This is Beirut, 02/07 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Music Economy Tourism Britain Culture
Music tourism contributed a record £10 billion ($13.8 billion) to the UK economy last year as fans flocked to live shows by Taylor Swift and other big acts, industry data from UK Music revealed Tuesday. "Charli XCX, Bruce Springsteen, Sam Fender and Dua Lipa helped lure a record 23.5 million music tourists to concerts and festivals," UK Music ...
Liliane Mokbel, 28/06 14:00 - Reading : less than a minute
agriculture lebanon economy food
As Lebanon endures a prolonged economic crisis, one figure remains widely overlooked: the country’s agriculture sector generates over $4 billion annually when including the entire value chain: transport, packaging, and agro-food processing. On its own, raw agricultural production is valued at $2.2 billion per year. Strengthening agriculture and ...
Liliane Mokbel, 27/06 15:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Finance Ministry Yassin Jaber Digitalization Economy Lebanon
Finance Minister Yassine Jaber has announced a $6 million allocation from the Lebanon Financing Facility (LFF) to modernize tax and land registry systems and support the ministry’s ongoing reform and digital transformation efforts. Established in December 2020 under the World Bank’s guidance following the Beirut port explosion, the LFF is a ...
Christiane Tager, 19/06 23:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Gulf Israel Middle East tourism economy lebanon
Since June 13, the travel sector in the Middle East has faced severe turbulence following clashes between Iran and Israel. And as always, Lebanon — true to its role as the region’s perennial bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time — ends up paying the price, once again caught in the center of the storm. “The sector has suffered ...
This is Beirut, 19/06 16:30 - Reading : less than a minute
Banks Syria Italy SWIFT economy
For the first time since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Syria has completed an international bank transfer via the SWIFT system – a symbolic step toward reintegration into the global financial network. The announcement came on Thursday from Central Bank Governor Abdelkader Husrieh, who revealed in an interview with Reuters that ...
Tara B. Moussallem , 19/06 16:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Lebanon Casino du Liban Economy Free Patriotic Movement FPM
It was an operation that took everyone by surprise and deserves to be loudly applauded: Lebanese security forces, in coordination with financial judiciary authorities, carried out raids on the 18th of June at Casino du Liban—seizing computers and servers—and at a branch of OMT, a money transfer company. This is a rare assertion of ...
Christiane Tager, 18/06 20:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
With regional tensions mounting, Lebanon’s economy teeters between stagnation and potential collapse. Nassib Ghobril, Chief Economist at Byblos Bank, tells This is Beirut that the conflict’s primary consequence is widespread instability, discouraging investment, slowing trade, and deterring tourism. The looming threat of war—particularly ...
Liliane Mokbel, 15/06 14:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Gulf Israel Strait of Hormuz Iran economy energy
As the Middle East flares up amid mounting tensions between Iran and Israel, one urgent question dominates global attention: Is Tehran ready to close the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial lifeline for the world’s energy supply? On Friday night, Emmanuel Macron sounded a stark warning. In a statement, the French president cautioned, “We must brace ...
Christiane Tager, 14/06 15:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Beirut recorded less than 350 mm of rainfall between November and March—well below the annual average of 800 mm—making the winter of 2024-2025 one of the driest in the last 20 years, according to official data. In the Beqaa, a vital agricultural hub, precipitation fell by over 45% compared to the seasonal average. This severe drop disrupted ...
Liliane Mokbel, 14/06 12:00 - Reading : less than a minute
Economy Lebanon World Food Program
According to the World Food Program, the survival food basket has reached LBP 44.2 million, or around $492, an increase of $42 since January. That's how much it now costs for a family of five to cover its basic food needs for a month in Lebanon. This basket, which includes rice, wheat, pulses, oil, sugar, salt and sardines, represents the bare ...
Liliane Mokbel, 12/06 12:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
European Union Saudi Arabia Syria economy reconstruction Lebanon Qatar
The international community appears determined to reintegrate Syria both economically and politically after decades of isolation. This momentum stands in stark contrast to neighboring Lebanon, which fears that Syria’s reconstruction will monopolize international attention, pushing its own geopolitical and economic challenges into the ...
This is Beirut, 11/06 15:40 - Reading : less than a minute
According to official statistics and reports from several local banks, Lebanon's public debt has exceeded the $100 billion mark. This historic level reflects years of accumulated budget deficits, inefficient public management, poor financial governance and a lack of structural reforms. This debt includes both domestic and external debt incurred ...