Lebanon

Cyprus Border Deal Reaffirms Mikati’s 2011 Decision
PoliticsCyprus Border Deal Reaffirms Mikati’s 2011 Decision

The Cabinet is set to approve the Lebanon-Cyprus maritime border agreement, despite claims that Lebanon forfeited around 5,000 square kilometers along the median line of the two countries’ exclusive economic zones. Lebanese negotiators assert that these claims have no basis in international law, and studies indicate that disputing them would ...

Grade Tampering Scandal at the Lebanese University: Investigation Underway
Grade Tampering Scandal at the Lebanese University: Investigation Underway

The investigation into the grade-tampering scandal at the Faculty of Law of the Lebanese University has reached a turning point. Earlier this month, the public institution was rocked by revelations that exam scores had been falsified in favor of several Kuwaiti students. According to information reported by the local TV channel MTV, and on the ...

Flights Over a Nest of Fools!
EditorialFlights Over a Nest of Fools!

More than half of Ici Beyrouth and This is Beirut’s audience lives between France, North America and Africa. Those of you reading from these far-off lands are lucky enough not to be, like us, lulled from dawn to dusk by the relentless hum of drones. Yes, they are back. And this time, they are flying even lower. Beirutis have gone all out, ...

Honoring a Historic Visit: Lebanon Commemorates Pope Leo XIV with a Stamp
Honoring a Historic Visit: Lebanon Commemorates Pope Leo XIV with a Stamp

Ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Lebanon, scheduled for November 30 to December 2, 2025, the Ministry of Telecommunications has confirmed to This is Beirut that the country will issue a special stamp commemorating the pontifical visit. According to Ministry sources, this official release has been entrusted to LibanPost, which will oversee its ...

LAF Arrests Four in Raids Targeting Drug Traffickers
LAF Arrests Four in Raids Targeting Drug Traffickers

The Lebanese Army (LAF) announced on Wednesday that it had arrested four individuals in separate raids as part of its ongoing efforts to maintain security and combat drug trafficking. In its statement, the LAF said the operations were carried out with support from Intelligence Directorate patrols. According to the statement, an army unit, also ...

Senate Panel Probes Hezbollah Links to Latin American Drug Trade
Senate Panel Probes Hezbollah Links to Latin American Drug Trade

The US Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control convened a hearing on Tuesday to examine suspected connections between Hezbollah and Latin American drug trafficking networks, as lawmakers warned of the group’s expanding footprint in the Western Hemisphere. Chaired by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), the bipartisan session focused on ...

Lebanon 2019: Behind a Programmed Revolution (2/2)
InvestigationLebanon 2019: Behind a Programmed Revolution (2/2)

Lebanon has an exceptionally dense civil society sector. Hundreds of local NGOs receive funding from international organizations such as the European Union, various United Nations agencies, private foundations like Ford, Rockefeller and Open Society, as well as contributions from the diaspora. Most of this funding is fully declared, independently ...

Hezbollah’s Rapid Rebuilding Outpaces Lebanon’s Disarmament Efforts
Hezbollah’s Rapid Rebuilding Outpaces Lebanon’s Disarmament Efforts

Hezbollah’s accelerated rebuilding efforts risk provoking an Israeli response if Lebanon does not act swiftly, according to Western intelligence sources cited by The Jerusalem Post. In a report published Tuesday, the Israeli daily highlighted the group’s ongoing efforts to rearm and reconstruct, even as the Lebanese government has officially ...

Healing Without Forgetting: Rony Mecattaf Connects with His Readers
Q&AHealing Without Forgetting: Rony Mecattaf Connects with His Readers

La blessure qui guérit, published a few months ago by Éditions Erick Bonnier, is already drawing attention. In this book, Rony Mecattaf, psychotherapist and a leading figure in Lebanon’s intellectual scene, recounts how the violence of the Beirut port explosion, which left him permanently scarred, became a path toward ...

Consumer Price Index Up 0.6% in September
Numbers & FiguresConsumer Price Index Up 0.6% in September

Lebanon’s Consumer Price Index rose 0.6% in September 2025, compared with August 2025, according to official data. Year-on-year inflation reached 15.06%. At the governorate level, monthly increases varied significantly: Mount Lebanon, +0.90%; Beqaa, +0.69%; Nabatieh, +0.64%; Beirut, +0.27%; South Lebanon, +0.22%; and North Lebanon, ...

The Lebanese Demand Peace with Israel
Op-edThe Lebanese Demand Peace with Israel

"Break the taboos; we demand peace," declared Marcel Ghanem, host of Lebanon’s premier talk show. "Demanding peace [with Israel] is not a crime," he emphasized, challenging entrenched narratives. Marwan Hamade, a seasoned Druze lawmaker, appeared on I24 News (French service) to discuss Gaza, signaling a willingness to defy Lebanon’s surreal ...

Direct vs. Indirect Negotiations: Lebanon’s Diplomatic Playbook Reexamined
WindowDirect vs. Indirect Negotiations: Lebanon’s Diplomatic Playbook Reexamined

In the wake of the Gaza ceasefire brokered on October 13 by Donald Trump, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun issued a statement that raised more than a few eyebrows, and possibilities. “The Lebanese state has already negotiated with Israel under American and UN mediation, resulting in the maritime border agreement… So why not adopt the same ...