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Lebanese Officials Stress Sovereignty as Iran’s Larijani Maps Out Suggestions for Lebanon

The Lebanese government’s message to Tehran was crystal clear on Wednesday: Beirut will not tolerate any interference in its internal affairs, let alone intrusions into its sovereign decisions, most notably, the state’s monopoly on arms. This unequivocal stance was delivered first by President Joseph Aoun and then by Prime Minister ...

Rebuilding in Devastated Mariupol Under Russia's Thumb

Sun-seekers crowded onto the beach in Mariupol in Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine -- a devastated city which Moscow wants to turn into an improbable seaside resort. "Take a dip in the Sea of Azov!" said 52-year-old local Ivan, who like other beach goers lapped up the good weather and mild waters of a coastline that is now entirely ...

First Post-Assad Parliament and the Challenge of Transition

Syria’s first legislative elections since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime are scheduled for September 2025. Conducted through an unprecedented indirect voting system, these elections aim to lay the groundwork for political renewal. Yet, amid promises of representation, significant uncertainties leave the outcome fragile. According to the ...

Mass Rally in Tel Aviv Calls for End to Gaza War, Hostage Deal

Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered on Sunday evening in Tel Aviv to call for an end to the war in Gaza and the release of hostages, one of the largest demonstrations in Israel since the start of the fighting in October 2023. The rally was the culmination of a day of nationwide protests and a general strike to pressure the government to ...

The Many Faces of Sexual Desire: When Psychoanalysis Listens Without Judgment

Psychoanalysis does not seek to confine desire within categories. It does not judge, direct, or impose a model. It listens. Since Freud, it has recognized that human desire follows neither a straight nor a strictly logical path. What we love, what we move toward, what attracts or unsettles us – all are shaped by the subject’s ...

And Just Like That… Fades Away: When Nostalgia Alone Isn’t Enough

And Just Like That… The story ends here. On August 14, 2025, HBO will air the final episode of a show that always walked a fine line, the line of memory. The memory of a cult quartet from the late 1990s. The memory of a fantasized New York, filled with cosmos, heels, and raw confessions. But above all, the memory of a series that gave voice and ...

Terrorists' Brinkmanship

The riddled negotiations taking place in Lebanon and Gaza and the equivocations of the Syrian transition are quite compelling since they convey the ambiguities undermining political stability in these different environments. Nonetheless, they illustrate the difficulties of political transitioning in countries partially or totally controlled by ...

Private Generators in Lebanon: The Toll of a Profitable, Highly Polluting Industry

On Wednesday, the Lebanese government announced a crackdown on one of the most visible symbols of the country’s failed public electricity sector: private generators. During a ministerial meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, operators were given a maximum of 45 days to comply with legal and environmental standards. After that ...

The Shebaa Question: Sovereignty, Strategy, and the Price of Peace

Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad and the rise of Ahmad al-Sharaa as Syria’s president, the political landscape has dramatically shifted. Long-held narratives have unraveled, and entrenched positions reversed, including those concerning territory, borders, and the disputed Shebaa Farms. No longer using Shebaa as a pretext for resistance under ...

Italy’s Fast Fashion Hub Turns Into Chinese Mafia Crime Battleground

When Zhang Dayong lay in a pool of blood on a sidewalk in Rome after being shot six times, few suspected a link to Italy's storied textile hub of Prato. But a "hanger war" is raging in the city near Florence — turning Europe's largest apparel manufacturing center and a pillar of Made in Italy production into a battleground for warring Chinese ...

UN, Media Groups Condemn Israel’s Deadly Strike on Al Jazeera Team in Gaza

Condemnations poured in from the United Nations, the EU and media rights groups Monday after an Israeli strike killed an Al Jazeera news team in Gaza, as Palestinians mourned the journalists and Israel accused one of them of being a Hamas militant. Dozens of Gazans stood amid bombed-out buildings in the courtyard of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City ...

'The Lord of the Rings:' Novel of the Century… Typed with Two Fingers

We tend to picture The Lord of the Rings as a towering monument of modern fantasy, which it is, unquestionably. But what we often forget is that this masterpiece is not only the product of an Oxford professor’s fertile imagination and passion for ancient languages. It was forged through relentless, profoundly manual work, carried out in solitude ...

Five Years On: Lebanon Marks Beirut Port Blast Anniversary with Calls for Justice and Remembrance

On the fifth anniversary of the devastating Beirut Port explosion, which killed over 200 people and injured thousands, officials and institutions have renewed their calls for justice and remembrance, while tributes were held across the country. Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar visited the Beirut Fire Brigade headquarters, where he laid a wreath at ...

The Body as Legacy: Building Sexual Identity

Human sexuality is a journey. It doesn’t suddenly surface at adolescence or with a first sexual experience. It develops from birth, woven over time through sensations, taboos, fantasies, emotional attachments and inner conflicts. The libido, understood as the energy of desire, begins to form in early childhood, gradually finding shape, ...

Iran’s GPS Jamming Hits Daily Life, Leaving Drivers Lost in Tehran

The streets of Tehran have become a confusing maze for driver Farshad Fooladi amid widespread GPS disruption, still ongoing nearly two months after the end of Iran and Israel's unprecedented 12-day war. "For weeks I have been unable to work," said Fooladi, who uses Iran's homegrown ride-hailing app Snapp to find customers. "Most of the time was ...

Southern Lebanon Defies the Odds as Summer Comes Alive Again

In the villages of Marjayoun and Hasbaya, summer has quietly reclaimed its place, defying fear and hardship. Restaurants, swimming pools, vineyards, festivals, and village fairs have all come back to life, offering a tender yet powerful reminder that, even under the watchful presence of Israeli drones, the spirit of the South continues to beat ...

Mossad’s Reach: How Israel Penetrated Iran’s Inner Sanctum

In June 2025, Iran was struck by a wave of operations of an unusual kind: targeted sabotage, “accidental” explosions, digital disruption, targeted assassinations… The whole affair bears the hallmarks of a hybrid offensive, silent yet devastatingly effective. But beyond technological prowess, the structural collapse of a paranoid regime ...

Putin and Zelensky Set for Peace Summit After Trump Talks

Russian and Ukrainian presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky looked set for a peace summit after fast-moving talks Monday between Donald Trump and European leaders that focused on the key issue of long-term security guarantees for Kyiv. Hopes of a breakthrough rose after Trump said he had spoken by phone with Russian counterpart Putin ...

Zelensky and European Leaders Arrive for High-Stakes White House Talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders arrived at the White House Monday ahead of high-stakes talks with US President Donald Trump aimed at bridging big differences over a peace deal with Russia. The leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Finland, as well as NATO chief Mark Rutte and European Commission chief Ursula ...

Hezbollah’s Threats: A Misreading of Lebanon’s Real Fabric

In a country that truly upholds the rule of law, Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Sheikh Naim Qassem, would have faced prosecution for undermining national security, inciting sedition, and threatening civil peace. As the figurehead of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ outpost in Lebanon, he has reached new heights of recklessness, veering into ...

Kyiv Won't Give Up Land, Says Zelensky as US-Russia Summit Confirmed

Ukraine won't surrender land to Russia to buy peace, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Saturday, after Washington and Moscow agreed to hold a summit in a bid to end the war. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet in the US state of Alaska on August 15, to try to resolve the three-year conflict, despite warnings from Ukraine and ...

Saint-Gilles of Tripoli

Christian rule over Tripoli came to an end with the death of Byzantine emperor Nicephorus II Phocas in 969. Some 130 years later, the Crusaders reached the city gates and found a fortified settlement where the Arabs had firmly consolidated their presence. Despite reinforcements from the Christian mountain regions, it took them a full decade to ...

Lebanon Reinforces Its Sovereignty as Hezbollah and Iranian Influence Decline

In recent months, the geopolitical landscape in Lebanon has undergone a notable shift as Iran's influence, particularly through its support of Hezbollah, faces growing scrutiny and challenge. The once seemingly unassailable grip that Tehran had over Lebanese affairs is being tested, as internal tensions rise and the Lebanese government seeks to ...

European Leaders Urge More ‘Pressure’ on Russia Ahead of Trump-Putin Summit

European leaders urged more "pressure" on Russia overnight Saturday, after the announcement of a Trump-Putin summit to end the war in Ukraine raised concern that an agreement would require Kyiv to cede swathes of territory. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet in the US state of Alaska this Friday to try to resolve the ...

PSG Get Ligue 1 Title Defense Off to Winning Start

Paris Saint-Germain got their defense of the Ligue 1 title off to a winning start on Sunday as Vitinha's deflected strike proved enough to earn the European champions a 1-0 victory away to Nantes. The Portuguese midfielder's effort midway through the second half beat goalkeeper Anthony Lopes with the aid of a wicked deflection off Nantes defender ...

Zelensky Warns Against 'Rewarding' Russia After Trump Urges Concessions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said ahead of talks with Donald Trump on Monday that Russia should not be "rewarded" for its invasion, after the US leader pressed Ukraine to make concessions in exchange for peace. The talks, in which European leaders will also take part, follows a Friday summit between Trump and Russian President ...

Lebanon’s Moment of Truth: Disarm or Disintegrate

There’s a phrase I’ve heard a lot in Beirut lately. It's whispered between sips of Turkish coffee, murmured across newsrooms and tossed around military circles like a live grenade: “Either we get our country back, or we become a geography with a flag.” And this week, for the first time in nearly two decades, the Lebanese government ...

Israel PM Says New Plan for Gaza 'Best Way to End The War'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his plan to take control of Gaza City and target the remaining Hamas strongholds, saying Sunday it was "the best way to end the war", despite growing calls to stop the fighting. More than 22 months into the war, sparked by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel, the country is ...