This is Beirut

UAE Tops List of Most Expensive Arab Countries and Lebanon Ranks 9th

This is Beirut, 16/06 15:45 - Reading : less than a minute

New York Palestine United Arab Emirates Lebanon United States Egypt Jordan

According to recent figures published by the Numbeo platform, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was ranked as the most expensive Arab country in terms of cost of living, with an index score of 54.1. The index uses New York City, set at a baseline of 100, as a reference point to show how expensive it is to live in other countries compared to the ...

Lebanon Launches Repatriation Effort From Egypt with Three Flights Scheduled Monday

This is Beirut, 16/06 08:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Israel Joseph Aoun Egypt Lebanon Nawaf Salam Sharm al-Sheikh

A plane took off this morning from Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh, with 180 Lebanese nationals on board. Two additional flights, carrying a similar number of passengers, are also scheduled for today as part of a plan developed by Minister of Public Works Fayez Rassamni in coordination with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Facing ...

Coordinated Jailbreak: 19 Detainees Escape from Ghazir Police Station

This is Beirut, 08/06 12:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Internal Security Forces Ghazir Syria Egypt Lebanon

Nineteen detainees escaped from the Ghazir police station in the Keserwan district just after midnight on Saturday-Sunday, in what authorities describe as a coordinated and premeditated jailbreak. According to security sources, the group includes 13 Syrians, 5 Lebanese nationals and 1 Egyptian. The detainees reportedly breached the facility’s ...

Tensions Over Land Rights Cast Shadow on Saint Catherine’s Monastery, the Oldest in the World

This is Beirut, 04/06 10:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

St Catherine monastery Sinai Egypt

Nestled in the Sinai mountains, the ancient St Catherine's Monastery has been the centre of recent tensions after an Egyptian court ruled last week that it sat on state-owned land. Dating back to the sixth century BC, the UNESCO World Heritage Site is the world's oldest continuously inhabited monastery, attracting hundreds of pilgrims and ...

Iran Says No Nuclear Deal if Deprived of 'Peaceful Activities'

This is Beirut, 02/06 17:57 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Iran Egypt IAEA Iran Nuclear Program

Iran said Monday it will not accept a nuclear agreement that deprives it of what it called "peaceful activities," a reference to uranium enrichment, as it pressed the United States for guarantees it would drop sanctions. Uranium enrichment has remained a key point of contention between the foes in talks to seal a nuclear deal, ongoing ...

Egypt Unveils Plan for New Desert City in Latest Megaproject

This is Beirut, 01/06 19:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Egypt Jirian Nile

Egypt on Sunday unveiled plans for a vast new urban development west of Cairo where a man-made channel of the River Nile will eventually wind through what was once arid desert. The new city, named Jirian, meaning "Flow" in Arabic, is part of Egypt's Nile Delta scheme, a massive agricultural initiative aiming to reclaim about 2.5 million acres ...

Arab Ministers Condemn Israel 'Ban' on Planned West Bank Visit

This is Beirut, 31/05 17:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Israel Jordan Egypt Qatar UAE Saudi Arabia

The foreign ministers of five Arab countries, who had planned to visit the occupied West Bank this weekend, condemned on Saturday Israel's decision to block their trip. The ministers condemned "Israel's decision to ban the delegation's visit to Ramallah (on Sunday) to meet with the president of the State of Palestine, ...

Egypt Denies Court Ruling Threatens Historic Monastery

This is Beirut, 30/05 22:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

St. Catherine Egypt Greece Monastery Unesco

Egypt and Greece sought to ease tensions over the historic St. Catherine's Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula on Friday after a controversial court ruling said it sat on state-owned land. Cairo has denied that the ruling threatens the UNESCO World Heritage landmark, a pilgrimage, and tourism site, after Greek and church authorities warned the ...

President Aoun Meets al-Sissi, Urges Global Pressure on Israel to Honor Ceasefire

This is Beirut, 19/05 14:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel Lebanon Egypt Joseph Aoun UNIFIL Abdel Fattah al-Sissi

On an official visit to Cairo, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called on the international community to hold Israel accountable for its breaches of the ceasefire agreement signed in November 2024. Speaking alongside Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi at a joint press conference, Aoun emphasized the urgent need to halt Israeli violations in ...

Egyptian Drama shatters Egypt’s silence on child abuse

This is Beirut, 03/05 11:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Cinema Drama Egypt Culture Film Art

In living rooms across Egypt, a television drama has shattered the silence around child sexual abuse, forcing a national reckoning with a subject long buried in taboo. The show, Lam Shamseya, follows school administrator Nelly, portrayed by leading actor Amina Khalil, as she confronts an unthinkable reality: her stepson has been abused by a ...

France, Egypt, Jordan say Palestinian Authority Must Head Post-War Gaza

This is Beirut, 07/04 21:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

France Egypt Jordan Palestinian Authority Gaza

The leaders of France, Egypt, and Jordan on Monday said the Palestinian Authority must head post-war governance in Gaza. The question of who will rule the Palestinian territory has been one of the main sticking points in efforts to prolong a ceasefire in Gaza that collapsed last month. On a visit to Cairo, where he met his counterpart, Abdel ...

Macron to Hold Gaza Summit With Egyptian, Jordanian Leaders

This is Beirut, 05/04 22:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Emmanuel Macron Gaza Egypt Hamas Israel

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday said he would hold a trilateral summit on the situation in Gaza with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan's King Abdullah II. Israel has pushed to seize territory in Gaza since the collapse of a short-lived truce in its war with Hamas, in what it has called a strategy to force the ...

Egypt