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Papal Visit: Routes and Security Measures

The official commission in charge of organizing Pope Leo XIV’s visit held a press briefing on Tuesday to inform citizens and the media about the planned logistical, security-related and media arrangements. It also detailed the routes that the papal convoy will follow during the three-day visit to Lebanon (November 30-December 2). The conference ...

Hanoi to Welcome a Renzo Piano “Opera Island” in 2027

By 2027, a striking new landmark will rise from the calm waters of Hanoi. Built on an artificial island between West Lake and Đầm Trị Lake, the Isola Della Musica, designed by Renzo Piano and his studio, the Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW), will unfold like a bright, sculptural form with fluid, organic lines. Revealed in autumn 2025, the ...

The Clock Ticks on Lebanon's Empty Promises

One year on from Lebanon’s signing of the November 27, 2024 Cessation of Hostilities with Israel, Beirut’s agreement to enforce UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and disarm Hezbollah looks less like a commitment and more like theater. Lebanon has announced deadlines, staged symbolic troop deployments, and assured the world that Hezbollah’s ...

Lebanese Red Cross’s Final Sprint Ahead of the Pope’s Visit

Ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Lebanon, scheduled from November 30 to December 2, the Lebanese Red Cross (LRC) shared with This is Beirut details of the unprecedented medical and logistical setup designed to ensure the safety of anticipated crowds. Through its Emergency Medical Services Sector (EMS), the Red Cross says it is fully prepared to ...

Syrians Protest After Violence Against Alawite Minority

Several hundred people protested on Tuesday in Syria's coastal city of Latakia in the country's Alawite heartland against recent attacks targeting the minority community, AFP correspondents said. Protesters in Latakia shouted slogans including "The Syrian people are one" and "To the whole world, listen to us, the Alawites ...

South Lebanon Ceasefire: One Year On, Life in Limbo

One year after the ceasefire, south Lebanon remains a land fraught with tension. Even when the strikes seem to ease, the shadow of war lingers. Israel’s sporadic bombardments never truly stop, and each moment of calm feels like a brief pause in an invisible countdown. Life here is fragile, shaping a population caught between the urgent need ...

Israel Says Islamic Jihad's Delay of Hostage Body Handover a Ceasefire 'Violation'

Israel said on Tuesday that a delay by the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad in handing over a hostage body, which the group said it had located on Monday during search operations in central Gaza, constituted a "violation" of the fragile ceasefire. A source in Islamic Jihad, who requested anonymity, confirmed the body belonged to one of ...

Football: Lebanon Heads to Qatar to Launch Its 2025 Arab Cup Campaign

Lebanon’s national football team departed for Doha on Sunday afternoon to begin final preparations ahead of their opening match in the 2025 Arab Cup. Miodrag Radulović’s men will face Sudan on Wednesday, November 26 at 6:00 p.m. (Beirut time) at Al-Gharafa Stadium, in a decisive knockout match that will determine their qualification to the ...

AI Nostalgia Videos Revive a Dreamy Vision of 1980s Life

“The 1980s are calling,” a teenager with a throwback hairstyle tells viewers as “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” the Tears for Fears rock anthem from that decade, plays in the background. The fake montage — entirely generated using artificial intelligence — has racked up more than 600,000 “likes” on Instagram and is part of an ...

PM Hands Over the Drafting of the Gap Law to Kulluna Irada

This Is Beirut has learned that the legal committee tasked by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam—in coordination with Finance Minister Yassine Jaber—with drafting the financial gap law is composed of a three-member team operating within the orbit of the Kulluna Irada organization. The committee includes attorney Ali Zbib, Judge Roula Al-Akkoum, and ...

Israel Says Killed Man Responsible for West Bank Ramming Attack

Israel's armed forces announced late Monday that its personnel had killed a man they held responsible for a ramming attack in the occupied West Bank last year. "After a pursuit of a year and a half," the officers killed Ala Raouf Shetiyya, Israel's army, police, intelligence, and counterterrorism forces said in a joint statement. "The terrorist ...

Is Peace Now Possible Amid Collapse of Iran’s Imperialism?

The epilogue of the cascading wars that have taken place since October 7, 2023, was quite promising since the destruction of Iran’s regional proxy network was a good omen. For the first time, the region was able to imagine the possibility of extracting itself from the tight clasp of Iranian Shiite imperialism. Nonetheless, however bright the ...

Syrian ISF Arrest Members of a Dangerous ISIS-Affiliated Cell in Latakia

The Syrian ISF command in Latakia announced on Monday that security units had apprehended members of one of the most dangerous ISIS-aligned cells during a precision operation in the al-Badrusiya area of northern Latakia countryside, as reported by SANA. Brigadier General Abdulaziz Hilal al-Ahmad, Commander of Internal Security in Latakia ...

Turkish Lawmakers Meet Kurdish Leader Öcalan

Turkish lawmakers who are members of a parliamentary commission overseeing the peace process with the Kurdish guerrilla visited Abdullah Öcalan, the historic leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), in prison for the first time on Monday. The meeting between the parliamentary delegation and the imprisoned Kurdish leader on Imrali Island, ...

Syria: Israeli Forces Conduct Incursions, Set Up Checkpoints in Quneitra

Israeli army carried out multiple incursions into Syrian villages in the Quneitra countryside on Monday evening, a SANA correspondent reported. A unit of three vehicles entered the village of Ruweihina, establishing a checkpoint near the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) post along the road connecting Ruweihina with the villages ...

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Announces End of Its Mission

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.- and Israeli-backed private organization that provided aid for Palestinians in Gaza but was criticized by the UN, said on Monday it was ending its mission. "The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) today announced the successful completion of its emergency mission in Gaza after delivering more than 187 ...

Peace with Israel Is Not a Taboo

“Peace with Israel.” A sentence once unspeakable in Lebanon—now said out loud. The national taboo is cracking, and politics will never sound the same.

Iznik: The Sunken Basilica Rising Again

At the bottom of Lake Iznik, the basilica lay hidden like a buried secret. Rediscovered in 2014, it now reveals one of the most sacred sites in Christianity, where Pope Leo XIV is preparing to speak for the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea.  

German Hollywood Veteran Udo Kier Dead at 81

German actor Udo Kier, whose offbeat charisma made him a cult figure in both arthouse and Hollywood cinema, has died at 81 in California, US magazine Variety reported. With a career spanning more than half a century, Kier appeared in hundreds of films, often stealing scenes with his unmistakable presence. Kier first rose to fame in the 1970s ...

Saudi Residents Report Booze Ban Eased for Select Foreigners

Diplomats and premium visa-holders in Saudi Arabia told AFP that the conservative kingdom has quietly eased restrictions on purchasing alcohol for select foreign residents. While the government has not made any statements regarding the sale of alcohol in recent days, the sources said non-Muslim individuals with so-called premium resident status ...

Israel: Fleeing Driver Hits Civilians, Injures Passenger

On Monday, police opened fire on a fleeing vehicle at the Tel Sheva junction in the Negev, injuring a passenger before intercepting it, Israeli authorities said. According to a statement, officers operating as part of the “New Order” operation to combat violent crime in the Bedouin diaspora signaled a suspicious vehicle to stop. The ...

From Hermitage to Prayer: Annaya, a Path of Spirituality

Nestled in the mountains of Annaya, the monastery and hermitage of Saint Charbel draw thousands of pilgrims every year. Born in 1828, Saint Charbel lived a life of prayer and solitude, leaving behind a legacy of faith and miracles. Today, Annaya remains a sanctuary of hope, where visitors and the faithful come seeking peace, healing, and spiritual ...