This is Beirut - Lebanon

Lebanon Launches First National Campaign to Prevent Drowning

This is Beirut, 01/08 19:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Drowning Lebanon prevention awareness safety health

Lebanon launched its first National Drowning Prevention Awareness Campaign on Friday, aiming to address a leading yet preventable public health issue. The campaign was motivated by the statistics related to drownings in Lebanon. A recent study by Dr. Samar El Hajj from the American University of Beirut, using data from the Internal Security ...

Minister of Justice: Beirut Port Blast Probe Nearing Final Stage

This is Beirut, 01/08 19:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Beirut Explosion Justice Lebanon Investigation August 4

Minister of Justice Adel Nassar announced on Friday that the investigation into the devastating Beirut Port explosion of August 4, 2020, is approaching its final phase. Nassar emphasized the importance of reaching the truth and ensuring accountability, declaring that no state can be complete without justice for such a catastrophic ...

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 ...

UK Launches New Facility in Hamat to Support Lebanese Army

This is Beirut, 01/08 17:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

United Kingdom Hamat Lebanese Army Lebanese Army Day Lebanon France

British Chargé d’Affaires Victoria Dunne inaugurated a new accommodation facility in Hamat on Friday, marking the 80th Lebanese Army Day. According to a statement issued by the British Embassy, “the project, funded by the UK Ministry of Defense, supports ongoing British training for various units of the Lebanese Armed Forces, including ...

Haykal Marks Army Day with Border Pledge and Tribute to Troops

This is Beirut, 01/08 10:55 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Israel Lebanese Army United Nations lebanon Rodolphe Haykal

Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) Commander General Rodolphe Haykal reaffirmed on Friday the army’s firm commitment to national security, announcing a “large-scale and important deployment” in the southern Litani region, conducted in close coordination with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), as Israel continues to occupy several ...

Customs Revenues: Lebanon’s Unexpected Performance in 2025

Liliane Mokbel, 31/07 17:36 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Customs revenues Fiscal revenues Economy

It’s both a welcome and surprising development: in 2025, Lebanon’s state treasury saw a significant rise in customs revenues – and this happened without any increase in customs duty rates. According to the World Bank (Lebanese Monitor report, Turning the Tide, Spring 2025), public revenues reached $4 billion in 2024, with $3 billion coming ...

Lebanese Weddings: A Factory of Bliss and Big Bucks

Christiane Tager, 31/07 17:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Lebanon Summer Weddings Economy

Today, Lebanese weddings are no longer just about love; they’re major financial productions. Each celebration activates an entire economic ecosystem: fully booked wedding planners, photographers and videographers charging thousands of dollars, gourmet caterers offering five-star menus, florists capable of transforming any venue into a lush ...

Banking Reform, Judiciary, Leases, Education: Parliament Approves Four Key Bills

This is Beirut, 31/07 16:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

lebanon Adel Nassar Nawaf Salam Parliament Georges Adwan

The Lebanese Parliament held two separate sessions on Thursday – one in the morning and one in the evening – to debate and vote on a series of legal, administrative, and economic bills. Among the approved texts was the long-anticipated law on the organization of the judiciary, widely regarded as a significant step forward in ...

From Sweida to Hasbaya: The Druze Soul Under Strain

Katia Kahil, 31/07 13:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

druze Sweida Lebanon Syria

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 ...

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 ...

'Tansa:' The Unknown Soldier of a Country in Disarray…

Marc Saikali, 31/07 08:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanon Lebanese Army soldiers

In Lebanon, there’s a joke as old as our illusions and as biting as our clarity. It’s about “Tansa,” the poor soldier sent alone to face tanks, then artillery, then fighter jets, until, at his breaking point, he snaps: “What kind of country is this, where Tansa alone stands to defend it?” (The original punchline is a little less ...

Lebanon, France Advance Budget Reform to Restore State Credibility

This is Beirut, 30/07 22:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Yassin Jaber lebanon George Maarawi FDA

Finance Minister Yassine Jaber announced on Wednesday tangible progress in Lebanon’s public finance reform efforts, during a joint press conference with French Ambassador Hervé Magro and representatives from the French Development Agency (FDA) and Expertise France. The conference focused on the ongoing project “Strengthening Budget ...

Lebanon