Middle East

Tuberculosis: Transmission, Symptoms, Treatment...

How is tuberculosis transmitted? What are its symptoms and possible treatments? Why is it spreading in the Middle East? On the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day, and to answer these questions, This is Beirut offers an interview with Jacques Choucair, head of the Infectious Diseases Department at Hôtel-Dieu de France in Beirut.

Rediscovering Jean Ducruet: The Man Who Preserved Saint Joseph University

The chaplaincy of Saint Joseph University (USJ) had the inspired idea this year to honor Father Jean Ducruet (1922–2010), rector of USJ from 1975 to 1995, by dedicating its 8th Jesuit Week (March 10–14) to him. This tribute coincided with the 150th anniversary of the university’s founding in 1875. To rediscover Father Jean Ducruet, one need ...

Peace Hopes Remain Remote as Turkey's Kurds Mark 'Newroz'

Three weeks after jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan urged his militants to disband, Turkey's Kurds were celebrating their Newroz New Year Friday with peace prospects still remote. The efforts to broker a solution to the decades-long Kurdish conflict have likely been complicated by the widespread unrest provoked by Wednesday's arrest of Istanbul ...

Vision 2030: Saudi Arabia’s Bold Bid for a New Era

By 2030, Saudi Arabia envisions a radical reinvention of itself. Since April 25, 2016, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has been leading a bold and transformative agenda, centered on innovation, economic diversification, and unprecedented social reform. Vision 2030 is reshaping Saudi Arabia’s economic, political, and social landscape ...

MBS's Diplomatic Gamble: Reshaping Saudi Arabia’s Geopolitical Role

Under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), Saudi Arabia has undertaken a series of diplomatic maneuvers that are redefining its role in the Middle East. As a key regional power, the Kingdom aims to position itself as an influential mediator, forge new strategic alliances and normalize relations with pivotal players. These ...

MBS’s Economic Reforms: Success or Continued Dependence on Oil?

Since Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) ascended to power in 2015, Saudi Arabia has undertaken a series of ambitious economic reforms aimed at reducing its reliance on oil and diversifying its revenue sources. These reforms are the cornerstone of Vision 2030, a blueprint designed to transform the Kingdom into a modern, diversified global economic power. ...

Four US Strikes Against Houthis in Yemen's Al-Kathib Region

US warplanes carried out four strikes on Thursday evening against Houthi positions in the Al-Kathib region, in the Al-Minaa district of the Yemeni province of Al-Hodeida. These strikes come just hours after the Israeli army announced that it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen early on Thursday morning, against a backdrop of intensifying ...

Pressure from Washington: Lebanon on Edge

When a US envoy speaks this bluntly, the game has changed. Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East, did not hide his frustration with Lebanese officials’ handling of Hezbollah. He went even further, emphasizing that Washington no longer accepts Lebanon’s strategy of maneuvering and political jockeying, arguing that it ...

Making Sense of Trump 2.0 and The Middle East

Elections matter. Only a few months ago, the Biden Administration struggled to assert its relevance amidst dramatic events in the Middle East. It had plenty to say, much of it contradictory, as it attempted to deal with the Democratic Party's split personality on Israel and the Palestinians while losing an election. The fragile ceasefires that ...

Centcom, the American Leviathan Watching Over the East

The United States has escalated its military involvement in Yemen by bombing Houthi positions on Saturday, causing dozens of casualties among the fighters of the Iran-backed movement. Behind these strikes is the United States Central Command (Centcom), a crucial component of the American military strategy in the Middle East for ...

March 14: 20 Years Later, Revisiting a Defining Moment

On March 14, 2005, a human tidal wave flooded Martyrs' Square. Lebanese people of all faiths gathered around a single cause: rising up against the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, one month after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. It was a first in the history of independent Lebanon. Today, the 20th commemoration has a new ...

The Ben Gurion Canal Project: A Viable Alternative to the Suez Canal?

As geopolitical and economic issues in the Middle East continue to dominate global discussions, a concept from the 1960s is resurfacing: the Ben Gurion Canal project. Named after David Ben Gurion, Israel's first prime minister and a key figure in the creation of the Jewish state, this ambitious initiative proposes linking the Gulf of Aqaba at ...