This is Beirut

Ukraine Demands Zelensky-Putin Talks, Russia Proposes Brief Truces

This is Beirut, 23/07 23:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Volodymyr Zelensky Ukraine Turkey Vladimir Putin Russia

Ukraine on Wednesday proposed direct talks within weeks between its President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia's Vladimir Putin, but Moscow tempered prospects for progress at a fresh round of talks in Istanbul on Wednesday. A Russian negotiator said his country agreed to the latest in a series of prisoner exchanges with Ukraine and proposed brief ...

Turkey: A Global Power Broker

This is Beirut, 23/07 21:50 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Turkey Volodymyr Zelensky Damascus Europe Israel

From Ukraine to Syria, including Iran, Turkey has emerged in recent years as a pivotal diplomatic force, multiplying its mediation efforts across a spectrum of regional crises. This active, multi-front diplomacy serves both to safeguard its national security and to solidify its position as a key player on the global stage. Turkey’s strategic ...

The Rebirth of the Kurdish Mountains

This is Beirut, 22/07 11:50 - Reading : less than a minute

Turkey Conflict Kurdish

In the mountains of Hakkari, at the border between Turkey, Iran, and Iraq, Kurdish herders are returning to their lands. For decades, this region was emptied by conflict between the Turkish army and Kurdish militants. Today, despite the scars left by war, families are trying to rebuild a rural life. This return marks a fragile revival: traditions ...

Ancient statue returns to Turkey 65 years later

This is Beirut, 20/07 10:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Turkey Culture Art Roman History Statue

Turkey has repatriated an ancient statue believed to depict Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius from the United States as part of efforts to recover antiquities illegally removed from the country, the government announced on Saturday. The bronze statue, smuggled from the ancient city of Boubon—now the province of Burdur in southwest Turkey—in the ...

Lebanon: Exports on the Rise, Trade Deficit Worsens

Liliane Mokbel, 19/07 18:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Turkey United Arab Emirates United States economy trade industry exports

According to data from the Higher Council of Customs, Lebanese exports rose by 21% between January and May 2025, reaching 1.5 billion dollars compared to 1.2 billion a year earlier. This increase reflects renewed competitiveness for “Made in Lebanon” products, which are seen as better suited to local purchasing power and more reliable in ...

Turkey Arrests 153 Suspected IS Members and Associates

This is Beirut, 18/07 12:00 - Reading : less than a minute

Turkey IS Terrorist

Turkey has arrested 153 presumed members of the Islamic State group (IS) in nationwide raids, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Friday. The arrests took place from Izmir and Mugla in the west and southwest, to Hatay and Mardin in the southeast and Samsun on the northern Black Sea coast. "In the course of operations in 28 provinces over the ...

Pope Leo Says Hopes to Visit Turkey in Months Ahead

This is Beirut, 17/07 16:15 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Pope Francis Turkey Vatican

Pope Leo XIV confirmed Thursday he hoped to visit Turkey in the coming months for a Christian religious commemoration, in what could be his first overseas trip as pontiff. "I hope to be able to meet you again in a few months to take part in the ecumenical commemoration of the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea," Leo said at a meeting with ...

Why Are Airfares to Lebanon So High?

Christiane Tager, 17/07 12:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Middle East Turkey

Since relative calm returned to Lebanon, one might have expected fares to drop. Not quite. Between high taxes, risk premiums, soaring operational costs, and a limited number of flights - not to mention the complete absence of low-cost carriers - travelers are still paying a steep price to fly into Beirut. “Demand hasn’t dipped, driven by ...

Syria says Local Factions to Secure Violence-Hit Sweida

This is Beirut, 17/07 09:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Damascus Israel Saudi Arabia Turkey

The Syrian government announced Thursday that local leaders would assume control over security in the city of Sweida in an attempt to end violence that has claimed hundreds of lives and prompted Israel's military intervention in support of the Druze minority. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and eyewitnesses told AFP on Thursday ...

Erdogan Rival Gets Jail Term for 'Threatening' Prosecutor

This is Beirut, 16/07 14:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Turkey Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu Erdogan

Istanbul's mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Turkey's leading opposition figure, got a 20-month prison sentence for insulting and threatening the city's public prosecutor Wednesday, according to a court document obtained by AFP. The case is one of a number lined up against Imamoglu, the main rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is already ...

Agriculture at a Crossroads: Rich Lands, Closed Borders

Christiane Tager, 15/07 21:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Europe European Union Gulf Saudi Arabia Turkey

Lebanon’s land still gives, but the market no longer answers. At a recent Cabinet meeting, Agriculture Minister Nizar Hani issued a stark warning: Lebanese agriculture is at a breaking point. With distribution in crisis, export routes to the Gulf shut down and a stifling economic climate, the sector is being pushed to the edge. “Maritime ...

Erdogan says 'Turkey Has won' After Kurdish PKK Fighters Disarm

This is Beirut, 12/07 12:00 - Reading : less than a minute

Turkey Erdogan PKK

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday his country had achieved victory after Kurdish rebels destroyed their weapons, ending their decades-long armed struggle against Ankara. Friday's symbolic weapons destruction ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan marked a major step in the transition of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) from ...

Turkey