This is Beirut - middle east

MEA Goes Low-Cost: Launch Set for March 2027

Christiane Tager, 10/07 18:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Middle East MEA Lebanon economy low-cost Beirut airport airline

Facing soaring fares and near-monopoly on direct routes, Lebanon’s national carrier Middle East Airlines (MEA) is preparing to shake up the market. Led by Chairman Mohamad El Hout, MEA plans to launch a low-cost subsidiary in March 2027, according to insiders. The new airline will start with 4 aircraft and offer tickets up to 30% cheaper than ...

Hebron's Short-Lived Tribal Emirate Dream

Mario Chartouni, 08/07 15:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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What if the future of Middle East peace lay not in a one-state or two-state solution, but in a network of tribal emirates forging direct ties with Israel? That is the provocative vision reportedly proposed by a group of influential Palestinian clan leaders from the Hebron region in the West Bank—chief among them the powerful Sheikh Wadih ...

Hezbollah’s Last Bargain

Johnny Kortbawi, 05/07 13:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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Hezbollah continues to maneuver under the weight of periodic foreign pressure, and the discourse of its remaining leadership around disarmament is beginning to shift. At the outset of the conflict, the party maintained an unyielding stance, categorically rejecting any discussion of surrendering its weapons and insisting that the aggression it ...

IRCAD Lebanon: The Liver and Pancreas Go Robotic

Makram Haddad, 03/07 22:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Middle East IRCAD Antoine Maalouf Robotic Pancreas

Under the luminous ceilings of the Clinique du Levant, IRCAD Lebanon officially launched yesterday its very first international course on robotic liver and pancreas surgery. A first in Lebanon, described by its president, Dr. Antoine Maalouf, as “a quantum leap in regional surgical practice.” “What we are launching here goes beyond the ...

Iran Diplomat Says Open to Talks if US Rules Out Military Action

This is Beirut, 03/07 20:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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A senior Iranian diplomat said Thursday his country remains open to diplomacy provided the United States offers guarantees it will not resort to military action against the Islamic republic. The remarks came as US news website Axios, citing two unidentified sources, reported that White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was planning to meet ...

Heart Over Headlines: Why Tourists Are Still Choosing Lebanon

Lyne Sammouri, 02/07 10:30 - Reading : less than a minute

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In a region marked by unrest, Lebanon continues to welcome those drawn to its culture and warmth. Tourists share why they’re defying the headlines to experience the real Lebanon.

Most World Heritage Sites at Risk of Drought or Flooding: UN

This is Beirut, 01/07 12:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Almost three quarters of the globe's cultural and natural heritage sites are threatened by too little or too much water, the UN's cultural agency said on Tuesday. As a result of rising temperatures, extreme weather events including hurricanes, droughts, floods and heatwaves have become more frequent and intense, scientists warn. Seventy-three ...

Unemployment: Lebanon Ranks 11th in MENA Region

This is Beirut, 27/06 17:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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According to the latest World Bank data, Lebanon ranks 11th among MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries in terms of unemployment, with an estimated rate of 11.5% in 2024. This figure reflects the ongoing impact of Lebanon’s compounded economic, political, and social crises since 2019. Topping the regional chart is Palestine, with a ...

Eastern Christians: The Last Keepers of a Legacy

Marc Saikali, 26/06 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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A suicide bombing, this time inside a Damascus church during Sunday Mass. Twenty-five dead. The blast silenced prayer, shattered lives and shook a community already on the brink. Eastern Christianity is dying, not in the chaos of an open warfare, but through a long, silent agony, met with the world’s indifference. In a secularized Europe where ...

World Bank Announces Lebanon, Syria Reconstruction Projects

This is Beirut, 25/06 14:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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The World Bank announced on Wednesday it had approved $250 million to support Lebanon's post-war reconstruction and a $146 million grant to rehabilitate neighbouring Syria's electricity sector. Lebanon is reeling from last year's devastating war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, while Syria faces massive needs after Islamist-led forces ...

Turkey Breathes Easier as Iran-Israel Truce Eases Fallout Risk

This is Beirut, 25/06 13:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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As the fragile Iran-Israel truce took hold, there was no letup in Turkey's diplomatic efforts Wednesday to prevent any return to a conflict fraught with risk for Ankara's domestic and regional policies. Hours after US President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met him for talks on the sidelines of a ...

The 12 Days That Redefined the Middle East

Marc Saikali, 24/06 16:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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With the announcement of a ceasefire, Donald Trump blew the final whistle. Twelve days were all it took to upend the geopolitical order of the region. Twelve days of war between Israel and Iran, following years of shadow conflict, thunderous ultimatums and unspoken red lines. Twelve days that reshaped the strategic balance in the Middle East and, ...

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