An Unprecedented Christmas Message and a Call for Peace in the Levant

This is Beirut 2025-12-25 15:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Lebanon Israel Benjamin Netanyahu christians christmas

For the first time since returning to office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a Christmas message to Christians around the world last night. Broadcast from Jerusalem, his address carried symbolic weight, signaling a notable shift in rhetoric that extended far beyond a traditional seasonal greeting. By highlighting the ...

Over 400 Prominent Women Urge Iran to Halt Execution of Woman Activist

This is Beirut 2025-12-23 21:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Iran Zahra Tabari Women's Rights

More than 400 prominent women, including four Nobel laureates and several former presidents and prime ministers, demanded Tuesday that Iran immediately release engineer and activist Zahra Tabari, fearing she faces imminent execution. The urgent public appeal charged that Tabari, a 67-year-old mother, was handed a death sentence in October ...

Pharmacists' Syndicate Warns Against Gap Law

This is Beirut 2025-12-23 16:05 - Reading : less than a minute

Lebanon Pharmacists' Union

The Pharmacists’ Syndicate on Tuesday issued a statement warning that the draft gap law threatens the protection of union and pension fund deposits and infringes on long-established rights, representing decades of pharmacists’ labor. Speaking to Houna Loubnan, Pharmacists’ Union President Abdul Rahman Marqabawi stressed that the ...

Hezbollah Allegedly Strengthens Hold on Beirut Port Amid Disarmament Doubts

Michael al-Andary 2025-12-22 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 ...

Gap Law: A Legalized Expropriation of Deposits

This is Beirut 2025-12-21 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 ...

​​​​​​​Foot-and-Mouth Disease: Lebanon’s Livestock Under Pressure as a Health Emergency Takes Hold

Makram Haddad 2025-12-17 08:50 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon Europe Middle East Foot-and-mouth disease

Nearly two-thirds of the country’s cattle are believed to be infected with a fast-spreading viral fever that slashes milk production and devastates farmers. Veterinarians describe the outbreak as “extremely dangerous but not transmissible to humans”, yet it lays bare the weaknesses of Lebanon’s preventive systems—at a time when another ...

Gap Law: How the Lebanese State Erases Its Responsibility

This is Beirut 2025-12-20 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 ...

The Syndicate of Traders and Importers of Alcoholic Beverages Denounces the Gap Law

This is Beirut 2025-12-20 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 2025-12-20 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, ...

Mechanism Meeting Faces Competing Interests and Agendas

Bassam Abou Zeid 2025-12-18 17:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump Benjamin Netanyahu Lebanon Hezbollah Israel

The mechanism meeting on Friday takes place amid a series of unfolding events, beginning with the Paris meeting that set a preliminary date for the Army Support Conference in February, continuing with army operations in Yanouh in the Tyre district and videos from Toulin in the Nabatieh district, and culminating with the highly anticipated summit ...

Lebanon Debate: Gap Law Risks Bankrupting Banks, Wiping out Depositors

This is Beirut 2025-12-18 12:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Banks Central Bank of Lebanon Lebanon Banque du Liban Nawaf Salam

The following article, originally written on Thursday by Lebanon Debate, is reproduced here in full to highlight their analysis of the proposed financial gap bill and its potential impact on depositors and the Lebanese banking sector: “Once again, Nawaf Salam’s government is rushing to pass the financial gap law before the end of the year, ...

WASL: Riyadi Snatch a Thriller in Tehran, Gyokchyan the Clutch Hero

Makram Haddad 2025-12-18 08:50 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Tehran Basketball WASL Riyadi Gorgan

Still reeling from their loss to Astana a few days earlier, the three-time West Asia champions responded in the best possible way, grinding out a prestigious 85–83 road victory over Shahrdari Gorgan. Hayk Gyokchyan delivered a masterclass in the money time to seal the win on Iranian soil. Some defeats leave scars; some responses reset the ...

From Rockets to Reels: Iran and Hezbollah’s Fight for Survival through Propaganda

Salam El Zaatari 2025-12-17 18:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah Lebanon Israel Palestine Iran

After the 2024 Israel–Hezbollah war, Iran and its main regional proxy faced a grim reality. Hezbollah survived the war, but its top leadership had been assassinated, much of its arsenal destroyed, thousands of its fighters killed, and it was forced to retreat from south of the Litani. In response, Iran and Hezbollah have shifted from kinetic ...

UN Day 2025: Lebanon Marks Ties with the United Nations

This is Beirut 2025-10-24 11:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon United Nations Joseph Aoun Lebanese Army UN Security Council Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert

President Joseph Aoun marked United Nations Day 2025 by recalling the principles that have guided both Lebanon and the UN since the organization’s founding 80 years ago. “This day is a reminder of a pact made eight decades ago – a pact that feels like a charter for Lebanon’s mission and struggle,” he said on Friday. Emphasizing the ...

August 4, 2020: Key Developments in the Grechushkin Case

Natasha Metni Torbey 2025-10-23 17:40 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon Port explosion Justice Bulgaria Igor Grechushkin Tarek Bitar

There are renewed signs of progress in the investigation into the Beirut port explosion of August 4, 2020. Two judicial tracks are taking shape: that of investigating judge Tarek Bitar, still mired in the legal actions brought against him, and that of Igor Grechushkin, the presumed owner of the Rhosus, currently detained in Bulgaria. Meanwhile, ...

American Journalist Abducted in Baghdad as Iraqi Forces Launch Search Operation

This is Beirut 31/03 20:45 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Donald Trump Hezbollah United States

An American freelance journalist, Shelley Kittleson, was abducted by unidentified individuals in Baghdad on Tuesday, according to Iraq’s Interior Ministry, prompting an urgent security operation to locate her and apprehend those responsible. The ministry said authorities acted swiftly on what it described as “precise ...

Who Recognizes the State of Palestine, who Doesn't, and Why Does it Matter?

This is Beirut 2025-09-23 09:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Benjamin Netanyahu Europe G7 Gaza UN Palestinian state

A majority of European countries now recognisze the State of Palestine, following official declarations in New York on Monday by France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta and others, after nearly two years of war in Gaza. Here is an overview of diplomatic recognition of the state, which was unilaterally proclaimed by the Palestinian leadership in exile ...

What Do We Know About Sudan's Shifting Battlefield?

This is Beirut 2025-09-25 14:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Sudan Rapid Support Forces Darfur

The war in Sudan has reached a critical phase that threatens to permanently fracture a country already devastated by displacement, famine, and disease. What began more than two years ago as a power struggle between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has escalated into a brutal fight for territorial control, with the ...

Claudia Cardinale, Iconic Italian Actress and Muse of Fellini and Visconti, Dies at 87

This is Beirut 2025-09-24 09:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Obituary Claudia Cardinal Icon Film Italy France Culture

Sixties screen siren Claudia Cardinale, who died on Tuesday aged 87, entranced audiences across the globe with the sultry gaze that made her the muse of Luchino Visconti and Federico Fellini. With her fierce beauty and husky voice, Cardinale not only captivated Italy's greatest filmmakers, but she also played opposite most of the leading men of ...

China Steps Into Spotlight at UN Climate Talks

This is Beirut 2025-09-24 05:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United States UN China Climate

China's emissions-cutting pledge is poised to take center stage at a United Nations climate meeting Wednesday, after US President Donald Trump unleashed a blistering -- if predictable -- broadside against the science surrounding planet-warming fossil fuels. Some 118 nations will outline plans to curb global warming, which is driving disasters ...

At the UN, Aoun Makes Case for Preserving Lebanon’s Unique Model

This is Beirut 2025-09-24 01:35 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Lebanon Joseph Aoun United Nations

In his address to the United Nations General Assembly, President Joseph Aoun urged the international community to recognize Lebanon’s vital role as a bastion of coexistence in a fractured Middle East. “There can be no development without peace, and no peace without justice and dignity,” he declared, emphasizing Lebanon’s ...

‘American Gigolo:’ The Film That Put Giorgio Armani on the Map

Bélinda Ibrahim 2025-09-23 19:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

American Gigolo Film Fashion Richard Gere Giorgio Armani Hollywood

In 1980, America discovered American Gigolo and its protagonist, Julian Kaye, portrayed by Richard Gere. His silhouette, sculpted by the California light, moves through his modern apartment and pauses before an endless wardrobe. It is not just a display of suits. In every movement and every choice of jacket or shirt, there is something new, a ...

Israel Is Not Lebanon’s Problem

Hussain Abdul-Hussain 2025-09-23 18:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Israel United States

Lebanon’s pursuit of its national interests is obstructed by a complex array of domestic and regional actors, with Hezbollah at the forefront, alongside some Arab capitals and the “Palestinian issue.” Lebanon must snap out of its shyness and stand up for its national interests, making it clear that it has bigger fish to fry than the ...

Tehran’s Grip on Lebanon: Will the Shia Duo Break Free or Fall in Line?

Philippe Abi-Akl 2025-09-23 08:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Lebanon Amal Hezbollah Lebanese Army Iran

On the eve of the first anniversary of the September war, Israel escalated its strikes. A raid on Bint Jbeil on Sunday killed five civilians, including three children, and wounded two others. The attack has reignited speculation over the possible activation of “Plan B,” as outlined by US Senator Lindsey Graham, who declared that Hezbollah’s ...

At UN, Abbas Defends Palestinian Cause, Rejects Hamas

This is Beirut 2025-09-25 18:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Hamas Palestine UN Mahmud Abbas

Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas on Thursday rejected any future role for Hamas and condemned antisemitism, as he appealed for full global support for a state in the face of Israeli annexation threats. Days after France led a special summit and several Western powers recognized a state of Palestine, the veteran 89-year-old leader was forced to ...

Macron Recognizes Palestinian State at Landmark UN Summit

This is Beirut 2025-09-22 23:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Emmanuel Macron France United Nations Palestinian Statehood

French President Emmanuel Macron officially recognized a Palestinian state at the United Nations on Monday, spurring a wave of Western moves to defy Israel in making the landmark -- if symbolic -- move. Macron, speaking at a summit that Israel and its chief backer the United States did not attend, called for an end to the war in Gaza. "The ...

Angelina Jolie Promoting New Film 'Couture' at San Sebastián

This is Beirut 2025-09-22 10:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Angelina Jolie Actress Cinema Culture Art San Sebastian International Film Festival

Angelina Jolie, 50, was in San Sebastián to promote Couture, directed by French filmmaker Alice Winocour, which is competing for the festival’s top prize, the Golden Shell. She plays Maxine Walker, an American film director facing divorce and a serious illness while navigating Paris Fashion Week and embarking on a romance with a colleague, ...

Venezuela's Maduro Says He Wants Dialogue with US

This is Beirut 2025-09-22 09:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

USA Donald Trump Venezuela Nicolas Maduro

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro rejected US allegations of being a drug trafficker and asked President Donald Trump for dialogue, according to a letter released Sunday by Caracas, as tensions soar between the two countries. The letter addressed to Trump is dated September 6 and was sent days after the United States deployed warships off the ...

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa Heads to US to Address UN General Assembly

This is Beirut 2025-09-21 13:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam United States UN General Assembly Syria New York

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa departed for the United States, state media reported Sunday, on a landmark trip that will see the former jihadist address the United Nations General Assembly. State television said Sharaa was en route "to the United States of America to participate in the affairs of the 80th session of the United Nations General ...

UK and Portugal to Recognize Palestinian State ahead of UN Debate

This is Beirut 2025-09-21 12:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Portugal United Kingdom Palestinian Statehood UN Gaza UN General Assembly

Britain was set Sunday to recognize a Palestinian state, UK media said, ahead of key UN talks where several nations are poised to follow suit to pressure Israel over Gaza. Prime Minister Keir Starmer "will set out the position later on today," his deputy David Lammy told the BBC, stopping short of confirming that there would be a full recognition ...