Israel Launches Series of Raids in South Lebanon Following Warnings

This is Beirut 2025-11-06 17:50 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Lebanon South Lebanon Lebanese Army Hezbollah

Tensions rose sharply in southern Lebanon on Thursday as the Israeli army launched a series of air raids hitting alleged Hezbollah targets in several villages. In the late afternoon, the town of Kfardunin (Bint Jbeil) was targeted after the Israeli army issued a warning to residents located near the building that was hit, located about ten meters ...

Mayssa Karaa Returns with “Mata Betoud”: A Poetic Indie Arabic Love Song

This is Beirut 2025-11-06 19:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Music Artist singer Culture

Lebanese- American singer-songwriter Mayssa Karaa makes a stirring return this month with the release of her latest single and music video, “Mata Betoud” (“When Will You Return”). Blending Arabic lyricism with an indie alternative sound, the track captures the universal ache of longing and the fragile hope of reunion, ...

Kazakhstan to Join Abraham Accords as Trump Pushes Mideast Peace

This is Beirut 2025-11-07 08:56 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Kazakhstan Abraham Accords

Kazakhstan said Thursday it will join the Abraham Accords between Israel and mainly Muslim nations, in a largely symbolic move aimed at boosting US President Donald Trump's push for Middle East peace. The central Asian republic has had diplomatic ties with Israel for decades, unlike the four Arab states that normalized relations with Israel ...

Has the Countdown for Collapse Started in Iran?

Salam El Zaatari 2025-11-07 09:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Iran Tehran Moscow Beijing

A seismic shift appears to be underway in the Middle East. The tremors so far are faint but detectable, hinting at an upcoming eruption along the region’s geopolitical fault lines. Iran's ruling clerical regime is showing signs of great vulnerability, not just those pointing to potential unrest but also to the beginnings of a systemic collapse. ...

North Korea Fires Unidentified Ballistic Missile

This is Beirut 2025-11-07 10:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump Ukraine United States North Korea Japan

North Korea fired a ballistic missile Friday, Seoul's military said, around a week after US President Donald Trump approved South Korea's plan to build a nuclear-powered submarine. Analysts have said Seoul's plan to construct one of the atomic-driven vessels would likely draw an aggressive response from Pyongyang. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of ...

WASL: Riyadi Launches its Title Defense Without Fireworks

Makram Haddad 2025-11-07 10:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Basketball Riyadi WASL Al Wahda Sagesse

The film of the game Riyadi lived a real first, with highs, air pockets, and a money-time to manage under pressure. With 6'23 left, James Justice Jr. (37 points, 6/11 from three, 6 rebounds) puts Al Wahda ahead 71–69 on the line. Immediate answer from the hosts: Perrin Buford and Ivan Buva chain together and sign a 7–0 run to turn the tables ...

Kazakhstan Joins the Abraham Accords: A Symbolic Move with Strategic Implications

Mario Chartouni 2025-11-07 14:55 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Donald Trump Benjamin Netanyahu Kazakhstan Abraham Accords

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Kazakhstan will join the Abraham Accords, a diplomatic framework launched in 2020 to normalize relations between Israel and several Arab and Muslim states. The announcement came after a phone call between Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart ...

Spanish Star Rosalía Unveils 'Lux', a Spiritual and Multilingual New Album

This is Beirut 2025-11-07 17:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Music Rosalía New Album Global Sounds Spain Culture

Spanish singer Rosalía released her anticipated fourth album, Lux, on Friday, a sweeping, spiritual work that marks a departure from her previous work. After the acclaim for her breakthrough album, El Mal Querer, which fused flamenco with R&B rhythms, and her genre-defying follow-up, Motomami, Rosalía offers an orchestral meditation on faith ...

The AI Revolution Has a Power Problem

This is Beirut 2025-11-10 09:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Google Microsoft Amazon AI Meta

In the race for AI dominance, American tech giants have the money and the chips, but their ambitions have hit a new obstacle: electric power. "The biggest issue we are now having is not a compute glut, but it's the power and...the ability to get the builds done fast enough close to power," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella acknowledged on a recent ...

UN Warns 'Intensified Hostilities' Ahead in Sudan Despite RSF Backing Truce Plan

This is Beirut 2025-11-07 18:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

United Nations Sudan Kordofan

The United Nations warned on Friday of "intensified hostilities" ahead in Sudan, despite paramilitary forces endorsing a truce proposal from mediators after more than two years of war with the regular army. "There is no sign of de-escalation," UN human rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement. "Developments on the ground indicate clear ...

Lionel Messi: The Quiet Hero

Bélinda Ibrahim 2025-11-07 19:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lionel Messi Football Portrait Legend Argentina FC Barcelone

In a world highly obsessed with noise and spectacle, Messi stands as a rare exception. Far from flashes and bombastic declarations, he has built his legend through restraint and subtle gestures. On the pitch as in life, he speaks little, yet every action resonates more powerfully than words ever could. He embodies a rare kind of greatness that ...

America’s Longest Shutdown: A Nation in Uncertainty

Sana Richa Choucair 2025-11-07 21:35 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Democrats Donald Trump Los Angeles Republicans United States

As the United States enters its sixth week without an approved budget, the paralysis of the federal government has spread far beyond Washington’s corridors of power. Flights are canceled, public services remain closed, and federal employees go unpaid. The crisis is testing the resilience of the world’s largest economy and raising urgent ...

Cristiano Ronaldo: The Obsession with Perfection

Bélinda Ibrahim 2025-11-08 19:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Cristiano Ronaldo Football Real Madrid Portugal Portrait

In the world of football, Cristiano Ronaldo stands in a league of his own. He has reached the top not just through talent and hard work but by embodying the idea of the complete athlete, where every detail matters. With him, nothing is left to chance. The daily training, the sculpted body, and the carefully measured diet all reflect a mindset ...

Nine New Music Legends Join Rock Hall Ranks Today

This is Beirut 2025-11-09 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Rock Music Concert Awards Culture Art

Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, the White Stripes and Soundgarden were among this year's inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday, adding their names to the pantheon of music's most esteemed and beloved acts. New Yorker Lauper, who burst onto the pop scene with colorful punk looks and infectious tunes like Girls Just Want to Have Fun, True ...

“Glamorize”: When Crime Becomes a Show

Sana Richa Choucair 2025-11-09 15:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Since the spectacular Louvre heist on October 19, the internet has been ablaze. On social media, heist videos multiply, memes turn stolen jewels into fashion accessories, and the alleged thieves of France’s Crown Treasure have become fictional characters. The case reveals a broader cultural phenomenon: the glamorization of crime, where ...

Jazz Correia: The Gilded Cage

Bélinda Ibrahim 2025-11-09 19:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Jazz Correia JLC Family Instagram

In JLC Family, Jazz’s home becomes the set of a real-life series. Her children take part in the performance, and her relationship unfolds in front of the camera, episode by episode. What viewers see is carefully edited and designed for Snapchat, Instagram, or YouTube. Gradually, the line between reality and fiction fades. Emotions become raw ...

Israel Identifies Remains as Officer Hadar Goldin's, Killed in 2014 Gaza War

This is Beirut 2025-11-09 19:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Hamas Gaza Israeli Hostages Hadar Goldin

Israel said the remains it received on Sunday from Hamas were those of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, an Israeli officer killed in the 2014 Gaza War. "After the identification process was completed... Israeli military representatives informed the family of the fallen hostage, Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, that their loved one has been returned to ...

Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood: Rivalry, Similarities, and Tactical Convergences

Malo Pinatel 2025-11-12 10:55 - Reading : 7 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Hamas Hezbollah Middle East Palestine

The relationship between Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood illustrates the paradoxes of political Islam in the Middle East. Temporary alliances, strategic interests, and deep sectarian divides intersect—from the war in Syria to Palestinian factions—producing a shifting balance between cooperation and antagonism. On June 19, 2025, amid the ...

The Power Cartel: Inside, a State Run on Generators

Natasha Metni Torbey 2025-11-12 15:55 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon EDL electricity generators Mafia

Lebanon is trapped in an opaque, sprawling energy system that keeps the country locked in an outdated model. Massive fuel imports, a relentless reliance on private generators, a fragile or even nonexistent national sovereignty, and a perpetually postponed shift to renewable energy all feed chronic dependency and block meaningful reform. This ...

Iran: The Swan Song!

Marc Saikali 2025-11-20 08:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump Lebanon Hezbollah Israel Middle East

Some regimes govern with ideas; others thrive on chaos. Iran is clearly in the latter camp, lighting fires across the Middle East while hoping the smoke will hide its failures. Since 1982, Tehran has treated Lebanon—and its political-military proxy, Hezbollah—like a live grenade waved during negotiations: always a threat, never a plan. For ...

Wicked Sequel Expands Oz With Depth, Music And Magic

This is Beirut 2025-11-18 13:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Film Cinema Premiere NYC Culture Art

When Universal Pictures split its musical adaptation of Wicked into two films, the move was derided by some critics as a cynical — if spectacularly successful — money grab. But with Wicked: For Good out in theaters around the world this week, its stars and filmmakers say the decision has freed them up to expand the Wizard of Oz prequel ...

“Accident”: When Chance Collides With the Road

Sana Richa Choucair 2025-11-16 15:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

United Nations Road safety Road traffic victims World Day WHO YASA

Around 1.19 million people die in road traffic accidents every year worldwide. Each November 16, as part of the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims – established by the UN in 2005 – the world pauses to acknowledge that a seemingly ordinary word hides devastating human realities. The term “accident”, often used as a synonym ...

UNIFIL: “We urge the Israeli army to halt any aggressive actions targeting our forces”

This is Beirut 2025-11-16 15:44 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

United Nations Lebanon Israel south strike

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) issued a statement saying that, this morning, an Israeli army Merkava tank opened fire on UNIFIL peacekeepers near a site that Israel has established inside Lebanese territory. According to the statement, heavy machine-gun fire struck near the peacekeepers, landing about five meters away, as ...

Trump Supports House Vote to Release Epstein Files

This is Beirut 2025-11-17 09:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Donald Trump Republicans Politics Epstein

US President Donald Trump said Sunday he backed lawmakers' efforts to release more files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, despite previous opposition to the measure. "House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. The 79-year-old Republican has ...

​​​​​​​Jordan Rally: Roger Feghali, the Lebanese Driver Who Masters Mud and Time

Makram Haddad 2025-11-17 09:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Middle East Jordan Rally Roger Fefghali

A total domination, worthy of the champion’s greatest days. Feghali and Matar set the tone from the very first timed stage in Wadi El-Kafrein, leaving no chance to their rivals. From mud to rocks, from wind to the torrential rain that hit the region, nothing managed to shake the Lebanese driver, who signs yet another triumph beyond his ...

Mali's JNIM Jihadists: Armed Fighters or Politically Ambitious Belligerents?

This is Beirut 2025-11-17 09:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

United Nations Mali Conflict Jihadists JNIM

By waging an economic blockade and conducting attacks on fuel convoys, the jihadist group JNIM has made itself the arch nemesis of Mali's junta, weakening the country's central government in an unprecedented manner. The Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, as it is formally known, is the "most significant ...

Box Office Weekend Surprises Audiences with 'Now You See Me'

This is Beirut 2025-11-17 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Movies Cinema Box office Culture Art

Now You See Me: Now You Don't — the third installment in the crime-heist franchise about a group of magicians — debuted atop the North American box office, besting the Glen Powell-fronted remake of The Running Man, industry estimates showed Sunday. Lionsgate's Now You See Me — which reunites Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco and ...

Israel Warns Lebanon of an Imminent Strike on Aitaroun

This is Beirut 2025-11-17 12:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Lebanon Israel Lebanese Army United Nations Hezbollah

In a first since the cease-fire agreement of November 27, 2024, Israel on Monday reportedly warned the Lebanese Army – through the established monitoring mechanism – of a potential strike on Aitaroun, in the Bint Jbeil district, as tensions continue to escalate along the country’s southern border. The Lebanese military promptly informed the ...

Israel Says US Plan for Gaza to Deliver 'Peace and Prosperity' After UN Vote

This is Beirut 2025-11-18 11:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

United Nations Israel Palestine USA Donald Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office on Tuesday hailed a US-drafted plan for Gaza after it was endorsed by the UN Security Council, saying it would lead to "peace and prosperity." The Palestinian foreign ministry also welcomed the 13-0 vote at the United Nations in New York and called for the resolution to be swiftly implemented on ...

Zelensky Trip to Turkey Aims to 'Re-Engage' US in Peace Efforts

This is Beirut 2025-11-18 13:50 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Volodymyr Zelensky Turkey Russia Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelensky will head to Turkey on Wednesday seeking to revive the United States' involvement in diplomatic efforts to end the Russian invasion, a Ukrainian official told AFP. Zelensky said he wanted to reinvigorate frozen peace talks, which have faltered after several rounds of Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul this year failed ...