. Not out of vengeance, but to stand their ...
Trump’s Tariffs: Protection or Risky Bet for the US Economy?
Mario Chartouni 01/08 18:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
United States Donald Trump Tariffs China
Tariffs have once again taken center stage in American trade policy. On Thursday, the White House announced a major overhaul of customs duties, marking a new chapter in President Donald Trump’s protectionist agenda. In an official statement, the White House emphasized that these measures aim to “protect American workers” and to “secure ...
Netanyahu’s Gaza Strategy: Ambiguity, Internal Divisions and Looming Chaos
Élie-Joe Kamel 12/08 18:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Benjamin Netanyahu Palestine Hamas Israel United Nations
As the war in Gaza enters its 22nd month, political and on the ground uncertainties continue to grow. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent statements highlight this growing strategic confusion. He says he wants to “take control of Gaza,” while specifying that Israel has “no intention of governing” the territory. This ...
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 ...
US Deploying Nuclear Submarines in Response to 'Provocative' Russian Comments
This is Beirut 01/08 20:15 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Donald Trump Nuclear Submarines Russia United States
US President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines Friday in an extraordinary escalation of what had been an online war of words with a Russian official over Ukraine and tariffs. Trump and Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's security council, have been sparring on social media for days. Trump's post ...
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 ...
Four Days Left to Square the Circle on Global Plastic Pollution Treaty
This is Beirut 11/08 09:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
United Nations Plastic Pollution
Countries remained at loggerheads Monday over how to tackle plastic pollution, with only four days left to craft a landmark global treaty on reining in the ever-growing scourge. While plastic has transformed modern life, plastic pollution poses an increasing threat to the environment and the human body -- and every day the garbage accumulates on ...
1957: A Crash, Gold and Shadows of Mystery
Natasha Metni Torbey 29/07 14:25 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Beirut International Airport Kuwait Lebanese Army United Kingdom
This is the story of the Curtiss C-46 operated by Air Liban, which crashed off the coast of Beirut in 1957 with around 30 passengers on board. According to witness accounts and expert testimony, the aircraft was transporting a shipment of gold estimated between 400 and 450 kilograms, bound for Kuwait. While the crash itself raises questions, what ...
The Old Continent in Turnberry: Strategic Compromise or Keen Submission?
Mario Chartouni 30/07 16:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
European Union United States Donald Trump Ursula Von Der Leyen
A new trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and the United States was reached on Sunday in Turnberry, Scotland, after weeks of tense negotiations. The pact sets a 15% tariff on most European goods exported to the US market, narrowly avoiding a trade war, but leaving a bitter taste in Brussels. While it marks a tariff truce, the deal has ...
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 ...
Can Hezbollah Still Claim Resistance With Its Arsenal Depleted?
Mario Chartouni 05/08 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 Orders Firing of US Official as Cracks Emerge in Jobs Market
This is Beirut 02/08 13:19 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
United States Donald Trump Economy
President Donald Trump said Friday he has ordered the firing of a key economic official, accusing her of manipulating employment data for political reasons after a new report showed cracks in the US jobs market. US job growth missed expectations in July, Labor Department data showed, and revisions to hiring figures in recent months brought them ...
Tradition, Temperature, and the Parisian Home: The A/C Dilemma
This is Beirut 09/08 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 ...
The Art of Redistricting: How Gerrymandering Influences US Elections
Mario Chartouni 06/08 14:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
USA US Presidential Elections Donald Trump Republicans Democrats
Five additional seats in Texas, two in Ohio and one in Missouri – across the United States, Donald Trump is encouraging his allies to embrace gerrymandering, a political tactic designed to tilt congressional representation in favor of Republicans. “I won Texas,” he declared in a CNBC interview, insisting that Republicans “deserve five ...
Ziad Is Gone, the Drama Isn’t
Salam El Zaatari 31/07 10:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Ziad Rahbani Music Fairouz Culture Lebanon
Ziad Rahbani, Lebanon’s most brilliant satirist and musical artist, was finally laid to rest. But instead of a dignified farewell fitting of the man who gave voice to a nation’s contradictions, his funeral devolved into a spectacle, an unintentional parody of the plays he once wrote. Some mocked Dima’s presence, others sneered at Majida’s ...
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 ...
When Losing a Dog Hurts More Than Losing a Loved One
Bélinda Ibrahim 30/07 15:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Dog Grief Suffering Humans Unconditional Love
“It’s only a dog.” This phrase, often said with a hint of condescension, can feel like a harsh blow to those who have just lost their four-legged companion. Yet growing scientific evidence shows that grieving a pet – especially a dog – can be just as intense as, and sometimes even more profound than, mourning a human loved one. The ...
Underwater Archaeology in Lebanon: Exploring Origins and Unveiling Discoveries
Natasha Metni Torbey 29/07 14:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
At the crossroads of civilizations for thousands of years, Lebanon holds a largely unexplored underwater heritage. Behind the beauty of ancient wrecks lie pressing geopolitical stakes, alarming environmental concerns and a troubling lack of legal oversight. Safeguarding these submerged riches means charting a course through maritime law, disputed ...
Joseph Aoun’s Courageous Stand: A Historic Turning Point for Lebanon’s Sovereignty
Tara B. Moussallem 06/08 15:50 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Lebanon Israel Hezbollah Joseph Aoun
Yesterday, an exceptional Cabinet session was held at the Baabda Presidential Palace, lasting nearly six hours and marking a major political turning point in Lebanon’s modern history. Under the presidency of the Head of State, General Joseph Aoun, the government adopted a bold and unprecedented decision: to set a deadline for the disarmament ...
Putin Holds 'Constructive' Talks with US Envoy Witkoff ahead of Sanctions Deadline
This is Beirut 06/08 16:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Russia United States Vladimir Putin Steve Witkoff
Russian President Vladimir Putin held "constructive" talks with US envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Wednesday, the Kremlin said, two days ahead of a US deadline for Russia to halt its Ukraine offensive or face fresh sanctions. US President Donald Trump, who had boasted he could end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office, has ...