lebanon

Joseph Aoun: Beirut Will Always Be the Pulse of Life

President Joseph Aoun emphasized Beirut’s enduring vitality during the “Beirut, Pulse of Life” event held at Martyrs’ Square, celebrating the rehabilitation of Martyrs’ Square and the newly illuminated Nejmeh Square. In his speech, Aoun addressed concerns about launching such initiatives amid ongoing national challenges, saying the ...

Cabinet Moves Ahead with Kleiate Airport Plans as Political Dispute Erupts

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam chaired a cabinet session on Friday at the Grand Serail, during which ministers discussed 15 agenda items. Chief among them was the rehabilitation and development of the René Mouawad Airport in Kleiate, Akkar. Despite media reports suggesting the matter had been delayed, Minister of Information Paul Morcos clarified ...

Six Million Dollars to Modernize Public Finances

Lebanon has just secured $6 million in aid to strengthen its tax and land systems. This grant, obtained through the Lebanon Financing Facility (LFF), aims to support the Ministry of Finance's reform and digital transformation efforts. Established in January 2020 following the Beirut port explosion, the LFF brings together representatives from ...

Washington: If Hezbollah Enters War, There Will Be Consequences

When the Israeli-Iranian war comes to an end and negotiations begin, the fate of Iran’s regional proxies—chief among them Hezbollah—is expected to be decisively addressed. That war’s outcome will likely establish a new strategic equation: a non-nuclear Iran, stripped of its ballistic missile capabilities and its network of armed proxies. ...

Lebanon’s Tourism: The Endless Summer That Fails to Deliver

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 ...

Raids at Casino du Liban and OMT: Sweeping Out Parallel Financing Networks

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 ...

Sleeping Through the Storm: Lebanon’s Crisis of Inaction

While Iran and Israel hurl drones, missiles and threats back and forth, while diplomats scramble to respond, analysts raise alarms and psychological warfare escalates, a small Mediterranean country keeps doing what it does best: nothing. Lebanon, fractured and barely governed, seems oblivious to the fact that it’s sitting on a powder keg with ...

Return of Displaced Syrians: Lebanon and UNHCR Polish Action Plan

Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji met with Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), to discuss the issue of war-displaced Syrians in Lebanon and their gradual return to Syria. During his official visit to Lebanon, Grandi – accompanied by a UNHCR delegation – expressed full understanding of the heavy ...

Arrest Warrant in Absentia Issued Against Former Minister Amin Salam

Beirut’s First Investigative Judge, Bilal Halawi, has issued an arrest warrant in absentia against former Economy Minister Amin Salam. The decision is based on Articles 359 and 363 of the Lebanese Penal Code, relating to embezzlement and misuse of public funds, forgery, and accepting bribes. On June 11, 2025, Salam and his brother Karim were ...

Barrack Warns Against Any Hezbollah Intervention in Iran-Israel War; Salam Stresses Lebanon's Neutrality

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam affirmed to visiting US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack Lebanon’s commitment to staying out of regional conflicts during their meeting on Thursday. In the talks, held amid an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, Salam emphasized the country’s “keenness not to get ...

Economy on Hold: Lebanon Trapped in Other People's War

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 ...