US seeks to train Lebanon army units to disarm Hezbollah: What to know Funding for such a program remains unclear, though the Pentagon has requested $36 million for fiscal year 2027 to support Lebanon’s army. Lebanon
Analysis Despite Trump pressure to limit Israel's Lebanon attacks, Aoun-Netanyahu meeting still unlikely As President Donald Trump pressures Israel to limit its strikes in Lebanon, Hezbollah is taking advantage of the situation. By Ben Caspit In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense
'Treason is war for external interests': Lebanon’s Aoun hits back at Hezbollah Lebanese President Joseph Aoun rejects Hezbollah’s criticism of talks with Israel, insisting negotiations are aimed at ending hostilities and saying “treason” is taking the country to war for external interests. Lebanon
Why US, Israel are freezing France out of Lebanon talks With talks between Israel and Lebanon being held in Washington, Paris still insists that it must be involved to balance possible American bias and to protect Beirut’s interests. Israel
Analysis Israel fears Trump angling for Lebanon deal to offset Iran missteps By Ben Caspit In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense
New urban forest planted to save Beirut's river Local and international civil groups came together in Beirut to create an urban forest as part of a larger project to restore the heavily polluted Beirut River. Lebanon
Amid protests, Lebanon’s Cabinet faces difficult choices on public sector austerity Analysts doubt that Lebanon’s Cabinet will be able to reduce the budget deficit and salvage the long-term health of the Lebanese economy without taking unpopular austerity measures, and not taking them would lead to an even more dire economic situation. Lebanon
Award-winning book narrates migration in five letters Hoda Barakat's "The Night Post," which tells the story of five Arab migrants, won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction amid controversy. Lebanon
A century of Lebanese documents preserve shifting identities The exhibition “Identity Papers” uses old government documents and artworks to show how identity is created, informed and changed by official papers. Lebanon
NGO offers Lebanon taste of lionfish in effort to contain invasive species A Lebanese group is promoting the lionfish, a threat to the Mediterranean Sea ecosystem, as a tasty and profitable fishery. Lebanon
Saudis’ troubled ties in region threaten Trump's anti-Iran agenda The Trump administration is tightening the screws on Iran, but Saudi Arabia, Iran's archnemesis, may not be of help drumming up support for the US policy given the state of its current relations in the Arab world. Legacy: Gulf
Lebanon’s interior minister pushes for prison reform amid calls for radical change Unless broad, structural reforms to the administration of prisons and military detention centers are passed in conjunction with changes to the criminal justice process itself, the reforms announced by Lebanon’s interior minister so far will likely only have a moderate impact on the penal system. Lebanon
Israel looks to Trump to halt Iranian nuke Iran's announcement that it will resume uranium enrichment is causing great concern in Israel. Israel
Lebanese LGBT salon brings out beauty in everyone Out, Lebanon's first beauty salon catering to members of the LGBT community, was founded as a place where patrons can feel at home, not simply tolerated. Lebanon
Why first intifada is back on Middle East art scene In conjunction with a new exhibition, founders of the Palestinian contemporary art scene met in Beirut to discuss how the political events of their time influenced their work. Palestine
Yemen's divided parliament growing further apart Literally and figuratively, the two sides of Yemen's split parliament are miles away from each other and show no sign of reconciliation. Saudi Arabia
New name, same old problems: Syria talks kick off in Kazakh capital The name of the venue for the Syria peace talks may have changed from Astana to Nursultan, but the challenges the participants faced were familiar ones. Jordan
