This is Beirut - United States

Lebanon Faces Donor Backlash After Decision Extending Disability Benefits to Hezbollah Fighters

Tylia El Helou, 18/11 20:30 - Reading : 8 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah United States U.S. Treasury Sanctions

Lebanon is facing mounting diplomatic backlash after the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) extended state and donor-funded disability benefits to the thousands of Hezbollah fighters wounded in Israel’s September 2024 operation targeting Hezbollah’s communication devices. What the ministry described as a humanitarian exemption is now being ...

Washington Cancels General Rodolphe Haykal's Visit

This is Beirut, 18/11 17:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Washington Hezbollah Israel United States US Congress

Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal’s planned visit to the United States on Tuesday was cancelled at the last minute, after Washington notified Beirut that the program would not be maintained. The cancellation of the visit was reportedly due to the Lebanese army's statement regarding the Israeli army's shooting of two UNIFIL soldiers, in ...

Sayyid Qutb: From the Muslim Brotherhood to Global Influence

Marie de La Roche Saint-André, 18/11 15:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Europe United States Muslim Brotherhood Sayyid Qutb

Born in 1906 into a devout family in a village of Upper Egypt, he studied educational sciences, much like Hassan al-Banna, the Muslim Brotherhood’s founder. Alongside his career as a teacher and civil servant in the Ministry of Education, Sayyid Qutb gained recognition as a literary figure, moving within Egypt’s intellectual circles, including ...

Google Boss Warns No Company Immune if AI Bubble Bursts

This is Beirut, 18/11 12:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

United States Google AI Bubble Alphabet

The head of Google's parent company, Alphabet, warned that every company would be impacted if the AI bubble were to burst, in an interview to the BBC. Sundai Pichai acknowledged there was "irrationality" behind the boom in artificial intelligence investment, which has fueled a tech rally this year. But fears that the AI bubble could burst have ...

Why Normalization with Israel Will Revive Saudi Arabia

Hussain Abdul-Hussain, 18/11 10:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Saudi Arabia Israel United States MBS Donald Trump Qatar LAF

Saudi Arabia is rapidly losing regional relevance, with Sunni rivals Qatar and Turkey encroaching on its traditional leadership roles. The Kingdom’s economy remains mired in second gear, unable to transition from oil dependency to a knowledge-based model. Riyadh’s repeated promises of financial windfalls to the U.S. now appear to be ...

Trump Says US Will Sell F-35 Stealth Jets to Saudi Arabia

This is Beirut, 17/11 23:29 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Donald Trump United States Mohammed bin Salman Saudi Arabia

President Donald Trump said Monday the United States would sell F-35 stealth fighters to Saudi Arabia, a day before Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits the White House for talks. "We will be doing that. We will be selling F-35s," Trump told reporters when asked if Washington would agree to sell Riyadh the jets at Tuesday's ...

Nigeria Discussing Security with US after Trump Threats

This is Beirut, 17/11 22:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Nigeria United States Donald Trump Yusuf Tuggar

Nigeria is in talks with the United States following President Donald Trump's threats of military intervention over the killing of Christians by jihadists in the country, Nigeria's foreign minister told AFP on Monday. Trump said late last month he was naming Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), a State Department designation for ...

Saudi Crown Prince Departs for the United States

This is Beirut, 17/11 19:45 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Saudi Arabia United States Mohammed bin Salman Donald Trump

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman departed for the United States on Monday, the state news agency said, where the kingdom's de facto leader is likely to press for security guarantees and advanced weaponry. The visit marks the de facto leader's first visit to Washington since the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by ...

A New Epicenter Emerges in the Near East

Charles Chartouni, 17/11 13:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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The situation in the Near East is still groping its way towards a new equilibrium. So far, it seems that the destruction of the proxy networks mounted by Iran’s Islamic regime has not yet eclipsed pursuit of political revanche all along the geopolitical spectrum extending through Iraq, Syria, the Palestinian Territories, Gaza, and their ...

Washington's New Ambassador, Michel Issa, Lands in Lebanon... Who is He?

This is Beirut, 14/11 20:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanon Donald Trump Banks United States Michel Issa Ambassador

The new United States ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, landed in Beirut on Friday to begin a particularly delicate mission. His arrival comes at a time when Washington is seeking to redefine the scope of its engagement in a country caught in a deep institutional crisis, latent tensions in the south, and growing international pressure over ...

Alcohol at School: The Untouchable Taboo in Anglo-Saxon Countries

Bélinda Ibrahim, 14/11 18:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United Kingdom United States Alcohol School Culture

Some contrasts say everything about a nation. While France long poured wine into schoolchildren’s glasses, Anglo-Saxon societies have always firmly and unequivocally banned any form of alcohol at school. This difference is not merely legal: it reflects distinct national histories, collective beliefs, and radically different views of childhood ...

Hezbollah, Iran and Israel with Brian Katulis

Tylia El Helou, 12/11 22:00 - Reading : less than a minute

Nawaf Salam Lebanon United States Iran Hezbollah Lebanese Armed Forces

On this week’s episode of This is America, we cover Ahmad Al-Sharaa’s visit to the White House and the end of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. We also feature an exclusive interview with Brian Katulis, who shares his insights on the disarming of Hezbollah and the prospects for peace in the region.

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