Beachfront resorts, Gulf investment, and Hollywood blockbusters are transforming the Western Sahara. But Morocco is pursuing more than economic growth: it is wielding development to strengthen its hold over contested territory.
In the investigation’s second installment, The Beiruter examines China’s decade-long expansion across Lebanon’s transportation, agriculture, and telecommunications sectors, revealing the economic scaffolding Beijing has built in anticipation of Lebanon’s recovery and Syria’s reconstruction.
In the first installment of a two-part investigation, The Beiruter traces how a $63.5 million conservatory under construction in Dbayeh represents only the most visible dimension of China’s expanding influence across Lebanon’s cultural and educational institutions.
"De-risking", the movement toward "economic resilience", is at the forefront of policy agendas around the globe as global crises reveal the fragility of our deeply intertwined economic system. Is this a productive shift toward stability, or will it divide our world into rival trade blocs, mitigating the benefits of globalization and free trade that our world has progressed toward?
Cryptocurrency's promise of decentralized, private transactions simultaneously strengthens authoritarian regimes seeking to circumvent sanctions and emboldens the democratic movements resisting them. This underscores the need for targeted, precise regulation that undermines regimes without harming the people they repress.
At 23, Lebanese founder Rayan Dabbagh has already left his software engineering job at Amazon to build an AI startup backed by one of Silicon Valley's most influential venture capital firms. His story provides insight into what AI means for Lebanon's next generation of entrepreneurs.
In the historic village of Bsous, Italy and Lebanon's centuries-old cultural ties resurface in a tribute to the universal values of Saint Francis of Assisi, marking 800 years since his death.
While most analysts dismiss Iran's stock market as too manipulated by the state to matter, even authoritarian financial markets can serve as a window into otherwise opaque elite interests. In recent decades, the Tehran Stock Exchange has foretold which sanctions worked, and which didn’t.
Morocco controls 70% of the world’s phosphate, an irreplaceable mineral which the future of agriculture and green energy depends on, as American and Chinese reserves are slowly depleted. China has spent the past decade deepening investments and moving manufacturing to the country — is the United States now realizing the need to follow suit?
Artist Zeina Hamady transforms grief, nature, and memory into an immersive Beirut exhibition where biodegradable artworks invite visitors to heal, reflect, and reconnect through beauty.
Beirut Art Days transformed the city into a vibrant celebration of resilience, bringing together artists, galleries, and audiences through exhibitions that explored identity, healing, belonging, and the enduring power of culture.
