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Why was Sharaa Invited to Washington, but not Aoun?
Hussain Abdul-Hussain 10:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Washington Lebanon Lebanese Army Syria Joseph Aoun Ahmad al-Sharaa
Until late 2024, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa was a U.S.-designated terrorist with a $10 million bounty on his head for leading the al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. By contrast, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who served as commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) until his election in January 2025, was widely regarded as one of ...
Deadly Clashes in Aleppo as Turkey Urges Kurds Not to Be Obstacle to Syria's Stability
This is Beirut 22/12 22:55 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Syria Syrian Democratic Forces Aleppo
The Syrian government and Kurdish-led forces on Monday ordered their fighters to cease fire following deadly clashes that came as Turkey's top diplomat urged the Kurds to integrate into the Syrian army. At least three people were killed in the clashes, which came ahead of a deadline for implementing a March 10 agreement between Damascus and ...
Lebanon’s Cabinet Divided Over Controversial Financial Gap Law
This is Beirut 22/12 20:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Lebanon Nawaf Salam International Monetary Fund Banks Central Bank of Lebanon Gap Law
The controversial financial Gap Law presented as key to resolving Lebanon’s enduring banking crisis that deprived depositors of their savings, topped discussions at Monday’s cabinet meeting, exposing differences among ministers. The session, attended by Central Bank Governor Karim Souaid, was adjourned and will resume Tuesday to ...
Turkish Ministers to Meet Syria's Sharaa in Damascus
This is Beirut 22/12 17:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Turkey Syria Syrian Democratic Forces Hakan Fidan Ahmad al-Sharaa
Turkish and Syrian foreign ministers held a joint press conference after talks in Damascus, focusing on relations between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Turkey’s foreign minister said discussions covered ongoing talks with the SDF and reaffirmed Ankara’s support for integrating the group into Syrian forces in a ...
Italy Says Wants Military to Stay in Lebanon After UN Peacekeepers Leave
This is Beirut 22/12 15:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Lebanon United Nations Italy UNIFIL
Italy said Monday it intends to keep a military presence in Lebanon even after the UN peacekeeping force it belongs to leaves as planned on December 31, 2026. "Even after (the peacekeeping force) UNIFIL, Italy will continue to do its part, supporting with conviction the international presence and supporting the capacity development of the ...
Israeli Strike in Saida District Kills Three
This is Beirut 22/12 14:40 - Reading : less than a minute
Lebanon Hezbollah Israel Saida South Lebanon
Israel said Monday it launched a drone strike in Quneitra’s Saida district, targeting a car carrying what Israel said were Hezbollah operatives, killing three people. One of the deceased is reportedly a Lebanese Army soldier. Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a post on X, “A short while ago, the Israel Defense ...
Hezbollah Allegedly Strengthens Hold on Beirut Port Amid Disarmament Doubts
Michael al-Andary 22/12 13:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Beirut Port Hezbollah Nawaf Salam Beirut International Airport Lebanese Army Israel United States
Despite the Lebanese cabinet’s move to impose a firm deadline for the disarmament of militias, developments on the ground point to a “lack of seriousness” in enforcing the decision against Hezbollah, a security source told This is Beirut on condition of anonymity, questioning whether the government’s commitment is backed by concrete ...
Iran Says Missile Programme Defensive, Non-Negotiable
This is Beirut 22/12 13:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Israel United States Iran Diplomacy
Iran insisted on Monday that its missile program was defensive in nature and designed to dissuade attack, while adding the existence of its arsenal was not up for debate. Israel had presented Iran's ballistic missiles, along with its nuclear program, as the two main threats it sought to neutralize during the 12-day war the foes fought in ...
UNRWA in the Crosshairs: U.S. Weighs Unprecedented Sanctions
Amal Chmouny 22/12 10:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
United Nations Lebanon Donald Trump Hamas UNRWA
In the shadow of the Gaza conflict, a quiet but consequential debate is unfolding in Washington over whether the U.S. should designate the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) as a terrorist-affiliated entity and impose sweeping sanctions. A move once viewed as unthinkable is now the subject of urgent policy deliberations, with senior ...
SDF Arrest Senior IS Cell Leader in Syria's Eastern Deir Ezzor
This is Beirut 21/12 19:50 - Reading : less than a minute
Syrian Democratic Forces Syria Islamic State Group
The Syrian Democratic Forces said in a statement on Sunday that their elite units arrested a senior Islamic State cell leader during a security operation in eastern Deir Ezzor province. The SDF said the suspect supplied weapons, ammunition, and explosive devices to Islamic State cells operating in the area, describing him as one of the group’s ...
Oliver Ojeil: London Fashion Film Festival Winner
Lea Mehanna 21/12 17:00 - Reading : less than a minute
Lebanon London United Kingdom Culture Arts Fashion Film
On this episode of This Is Arts, film director and fashion photographer Oliver Ojeil talks about winning Best Story at the London Fashion Film Festival, storytelling through fashion photography, his work as a colorist on major productions like The Chosen, and his upcoming project starring L’Oréal ambassador Luma Grothe and Iacopo Ricciotti ...
US Senator Accuses Hamas and Hezbollah of Rearming
This is Beirut 21/12 16:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Lindsey Graham Hamas Hezbollah Lebanon Israel United States
US Senator Lindsey Graham accused Hamas and Hezbollah of rearming during a visit to Israel on Sunday and charged that the Palestinian Islamist group was also consolidating power in Gaza. After two years of war between Israel and Hamas in the Palestinian territory, a fragile ceasefire has held since October, despite both sides trading accusations ...
The IMF Sets an Example Through Lebanese Depositors: Unpacking One the Most Dangerous Laws in the Country’s History
This is Beirut 21/12 15:40 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Lebanon Banque du Liban International Monetary Fund economy banking system banks
What the government presented as the ‘Financial Gap Law’ is not merely a piece of financial legislation; it is a text that lays the foundations for the post-adoption economic order. It does not conceal its objective but states it calmly: ending a crisis that has lasted for years instead of resolving it, writing off deposits instead of ...
Gap Law: The Programmed Destruction of the Banking Sector
This is Beirut 21/12 15:05 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Lebanon Economy Banks BDL Gap Law
Presented as a restructuring measure, the Gap Law organizes a methodical liquidation of the Lebanese banking sector. Behind complex technical mechanisms—loss hierarchy, balance-sheet cleanup, recapitalization—lies a clear political choice: to sacrifice banks to settle a public crisis that the state refuses to assume. This text does not reform ...
Israel's Security Cabinet Approves 19 New Settlements in West Bank
This is Beirut 21/12 13:16 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Israel West Bank Israeli Settlements Palestinians
Israel's security cabinet approved the establishment of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move the country's far-right finance minister said on Sunday was aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state. The decision brings the total number of settlements approved over the past three years to 69, according to a ...
One Million Refugees Are Expected to Return to Syria in 2026
This is Beirut 21/12 12:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) predicted that around one million Syrian refugees will return to their country during 2026, given the gradual recovery that Syria is witnessing after the fall of the Assad regime. Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, the UNHCR representative in Syria, stated, "Our estimates indicate that 2026 could see ...
Gap Law: A Legalized Expropriation of Deposits
This is Beirut 21/12 12:05 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Banks BDL Lebanon Economy Gap Law
Wrapped in the technical language of financial restructuring, the Gap Law is presented as a necessary step to correct the imbalance of Lebanon’s banking system. Behind this rhetoric lies a far more serious reality: the legalization of a massive expropriation of bank deposits, in blatant disregard of property rights, legal certainty, and the very ...
Christmas in South Lebanon: Villages Orphaned of Their Youth
Katia Kahil 21/12 11:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Lebanon South Lebanon USA Displacement
In the villages of South Lebanon, Christmas flickers like a fragile flame. Despite the ever-present fear and palpable tension, church bells toll and evening gatherings are held. In Alma al-Shaab, Yaroun, Deir Mimas, Khiam, and Marjayoun, garlands and nativity scenes timidly pierce the deserted streets. Once alive with laughter and reunion, these ...
The Law of Financial “Massacre”: When Nawaf Salam and “Kulluna Irada” Strip Depositors of Their Savings
Eleonore Stephan for Huna Lubnan 21/12 09:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
At one of the darkest moments in Lebanon’s national life, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam is promoting a so-called “financial gap law” as a technical solution, while in reality it legalizes suffering and formalizes the confiscation of Lebanese citizens’ savings. The so-called “Kulluna Irada” law does not merely steal money; it also ...
Netanyahu Set to Present Iran Strike Options to Trump
This is Beirut 20/12 20:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Israel United States Benjamin Netanyahu Donald Trump Iran
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to present plans for a potential strike on Iran to U.S. President Donald Trump during his forthcoming visit to the United States, NBC News reports, citing several unnamed officials. According to the report, Israel is increasingly alarmed that Iran is rebuilding, and possibly expanding, its ballistic ...
Israeli Military Says Detained Suspected IS Jihadist in Syria
This is Beirut 20/12 20:10 - Reading : less than a minute
Israel Syria Islamic State Group
The Israeli military said on Saturday its forces had arrested a suspected Islamic State group jihadist in Syria earlier this week and taken him back to Israel. In a statement, the military said that on Wednesday "soldiers completed an operation in the area of Rafid in southern Syria to apprehend a suspected terrorist affiliated with ISIS." "The ...
Gap Law: How the Lebanese State Erases Its Responsibility
This is Beirut 20/12 18:05 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Banks Lebanon Economy Gap Law IMF
Every financial crisis raises a central question: who should bear the losses? In a liberal economy grounded in responsibility, the answer is clear: those who decided, spent, borrowed, and ultimately failed. The Gap Law, however, offers a radically opposite answer. It methodically organizes the erasure of the Lebanese state’s responsibility and ...
Gap Law: Nawaf Salam and the IMF, Architects of a Legalized Spoliation
This is Beirut 20/12 16:05 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
By claiming on Monday a commitment to “deliver justice to depositors,” Prime Minister Nawaf Salam did more than distort reality: with the active backing of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he sealed one of the greatest financial and moral abdications in Lebanon’s history. The Gap Law, presented as a lifesaving legal framework, is in ...
Financial Gap Law: Farewell to a Lifetime’s Savings… Where Is Karim Souhaid?
This is Beirut 20/12 15:55 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Nawaf Salam Lebanon Banks Banque du Liban Gap Law
The draft Financial Gap Law, also known as the Financial Regularization Law, is set to be discussed at the Cabinet table on Monday. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has praised the project, presenting it as the first comprehensive legal framework to recover deposits and address the financial gap in a systematic and fair manner, within available means, ...
Syria Monitor Says US Strikes Killed at Least Five Islamic State Members
This is Beirut 20/12 14:32 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Syria Islamic State Group United States US Army
A Syria monitor said Saturday that five Islamic State jihadist group members were killed in US strikes overnight as Jordan confirmed it participated in the raids after a deadly attack on American troops last weekend. US forces said they struck more than 70 IS targets in what President Donald Trump described as "very serious retaliation" ...
The Syndicate of Traders and Importers of Alcoholic Beverages Denounces the Gap Law
This is Beirut 20/12 14:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Banque du Liban economy Lebanon Banks Gap Law Traders
The Syndicate of Traders and Importers of Alcoholic Beverages issued a statement on Saturday denouncing the Gap Law, which they said shifts the state’s responsibilities onto traders and businesses. “While respecting the draft presented by the Prime Minister concerning financial restructuring and the recovery of deposits, the currently ...
+114% in 2025: Silver Breaks Free and Takes Center Stage
Liliane Mokbel 20/12 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Silver has delivered a historic performance in 2025. Since the beginning of the year, the white metal has surged by more than 114 percent, reaching an all-time high of 64 dollars per ounce. For the first time in years, silver is no longer following gold’s lead. Its rise has clearly outpaced gold, whose price has increased by around 60 percent, ...
Deposits at Risk: Gap Law Shifts Burden on Depositors and Banks; State Off the Hook
Antoine Saade 20/12 12:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Banks Lebanon Banque du Liban Gap Law economy
The fate of depositors’ funds lies at the heart of Lebanon’s financial crisis. It is not merely a matter of figures or balance sheets; it directly affects the lives of thousands of families and undermines the country’s overall economic stability. Amid the ongoing financial collapse and the sharp erosion of the national currency’s ...
Lebanon of Tomorrow: Raising Prayers for Peace This Christmas
Rayan Chami 20/12 00:18 - Reading : less than a minute
Lebanon of Tomorrow Christmas Gemmayzeh Prayers for Peace
For the fifth consecutive year, Lebanon of Tomorrow brings music, faith, and hope together in Gemmayzeh, raising prayers for peace as Lebanon marks the Christmas season amid ongoing challenges.
Rubio Urges Hamas Disarmament As Key To Gaza Peace
This is Beirut 19/12 23:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
United States Marco Rubio Hamas Israel
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday urged the disarmament of Hamas but voiced hope for headway on reaching the next stage of a Gaza ceasefire as regional officials met. Top officials of Qatar and Egypt – key mediators of the ceasefire – and regional power Turkey headed Friday to Miami to meet US envoys including Steve Witkoff, ...