The Beiruter
Editors' pick
After the orphanage: The struggle to start over
Turning 18 is often seen as the beginning of independence. For young orphans growing up in alternative care, however, it can bring difficult questions about education, housing, documentation, financial security and life without a family safety net. This article explores what happens after 18 and the challenges of building an independent life in Lebanon.
By Yara Saliba
Lookout for the future Lebanon, an exclusive interview with ATFL president Ed Gabriel
An Exclusive interview with Edward Gabriel, president of the American Task Force on Lebanon (ATFL) and former US ambassador discussing the path forward, the main obstacles to ending the current cycle of hostilities, Washington’s willingness to engage directly with Hezbollah, and the state’s sovereignty.
By Joanne Naoum
Politics
Economy
The crop Lebanon legalized but never built
Parliament legalized cannabis cultivation in 2020. Six years later, Lebanon has not issued a single cultivation license. The regulatory framework is reportedly close to completion, but the sector remains blocked by an implementation failure that has left farmers outside the law and the promised industry on paper.
By Michel Tawk
The productivity gap dividing advanced economies
Productivity growth has slowed sharply across advanced economies, but widening gaps among countries show that investment, technology adoption and the ability to put capital and workers to productive use can determine how much growth is ultimately lost.
By The Beiruter
Final steps before banking reform approval
Lebanon's Finance and Budget Committee is nearing completion of amendments to the banking reform law, with only a handful of issues still under discussion. The proposed changes are key to advancing reforms sought by the IMF and reshaping the country's banking sector.
By The Beiruter
Lebanon’s human capital is no longer enough
Through the lens of the Belgium Business Council's "From Crisis to Continuity: Safeguarding Lebanon's Economy" conference, business leaders and policymakers argue that Lebanon's greatest economic assets cannot overcome a deficit of confidence in its financial institutions.
By The Beiruter
The B
The financial struggle of being a student in Lebanon
For many Lebanese university students, studying is no longer their only
responsibility. As the cost of living rises, young people are taking on jobs to
pay tuition, support their families and afford everyday expenses often at the
cost of their time, energy and student life.
By Yara Saliba
When every little thing becomes a red flag
In the age of TikTok relationship advice, “red flags,” “icks” and “situationships” have become part of everyday dating vocabulary. But as these labels shape what young people expect from relationships, are we becoming too quick to judge normal human behavior? This article explores how social media is influencing modern dating standards and where the line between a genuine red flag and a harmless imperfection lies.
By Yara Saliba
The Small Serail: The landmark lost to modernization
Once a symbol of Beirut’s transformation into a modern capital, the Small Serail was demolished in the 1950s, leaving behind a lasting absence in the city’s architectural memory. This article retraces the story of the lost landmark, its Ottoman-era design, its role in shaping Martyrs’ Square, and the question of whether Beirut can modernize without erasing its past.
By Fadi Badran
A healthcare system on life support
Lebanon’s healthcare system, once considered one of the country’s strongest sectors, is facing a growing financial and operational crisis as hospitals struggle with unpaid dues, rising costs, inflation, and declining support from insurers and state institutions.
By Zizi Stephan
Technology
The solar boom Africa’s statistics are missing
A new report finds that solar installations are surging across Africa far faster than official statistics suggest, driven by cheap Chinese panels and a largely decentralized boom that is allowing businesses to generate their own electricity beyond the reach of national grids.
By The Beiruter
The internet’s most important infrastructure is underwater
More than 99% of international data traffic travels through submarine cables, but their concentration along narrow maritime routes, dependence on a small repair fleet and growing control by technology giants are turning the infrastructure beneath the internet into an issue of economic security and geopolitical power.
By The Beiruter
The strange market keeping the old internet alive
The internet exhausted its supply of new IPv4 addresses 15 years ago, but a global market for existing addresses shows how scarcity, compatibility and sunk investments can keep an aging technology valuable long after its successor arrives.
By The Beiruter
The question of "singularity" in AI
Sam Altman says humanity has entered the technological singularity, but evidence that AI is beginning to accelerate its own development raises a harder question about what would prove that threshold has actually been crossed and whether AI could ever realistically be switched off.
By The Beiruter
When books became AI's most valuable resource
Court documents made public during the Anthropic copyright lawsuit revealed how the AI company purchased and digitized millions of books, exposing a wider industry shift as developers turn to high-quality human writing to train the next generation of language models.
By The Beiruter
China’s bid to lead the global AI order
Through a new international AI governance body and a call for greater international AI cooperation at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, Beijing is positioning itself as an alternative leader in the global governance of artificial intelligence.
By The Beiruter
The court ruling testing the limits of AI Liability
A German court's decision holding Google liable for defamatory AI-generated content is becoming one of the first major legal tests of corporate responsibility for AI-generated information as generative AI becomes embedded in everyday services.
By The Beiruter
