Beirut and Damascus Reopen Diplomatic Channels as al-Shaibani Visits Lebanon

This is Beirut 10/10 13:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Joseph Aoun Syria lebanon Assaad al-Chibani Youssef Raggi

Minister of Foreign Affairs Youssef Raggi described the visit of his Syrian counterpart, Assaad al-Shaibani, to Beirut as the beginning of “a new chapter” in relations between Lebanon and Syria. Al-Shaibani arrived in the Lebanese capital on Friday morning at the head of a high-level delegation for a one-day official visit, signaling ...

VideosSuicide: The Silence That Breaks Lives

Yara Germany 10/10 09:30 - Reading : less than a minute

suicide mental health taboo religion psychology

Every two days, someone takes their own life in Lebanon, and more than 700,000 people do so every year worldwide. Through testimonies and data addressing causes, psychology and religion, This is Beirut delves into this phenomenon. This World Mental Health Day, we shed light on suffering too often buried under shame, misinformation, social pressure ...

Lebanon Connects to the Stars with Starlink

Christiane Tager 09/10 21:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

starlink internet lebanon

In a country where a simple power outage can plunge entire neighborhoods offline, this marks a major turning point for a telecommunications sector long lagging behind and an ambitious gamble: connecting a fragmented country, from southern villages to northern towns and through downtown Beirut, not with cables but with stars. On Wednesday, October ...

Cabinet Extends Jdeideh Landfill Operations

This is Beirut 09/10 18:55 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

lebanon Nawaf Salam Paul Morcos Grand Serail Jdeideh CDR Parliament Mohammad Qabbani

The Council of Ministers met on Thursday at the Grand Serail under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. It approved the continued use of the Jdeideh landfill until the end of 2026 and tasked the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) with establishing a power plant on-site. Following the session, Minister of Information Paul ...

Lebanon: LAU Students Develop Wildfire Detection System Handed to Civil Defense

This is Beirut 09/10 18:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

LAU Lebanon fire

As Lebanon continues to face a surge in wildfires since 2019, students from the Lebanese American University (LAU) have developed an automated fire-detection system that is now being tested by the Lebanese Civil Defense. Built in the School of Engineering’s labs, the tool uses satellite data from EUMETSAT and NASA’s FIRMS constellation to ...

SpotlightWaste Crisis: Heading Back to the 2015 Chaos?

Natasha Metni Torbey 09/10 15:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanese Forces

The shadow of Lebanon’s 2015 waste crisis loomed briefly over the country once again. On Tuesday morning, Ramco trucks halted waste collection across Mount Lebanon, Keserwan and Beirut after the Jdeideh landfill abruptly closed in the early hours. Intervention from the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR), which ordered the temporary ...

Lebanese Judiciary Reopens Political Assassination Cases in Landmark Move

This is Beirut 09/10 12:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Judiciary Assassination Case

In an unprecedented move to revive investigations into long-unsolved political assassinations, the Lebanese judiciary has appointed eleven investigative judges to reopen several sensitive cases, some dating back to the country’s civil war. Many emblematic cases that had remained stagnant for decades have now been distributed among different ...

International Maritime Academy Inaugurates New Training Workshops

This is Beirut 09/10 11:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

A milestone event for maritime vocational training in Lebanon took place with the official inauguration of the International Maritime Academy’s (IMA) new training workshops on October 3. The ceremony, held under the patronage of the French Ambassador to Lebanon, H.E. Hervé Magro, also marked the success of a flagship training program aimed at ...

Op-edHow Trump’s Plan Tries to Rewire the Middle East’s Deterrence Map

Salam El Zaatari 09/10 11:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Hamas Hezbollah Gaza Israel Donald Trump

In a region addicted to repetition, President Donald Trump is once again attempting to rewrite the script. His new “Gaza Peace Plan,” a 20-point proposal for a ceasefire, hostage exchange and technocratic governance under a US-chaired “Board of Peace,” is more than a humanitarian play. It’s a geopolitical lever meant to corner Tehran, ...

EditorialMr. Trump, There Are Still Hostages Left…

Marc Saikali 09/10 08:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Donald Trump Hezbollah Israel USA Lebanon

Yes, we are the four and a half million Lebanese – prisoners of a country that has been hijacked. We live trapped in the open, under the rule of a militia that has seized a nation, its people and the state itself. Hezbollah is no force of resistance. It is an occupying power from within. It decides when Lebanon goes to war, whom it must obey ...

Qatar Backs Lebanon as Army Chief Haykal Visits Doha

This is Beirut 08/10 16:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanon Qatar Heikal Army Support Defense

Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal arrived in Qatar for a two-day official visit that underscored Doha’s ongoing commitment to Lebanon’s stability and the strong ties between the two nations. Invited by Lieutenant General (Pilot) Jassim bin Mohammed Al-Mannai, Chief of Staff of the Qatari Armed Forces, General Haykal was welcomed with ...

PortraitWho Is Michel Issa, the Businessman Turned Diplomat?

This is Beirut 08/10 11:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Donald Trump Banks United States Michel Issa Ambassador Lebanon

Michel Issa is set to take up his post in Beirut as the new US Ambassador to Lebanon, following the departure of Lisa A. Johnson, whose term ended on September 28, 2025. Appointed by President Donald Trump, Issa represents a notable departure from the traditional career diplomat, a businessman and former banker stepping into a sensitive ...