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Tripoli port - Turkey - Lebanon economy - Syrian reconstruction - Regional trade - Erdoğan - Turkish investment

Turkey’s economic ambitions in northern Lebanon

In Part II of its investigation, The Beiruter examines how Syria’s post-Assad order has revived northern Lebanon’s economic potential and why Turkey will prove critical to restoring long-neglected Tripoli to its historic role as a gateway to Syria.

By Katharine Sorensen - Soraya Johnson
Turkey - TİKA - Northern Lebanon - Lebanese Turkmen - Turkish soft power - Ottoman heritage - Erdoğan - Kouachra

A Turkish revival in northern Lebanon

In Part I of its investigation, The Beiruter traces how Turkey’s local-level engagements addressed gaps left by the Lebanese state and rebuilt a shared affinity rooted in history, religion, and culture.

By Katharine Sorensen - Soraya Johnson
Lebanese pound - IMF - Lebanese economy - Lebanon dollarization - Lebanese pound crisis - Lebanon financial history

Lebanon learned to live in dollars, can it ever go back?

From wartime savings to everyday payments, Lebanon’s relationship with the dollar has lasted for decades. This article reveals how instability, banking crises, and loss of trust turned the US currency from a safety net into a permanent part of Lebanese life.

By Michella Rizk
Darin LaHood - Lebanon sanctions - Hezbollah disarmament - Lebanese sovereignty - Lebanese Armed Forces

U.S. Congressman LaHood pushes Lebanon to break Hezbollah’s grip

U.S. Congressman Darin LaHood told “The Beiruter that he is leading a push for targeted sanctions and robust state support to break Hezbollah’s hold and help Lebanon reclaim its sovereignty.

By Amal Chmouny
Jordan - Lebanese community in Jordan - Maronite Church - Al-Maghtas - Baptism Site - Saint Rafqa Church Jordan - Saint Charbel Church Jordan

Exclusive to The Beiruter: A growing Maronite presence in Jordan

After 17 years of waiting, the Maronite Church of the Baptism of Jesus Christ at Al-Maghtas in Jordan is finally moving from plans to construction. This exclusive report reveals new details about the project and plans to expand the Maronite presence across Jordan.

By Michella Rizk
Lebanon political history - Dahiyeh - Lebanon archives - UMAM D&R - Hezbollah - Dahiyeh Doctrine - IRGC - urban history - Lebanese Civil War

Becoming Dahiyeh: The political symbol

In the second installment of a three-part investigation, The Beiruter traces how political mobilization, Hezbollah’s rise, and decades of war transformed Dahiyeh into one of Lebanon’s most politically charged places.

By Katharine Sorensen
Dahiyeh - Lebanon archives - AUB archives - UMAM D&R - Beirut southern suburbs - Dahiyeh Doctrine - urbanization - urban history

The making of Dahiyeh: An archival history

In the first installment of a three-part investigation, The Beiruter draws on archival records to trace the physical, economic, demographic and linguistic transformations that produced modern Dahiyeh, whose name would later acquire extraordinary political weight.

By Katharine Sorensen
Hezbollah tunnels - Hezbollah tunnel network - Underground military infrastructure - Hezbollah bunkers - UNIFIL

Beneath Lebanon: The underground state Hezbollah built

Beneath Lebanon lies a hidden military world: Hezbollah’s vast tunnel network reveals the scale of an underground infrastructure built beyond the state’s reach.

By Joanne Naoum
Lebanese migration - Brain drain - Youth migration - War and displacement - International Organization for Migration

A century of emigration... but will they come back?

For more than a century, Lebanese have left in search of survival, security and opportunity. But today’s exodus is different: Lebanon is losing the very generation it needs to build its future.

By Michella Rizk
Olive trees - Olive groves - Southern Lebanon - Agriculture - Ministry of Agriculture

How the war ravaged Lebanon’s olive groves

The war in southern Lebanon devastated thousands of olive groves, destroying century-old trees, disrupting harvests and inflicting long-term damage on one of the country's most important agricultural sectors.

By Nathalie Durham
China–Lebanon cooperation - Lebanon infrastructure - Tripoli port - Lebanese-Syrian relations - Belt and Road Initiative

China’s economic prepositioning in Lebanon

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.

By Katharine Sorensen - Soraya Johnson
China–Lebanon cooperation - Lebanon infrastructure - China - Belt and Road Initiative - Soft power

China’s cultural advance in Lebanon

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.

By Katharine Sorensen - Soraya Johnson
Islamic Republic - Iran regime - Ali Khamenei - Mojtaba Khamenei - Walid Phares

Iran under pressure: The battle beyond the battlefield

As military setbacks, economic turmoil and growing internal unrest converge, Iran's leadership faces mounting pressure that could reshape the future of the Islamic Republic and the broader Middle East.

By Joanne Naoum
Middle East Institute - Fadi Nicholas Nassar - LAF - Trilateral Framework Agreement - Lebanese sovereignty

Lebanon’s strategy to win: A crossroads of opportunity

An exclusive interview with Middle East Institute Senior Fellow Fadi Nicholas Nassar examines why many in Washington believe Lebanon has a historic opportunity to restore sovereignty, disarm Hezbollah, and reshape the regional balance of power through renewed U.S. engagement.

By Amal Chmouny
Patriarch Elias Hoyek - Blessed Elias Hoyek - Greater Lebanon - Pope Leo XIV - Maronite Church

The Shepherd behind the Statesman

Known as the architect of Greater Lebanon, Patriarch Elias Hoyek is remembered for shaping a nation. But his beatification tells a deeper story, one of faith, charity, and pastoral leadership.

By Michella Rizk
Tripoli soap - Saboun Baladi - Lebanese soap - Khan el Saboun - Sharkass Soap

The scent of history, Tripoli's soap-making tradition

Tripoli’s centuries-old soap-making tradition continues to endure through family-run workshops that preserve Lebanon’s artisanal heritage while adapting to modern economic challenges.

By Jenna Geagea - Lynn El Khalil
David Schenker on Trump’s Syria delisting move

Former U.S. official David Schenker explains in an exclusive interview to The Beiruter how Trump’s Syria delisting decision could reshape regional politics, security, and economic recovery.

By Amal Chmouny
Morocco phosphate - U.S.-China rivalry - Critical minerals - OCP Group - Trump tariffs

Trump's Morocco pivot exposes US-China phosphate rivalry

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?

By Soraya Johnson
Ma Haide - George Hatem - Lebanese Chinese doctor - Zhou Youma - Chinese Communist Party - Mao Zedong

Ma Haide: The untold story of George Hatem

Through exclusive interviews with his family, unpublished letters, rare photographs and original reporting, The Beiruter uncovers the untold story behind one of China's greatest national heroes.

By Michella Rizk
Politics and sport - Sports and politics - Sports diplomacy - Soft power - Olympic Games

More than just a game: The politics of sport

Sport has never been just a game, but rather a powerful force shaping, and being shaped by, international and domestic politics.

By Anthony Chamoun
Beirut Port explosion - Beirut blast - Tarek Bitar - Ahmad Rami El Hajj - William Noun

Beirut Port Explosion: The Countdown to indictments

Nearly six years after the Beirut Port explosion, Lebanon's investigation is nearing indictment, bringing dozens of senior officials closer than ever to trial in a landmark case seeking accountability for one of the world's deadliest non-nuclear explosions.

By Joanne Naoum
South Lebanon - Education - Marjayoun - Humanitarian crisis - Education in conflict

The schools that keep South Lebanon rooted

Months of conflict have transformed education across southern Lebanon, where teachers, students and families are fighting not only to preserve learning, but to keep their communities intact.

By Katharine Sorensen
Public institutions - Ministry of Health - Islamic Health Authority - Jihad al-Binaa - Qard al-Hassan

Hezbollah’s hidden state

Registered charities, state health contracts, municipal partnerships and emergency aid programs have allowed Hezbollah-affiliated networks to access Lebanese public money even as the party’s core entities remain under U.S. and European sanctions.

By Josiane Hajj Moussa
Lebanese-Syrian relations - Reconciliation - Interstate reconciliation - Sovereignty - Territorial integrity

Can Lebanon and Syria truly reconcile?

Can Lebanon and Syria overcome decades of conflict through the convergence of both interstate and intrastate reconciliation?

By Anthony Chamoun

The Beiruter

Specials

Turkey’s economic ambitions in northern Lebanon

A Turkish revival in northern Lebanon

Lebanon learned to live in dollars, can it ever go back?

U.S. Congressman LaHood pushes Lebanon to break Hezbollah’s grip

Exclusive to The Beiruter: A growing Maronite presence in Jordan

Becoming Dahiyeh: The political symbol

The making of Dahiyeh: An archival history

Beneath Lebanon: The underground state Hezbollah built

A century of emigration... but will they come back?

How the war ravaged Lebanon’s olive groves

China’s economic prepositioning in Lebanon

China’s cultural advance in Lebanon

Iran under pressure: The battle beyond the battlefield

Lebanon’s strategy to win: A crossroads of opportunity

The Shepherd behind the Statesman

The scent of history, Tripoli's soap-making tradition

David Schenker on Trump’s Syria delisting move

Trump's Morocco pivot exposes US-China phosphate rivalry

Ma Haide: The untold story of George Hatem

More than just a game: The politics of sport

Beirut Port Explosion: The Countdown to indictments

The schools that keep South Lebanon rooted

Hezbollah’s hidden state

Can Lebanon and Syria truly reconcile?