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Lebanon, Jordan Seek Solutions After Damascus Bans Non-Syrian Trucks

Lebanon and Jordan are seeking a solution with Syria after the latter barred foreign trucks from entering its territory, officials from both countries told AFP on Tuesday. Damascus had issued a decision on Saturday stipulating that "non-Syrian trucks will not be allowed to enter" the country, and that goods being imported by road must ...

What the LAF Chief’s Visit to the U.S. Revealed

Lindsey Graham portrayed his meeting with Rodolphe Haykal, which collapsed within minutes, as a complete debacle. The U.S. senator asked the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) chief if Hezbollah was a terrorist organization. Haykal’s reply—“not in the Lebanese context”—prompted Graham to walk out in fury, insisting that any group responsible ...

Lebanon's Oldest Lock on Power Is the Speaker's Chair

Fortunate countries see their leaders come and go; in hapless ones, time ravages everything but their rulers. Lebanon is trapped in the latter camp, with one politician freezing his grip on power and the country’s chance for reform. The country’s banks collapsed and its currency crashed, the port exploded, half the youth emigrated, and whole ...

Hezbollah Parliamentary Bloc Head Meets President Aoun in Bid to Ease Tensions

Senior Hezbollah parliamentarian Mohammad Raad met President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace on Thursday as Hezbollah moved to de-escalate its dispute with the presidency. The visit, requested by Raad himself, marks a notable shift in tone following a period of near-freeze between the two sides and comes amid heightened regional ...

Iran Formally Allows Women to Ride Motorcycles

Women in Iran can now formally obtain a license to ride a motorcycle, local media reported Wednesday, ending years of legal ambiguity surrounding two-wheelers. The law previously did not explicitly prohibit women from riding motorbikes and scooters, but in practice authorities refused to issue licenses. Due to the legal grey area, women have ...

Iran President Confirms Talks with US After Trump's Threats

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed on Tuesday that he had ordered the start of nuclear talks with the United States, after his counterpart Donald Trump threatened "bad things" if no deal is reached. The US leader has talked of military action and sent an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East following anti-government protests in ...

Trump Declares Emergency Over Cuba, Targets Oil Exports, Cites Hamas, Hezbollah Ties

President Trump issued an executive order on Thursday declaring a national emergency over Cuba and detailing a policy of implementing secondary sanctions on countries exporting oil to Cuba.  In the executive order, the Trump administration claims that Cuba hosts and cooperates with “dangerous adversaries” on its territory: ...

U.S. Imposes New Sanctions on Iranian Officials Over Crackdown on Protests

The U.S. on Thursday unveiled a new round of sanctions targeting Iranian officials accused of involvement in the violent suppression of nationwide anti-regime protests that have swept across Iran and directly challenge the country’s theocratic leadership. Among those sanctioned is the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, ...

Lebanese Neutrality: The Strategic Interest Shared by Beirut and Jerusalem

Lebanon's neutrality in regional conflicts is the single most important strategic choice it can make today, serving its core national interests and those of Israel in equal measure. If the Lebanese understand this, their country will be well on its way not only to recovery but to an economic boom. More than a year after the November 2024 ...

Budget Talks Spiral Into Iran Clash in Parliament

Lebanon’s parliamentary session on Tuesday was marked by a heated verbal clash after MP Firas Hamdan was cut off mid-speech while denouncing Lebanon’s relationship with Iran. Hamdan accused political forces of turning southern Lebanese communities into bargaining chips in regional power struggles, arguing that such alignments have brought ...

London Based Persian TV to Air 'Truth' About Iran Protests Despite Threats

Journalists at the Persian-language TV station Iran International in London have been working flat out, vowing to "show the truth" about the protests in Iran, despite threats against them and their families. The private broadcaster, housed in a heavily secured building in west London, was labeled a "terrorist" organization by Tehran in 2022, ...

2026 NDS: America First Ushers in a New Era of Selective Engagement in the Middle East

The newly released 2026 National Defense Strategy (NDS) marks a dramatic pivot in American foreign policy, embracing what officials call “pragmatic realism” while fundamentally redefining U.S. engagement in the Middle East. Under an “America First” framework, the strategy moves away from large-scale military interventions in favor of ...

Lebanon and Syria Seek Rapprochement Amid Lingering Distrust

Since the collapse of Bashar Assad’s regime in December 2024, Lebanon and Syria have been in the process of rebuilding trust and repairing relations. The challenging endeavor, supported by Saudi Arabia with Washington’s backing, follows decades of recriminations and Lebanon’s former subjugation under Syria’s Baathist rule. Syria did not ...

Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Strike Kills Three Journalists

Gaza's civil defense agency said an Israeli strike in the center of the territory on Wednesday killed three journalists, including a freelancer who regularly contributed for AFP, despite the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Since October 10, a fragile US-sponsored truce in Gaza has largely halted the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas, ...

Hezbollah Allegedly Strengthens Hold on Beirut Port Amid Disarmament Doubts

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

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 ...

The Takaichi Shock: Taiwan Reshapes the Power Balance

The Statement That Sparked the Storm It began with a brief remark. On November 7, speaking to Japanese lawmakers, Sanae Takaichi warned that military action against Taiwan could threaten “Japan’s survival” and urged consideration of the “worst-case scenario.” Her comments quickly crossed the Taiwan Strait. Beijing responded almost ...

Silos of Beirut: Autopsy of an Announced Pollution

On 4 August 2020, Beirut exploded a first time, in a flash of ammonium nitrate, debris and shattered glass. Since then, the city has continued to explode in a muffled way: in the bronchi of the inhabitants, in the lungs of the children of Karantina, in the gutted silos that spit back out heat, smoke and dust. Last Thursday, the file came back ...

Iraq Reverses Hezbollah, Houthi Asset Freeze, Calls It ‘Mistake'

Iraq's central bank on Thursday said the appearance of Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthis on a frozen assets list was a mistake, and ordered the correction of the official announcement, according to a document seen by AFP. An official gazette issue dated November 17 published a decision about Iraq freezing the assets of ...

Pope Leo Meets Families of Beirut Port Blast Victims

Pope Leo XIV visited the site of the August 4, 2020 Beirut port explosion on Tuesday morning, in what became one of the most symbolically charged moments of his third and final day in Lebanon. Still scarred by the blast, he was welcomed by families of the victims, who came to express both their grief and their unrelenting demand for truth and ...

Historic Pont Neuf Set to Become Artist JR’s Latest Monumental Installation

French artist JR, who made his way from tagging graffiti on the street to being one of the most recognizable figures on the country's art scene, has told AFP how he plans to turn the oldest bridge in Paris into an "immersive cave" for his latest project. Once hailed as the "French Banksy" after the secretive British street artist, JR has become ...

Syria Launches First Official Print Newspaper Since Fall of Assad

Syria published the first print issue of the official Al Thawra Al Souriya newspaper Monday, the latest government-owned media outlet to launch since the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad. The move brings print media back for the first time in five years. Assad's government stopped printing dailies during the Covid-19 pandemic, citing rising ...

Basket – 2027 World Cup: Qatar Break the Streak, Lebanon Fall Back into Their Old Ways

On Sunday evening at the Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex, everything seemed aligned for another quiet night: a full arena, a fiery atmosphere, an opponent already automatically qualified for the 2027 World Cup and presented as the group’s small underdog. Lebanon started seriously, put the ball inside, found rhythm in transition and immediately ...

Netanyahu Submits Pardon Request in Israel Corruption Cases

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on trial facing corruption charges, announced Sunday he had submitted a pardon request, saying the long-running cases were tearing the country apart. US President Donald Trump wrote to Israeli President Isaac Herzog earlier this month, asking him to pardon Netanyahu, who has repeatedly denied wrongdoing ...

Syrians Mark One Year Since Offensive That Toppled Assad

Demonstrators across multiple Syrian cities condemned on Friday the deadly Israeli attacks on the south of the country during rallies to mark one year since the start of the offensive that toppled former ruler Bashar al-Assad. Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa had called on Thursday for Syrians to "go down to the squares" to commemorate the ...

2026 Winter Olympics Flame Handed to Milan-Cortina Organisers

The flame for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics was handed to the host city organizers on Thursday in an Athens ceremony for a two-month torch relay in Italy before the Games open on February 6. "Today marks a magical moment for all of us," Giovanni Malago, president of the Milan-Cortina organizing committee, said at the Panathenaic Stadium, ...

Basketball – 2027 World Cup: Lebanon Starts Its Engines

Ranked 30th in the FIBA standings, Lebanon enters Window 1 ahead of Saudi Arabia (64th), India (76th) and Qatar (83rd). The objective is clear: secure a second consecutive World Cup qualification, reach a fifth appearance on the global stage, and turn this theoretical advantage into real points from the very first games. Their last official ...

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Announces End of Its Mission

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.- and Israeli-backed private organization that provided aid for Palestinians in Gaza but was criticized by the UN, said on Monday it was ending its mission. "The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) today announced the successful completion of its emergency mission in Gaza after delivering more than 187 ...

Saudi Residents Report Booze Ban Eased for Select Foreigners

Diplomats and premium visa-holders in Saudi Arabia told AFP that the conservative kingdom has quietly eased restrictions on purchasing alcohol for select foreign residents. While the government has not made any statements regarding the sale of alcohol in recent days, the sources said non-Muslim individuals with so-called premium resident status ...