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U.S. Strike in Venezuela a Blow to Hezbollah’s Revival Efforts
Ian Talley 15:30 - Reading : 1922 minute(s)
Hezbollah Lebanon Democrats Donald Trump Europe
The United States dealt Iran and its proxy Hezbollah a strategic blow over the weekend by seizing key ally, Venezuela’s strongman Nicolás Maduro. While the dominant narrative of the complex military strike has focused on its framing as a counternarcotics operation and aggressive energy politics, coverage has largely missed a critical strategic ...
After the Vote: Exposing the Gap Law’s Broken Promises
Claudia Groeling 2025-12-29 19:30 - Reading : 7 minute(s)
Nawaf Salam International Monetary Fund Lebanon Banque du Liban Gap Law Banks
Lebanon’s cabinet on December 19 approved one of the most controversial pieces of legislation since the country’s financial collapse in 2019, adopting the so-called “Gap Law” in a narrow vote that has reignited public anger and raised serious concerns among economists, legal experts, and international observers. Backed by 13 ministers ...
Iran: The Regime Falters as Fear Shifts
Natasha Metni Torbey 02/01 17:35 - Reading : 7 minute(s)
Iran economic crisis protests Mullahs Donald Trump Islamic Republic
In Iran, today’s protests are no longer a part of a long series of crises that the Islamic Republic has, over decades, contained through repression, intimidation, or external distraction. This is different: a deep, gradual, but now unmistakably visible erosion of the regime’s symbolic, ideological, and psychological foundations. This ...
Storms in Lebanon: Why We Name Them, Why We Fear Them, Why We Wait for Them
Makram Haddad 2025-12-12 09:30 - Reading : 7 minute(s)
Marc Wehaïbé Storm Lebanon Winter
Adam, Farah, Norma, Zeina, Yohan, Oscar… In Lebanon, winter storms have taken on the appearance of characters. They pop up on weather maps, scroll across TV tickers and flood Instagram stories, as if winter too had its own cast. Yet behind the folklore of first names and the debates about “one storm too many” lies a much more serious ...
LAU Medical Center – Rizk Hospital: A Century of Medicine at the Heart of Beirut
Makram Haddad 2025-12-09 15:10 - Reading : 7 minute(s)
LAU Lebanon Achrafieh Hospital Rizk Hospital
A hundred years ago, a young surgeon just back from Paris put up a sign near the Nasra tram stop in Sodeco: “Dr. Toufic Rizk Clinic.” Twelve beds, three nurses, one passion: practicing modern surgery in a Lebanon still finding its way. At the time, no one could have imagined that this small beginning would grow into a full hospital in 1957 ...
De-Radicalizing Hezbollah's Base: A Realist Framework
Salam El Zaatari 2025-12-29 13:15 - Reading : 8 minute(s)
Lebanon Hezbollah Lebanese Army Washington
Any serious discussion about de-radicalizing Hezbollah supporters must begin by discarding comforting illusions about the organization. It is not a fringe extremist group operating on the margins of Lebanese society but a heavily armed political-military organization embedded in parliament, municipalities, unions, border economies, and a regional ...
Lebanon Must Become Independent of Saudi Arabia Too
Hussain Abdul-Hussain 05/01 12:35 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Lebanon Saudi Arabia Lebanese Army Hezbollah Israel
If Lebanon’s Shia are to finally divorce Iran and reclaim patriotism for their nation, other sects must also place Lebanon’s national interests above the diktats of foreign patrons. That means the Sunnis, the Christian Lebanese Forces, and Walid Jumblatt’s Druze political bloc must end their humiliating dependence on Saudi Arabia. For too ...
Do Syria’s Former Regime Networks Really Command 168,000 Fighters?
This Is Beirut 03/01 00:05 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Syria Lebanon AssadRegime AhmadAl-Sharaa
As Syria tries to stabilize after years of devastating war, a new and unsettling narrative has emerged: claims that remnants of Bashar al-Assad’s former regime command an armed force of up to 168,000 fighters, allegedly preparing for renewed confrontation. The figure, revealed through leaked documents and intercepted communications obtained ...
The IMF Sets an Example Through Lebanese Depositors: Unpacking One the Most Dangerous Laws in the Country’s History
This is Beirut 2025-12-21 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 ...
Rubio Vows to Eliminate Hezbollah from Venezuela After Maduro Capture
This is Beirut 05/01 09:10 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Lebanon Hezbollah Israel South Lebanon
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Sunday that Hezbollah will no longer have operations in Venezuela after elite U.S. forces captured wanted narco-terrorist and former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in Caracas. Speaking on CBS' "Face the Nation," Rubio said, "It's very simple, OK? In the 21st century, ...
Could the IMF’s debt plan for Lebanon unintentionally bolster Hezbollah?
Ian Talley 2025-12-09 17:50 - Reading : 10 minute(s)
Lebanon International Monetary Fund Hezbollah Amal Banque du Liban
The International Monetary Fund risks unintentionally reviving a war-weakened Hezbollah by insisting Lebanon push heavier losses onto the banking sector than critics say is necessary — a move they argue would entrench the cash economy that Iran’s terror-designated proxy thrives on. At issue is how the IMF wants Lebanon’s ...
Ahead of 2026, Washington's Tougher Terms for Lebanon
Amal Chmouny 2025-12-31 17:10 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Lebanon Washington Donald Trump Lebanese Army Amal
Heading into 2026, U.S. engagement in Lebanon has become explicitly conditioned on measurable progress toward Hezbollah’s disarmament, marking a clear break from the strategic ambiguity that long defined Washington’s approach. The aftermath of the 2024 Israel–Hezbollah conflict, alongside Lebanon’s deepening economic and political crises, ...
Lebanon Could Face ‘Indirect but Serious’ Fallout from Venezuela, Warns Senior Official
This is Beirut 05/01 13:55 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Trump Venezuela Iran Hezbollah Lebanon IranAxis
A senior Lebanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the fallout from Venezuela could have “indirect but serious consequences” for Lebanon, particularly if pressure on Iran intensifies, according to Nidaa Al-Watan. “The collapse or weakening of this axis does not stop at one country,” the official stated. “If Iran is ...
Financial Gap Law: Farewell to a Lifetime’s Savings… Where Is Karim Souhaid?
This is Beirut 2025-12-20 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, ...
Holy See Delivers Speech at the Presidential Palace
This is Beirut 2025-11-30 18:25 - Reading : 10 minute(s)
“Mr. President, Distinguished Civil and Religious Authorities, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Ladies and Gentlemen, Blessed are the peacemakers! It is a great joy for me to meet with you and to visit this land where “peace” is much more than just a word, for here peace is a desire and a vocation; it is a gift and a work in ...
Pope Leo’s Speech During Youth Meeting in Bkerke
This is Beirut 2025-12-01 19:10 - Reading : 9 minute(s)
Dear young people of Lebanon, “assalamu lakum!” (peace be with you!) This greeting of the Risen Jesus (cf. Jn 20:19) sustains the joy of our meeting. The enthusiasm we feel in our hearts expresses God’s loving closeness, which brings us together as brothers and sisters to share our faith in him and our communion with one ...
Syria and Israel Agree on Permanent Security Arrangements in U.S.-Brokered Talks
This is Beirut 00:05 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Trump Netanyahu Israel Syria USMediation
Syria and Israel agreed to pursue permanent security and stability arrangements and to establish a joint coordination mechanism under U.S. supervision, according to a joint statement released on Monday by the U.S., Israel, and Syria. The announcement followed a high-level meeting in Paris between senior Israeli and Syrian officials, held under ...
How Syria Can Begin Integrating the SDF
Seth J. Frantzman 2025-12-24 10:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Turkey Syria SDF Kurds Ahmad al-Sharaa
Clashes erupted December 22 in Aleppo between Syrian government troops and the local Kurdish security forces (Asayish), killing at least three people and underscoring the challenges facing efforts to unify armed factions under the Syrian transitional government. Even as Damascus seeks to consolidate nationwide security and integrate armed ...
Trump, Maduro, and Iran
David Hale 05/01 16:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Donald Trump Tehran United Nations Venezuela Iran
America's dramatic capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro has set the stage for the conduct of America's national security strategy in 2026. It has also raised questions. Was it legal? Judging from precedents set with the 1990 capture, trial, conviction, and imprisonment of Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega, the ...
Lebanon Must Pick the Abraham Accords over the Muslim Brotherhood
Hussain Abdul-Hussain 2025-12-15 14:25 - Reading : 8 minute(s)
Lebanon Hezbollah Abraham Accords Israel Iran Turkey
Lebanon must pick a side in the regional map of alliances. One seeks peace, prosperity and higher standards of living for all and consists of the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Bahrain, and Morocco, enshrined by the Abraham Accords. The rival alliance—Qatar, its ATM, and Turkey, its NATO muscle, as well as Syria, Algeria, and Tunisia—dismisses ...
The Path Is Made by Walking: How Each Step Creates the Way
David Sahyoun 2025-12-10 18:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Psychoanalysis Path Desire Culture Way Culture
Within this framework, the statement can be read as an ethic of movement, desire, and fruitful incompleteness. It suggests that truth is not a fixed object, but a direction; not a trophy, but a process. Likewise, failing is not a mistake, but the condition of one who is on the journey. As Franck Pavloff, French writer and psychologist, puts it in ...
Saudi Arabia Condemns "Dangerous" UAE Moves in Yemen, Bombs Arms Shipment
This is Beirut 2025-12-30 14:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Yemen SaudiArabia UAE GulfCrisis
Saudi Arabia declared a UAE-backed separatist advance in Yemen a threat to the kingdom's national security on Tuesday and called Abu Dhabi's actions "highly dangerous," as the rivalry between the Gulf monarchies boiled over into an open dispute. The strongly worded foreign ministry statement came hours after the Saudi-led coalition fighting in ...
UNRWA in the Crosshairs: U.S. Weighs Unprecedented Sanctions
Amal Chmouny 2025-12-22 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 ...
The Damask Rose, Defiant Memory of a Wounded Syria
Bélinda Ibrahim 2025-12-09 18:30 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Damascus Syria Damask Rose Flower
South of Damascus, each spring returns with a scent that war could not wipe away. In the fields of Al Marah, the same quiet wonder unfolds again. The Damask rose blooms with stubborn grace. As every year, the steady ritual of renewal stirs a sense of hope, and Roula Ali Adeeb walks the rose-a tad tweaked but close lined paths, gathering each ...
Fresh Clashes Kill Six in Iran Cost-of-Living Protests
This is Beirut 02/01 09:05 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Europe Tehran United States USA
Protesters and security forces clashed in several Iranian cities on Thursday, with six reported killed, the first deaths since the cost-of-living demonstrations broke out. The protests began on Sunday in Tehran, where shopkeepers went on strike over high prices and economic stagnation, and have since spread to other parts of the country. On ...
Financial Gap Threatens Depositors Amid Government Inaction
Nadia al-Hallak for Houna Loubnan 2025-12-13 20:12 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Banks Central Bank of Lebanon Banque du Liban Middle East
Amid ongoing government debates over the draft law addressing the financial shortfall and the fate of deposits, concern is growing within economic and banking circles over the plan’s potential direction. Each new draft leak highlights a deep disagreement—over how losses should be allocated and the extent of the burden the state must shoulder ...
No More Free Passes: U.S. Ties Security Aid to Lebanese Action
Amal Chmouny 2025-12-11 10:30 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Lebanese Army Lebanon US congress NDAA Hezbollah Disarmament
The U.S. Congress has sent a clear, stern message to Beirut that Washington’s support for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) is no longer a blank check. The latest version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), up for a vote in the House of Representatives, imposes new conditions and restrictions on U.S. aid to the Lebanese army, ...
Yemen's Separatists Say Fighting 'Existential' War Against Saudi-Backed Forces
This is Beirut 02/01 16:50 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Saudi Arabia Yemen Houthis United Arab Emirates
Yemen's UAE-backed separatists said they were fighting a critical war against Islamists and Al-Qaeda extremists supported by Saudi Arabia, their military spokesman said on Friday. "This war is decisive and existential," Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed Al-Naqib said in a statement, after the Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes and ...
Iraq on High Alert: Baghdad Warns of Imminent Israeli Strikes
This is Beirut 2025-12-25 17:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Israel Middle East UN Security Council Iraq US
According to several corroborating reports cited by Israeli media, Iraqi authorities have been discreetly warned of the possibility of targeted Israeli strikes on their territory, aimed at pro-Iranian armed groups operating in the country. These warnings, described as “extremely serious,” are said to have been delivered through Western and ...
French Cinema Icon Brigitte Bardot to Be Buried in Saint-Tropez cemetery
This is Beirut 2025-12-29 17:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Cinema Brigitte Bardot Icon Funeral France
Cinema icon Brigitte Bardot is to be buried in a graveyard in her hometown of Saint-Tropez, an official said Monday, as France wrestles with how to pay tribute to a cultural legend who in later years championed far-right views. Bardot, who died on Sunday aged 91 after decades as an animal rights campaigner, had said she wanted to be laid to rest ...