Lebanon

Christmas Tree Burned in Tripoli, Outraging Elected Officials

This Is Beirut 2023-12-24 11:45 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

At dawn on Sunday, unknown assailants threw a Molotov cocktail at the Christmas tree set up in St. George's Church Square in Tripoli's Zahiriya region. The flames destroyed the tree. The region's political and religious leaders denounced this "suspicious act," which damaged Tripoli's image. Achraf Rifi, deputy of the region, called for the ...

Christmas in South Lebanon: A Glimmer of Enduring Hope

Katia Kahil 2023-12-24 11:22 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

christmas

The residents of southern Lebanon are gearing up for an unusual Christmas, given the difficult times that the region is going through. Yet, in this land that bore witness to the passage of Christ, hope remains. While it’s true that this holiday season may be particularly somber, there are still small things, small gestures, that persist in ...

Rise Up and Return to Lebanon

Fady Noun 2023-12-24 09:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

christmas Gaza

"From the cradle to the crucifixion, God reveals to us a profound mystery." I woke up this morning with this familiar Christmas refrain. The mystery here isn’t a detective's puzzle. It’s a reality beyond reason. Or rather, both beyond reason and within reach, as God became man and, as a human being, cannot be incomprehensible. Not ...

MP Halima Kaakour Rescued After Near Drowning

This Is Beirut 2023-12-23 22:22 - Reading : less than a minute

Halima Kaakour Jiyeh

MP Halima Kaakour nearly drowned while she was swimming in the sea in Jiyeh during the stormy weather. The MP lost consciousness after ingesting a substantial amount of water. This prompted a swift response from civil defense personnel, who rushed her to Labib Abou Daher Hospital in Saida. Close associates of Kaakour confirmed that she was ...

MENAFATF: Lebanon Deemed “Acceptable” in Technical Compliance

This Is Beirut 2023-12-23 16:16 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

The Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) released on Friday, December 22, the mutual evaluation report of the Lebanese Republic on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) measures. The Lebanese Republic’s report stated that Lebanon achieved acceptable outcomes in terms of technical ...

Presidential Elections: Al-Rai's Indirect Opposition to a National Dialogue Conference

This Is Beirut 2023-12-23 16:08 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Amal Bechara al-Rai

The Maronite Patriarch, Bechara al-Rai, implicitly expressed his opposition to a national conference for dialogue, still desired by the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, with the aim of reaching a consensus on the presidential election. He renewed his criticism of the Amal-Hezbollah tandem, holding them responsible for blocking the presidential ...

USJ and AUB Strengthen Academic and Financial Coordination

This Is Beirut 2023-12-23 15:31 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

AUB coordination

The Saint Joseph University (USJ) and the American University of Beirut (AUB) have renewed the memorandum of understanding they signed in 2018, committing to coordinate their efforts in the academic and financial domains. The agreement serves their common national mission of educating the country's elite, especially in the face of challenging ...

A deadly storm, floods and subsidence

This Is Beirut 2023-12-23 12:03 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon has lost count of the damage caused by the storm, which is still battering the country and should begin to recede later this Saturday. Across Lebanon, since Friday, the storm left its mark, with numerous flooding and landslides, highlighting the official neglect of infrastructure maintenance. The storm was particularly deadly, with four ...

Southern Lebanon: At Least one Dead in an Israeli Raid on Aitaroun

This Is Beirut 2023-12-23 11:19 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

At least one person was killed and three others injured in an Israeli raid on Aïtaroun, on Saturday night An Israeli missile targeted homes in the village. This brings to three the number of fighters from the pro-Iranian group killed on Saturday in South Lebanon. Following early morning Israeli raids on the Khardali area, Hezbollah stepped up ...

Lebanon's Foreign Policy Amidst Regional Transformations

Rami Rayess 2023-12-23 10:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

If the division among the Lebanese has been the predominant feature in national political life for decades, there are major strategic issues that demand immediate attention. These matters cannot be dealt with according to outdated traditional norms that have proven ineffective and have been overshadowed by significant events and changes, ...

Education, Against All Odds (1/4) - The Shamseddine Legacy

Maxime Pluvinet 2023-12-23 07:57 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Education

The Pedagogical Legacy of Imam Shamseddine (1/2) In memory of Layan, Talin and Remas Mahmoud Hejazi, killed on November 6, 2023, in South Lebanon. MAXIME PLUVINET AND MICHEL TOUMA The Association of Charity and Culture (ACC), founded in 1966 by Imam Mohammed Mehdi Shamseddine, has carried out various educational and social projects since the ...

Nine Million Captagon Pills Seized at Beirut Port

This Is Beirut 2023-12-22 20:13 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

captagon

Caretaker Minister of Interior and Municipalities Bassam Mawlawi announced on "X" that the Anti-Drug Department at Customs seized nine million Captagon pills being smuggled through the Beirut Port. The drugs were concealed "within a shipment of bags of grains intended for Kenya as the first destination." Mawlawi affirmed that investigations ...