Courtesy of Foreign Policy, an article on a new maritime deal with Israel could be an economic lifeline for Lebanon—if the government in Beirut can get its act together: On Oct. 27, 2022, Israel and Lebanon signed a breakthrough agreement establishing a permanent maritime boundary between them in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The two countries have technically been […]
Read more »Via Foreign Policy, an article on a U.S.-brokered maritime border agreement that could have profound effects on the entire Middle East: Last month, we visited a Hezbollah tunnel on the Israeli-Lebanese border as part of a bipartisan group of Middle East experts. Dug almost a football field deep—with twisting staircases, advanced lighting, and oxygen cables—the tunnel’s […]
Read more »Courtesy of The Washington Post, a report on the impact that a massive hike in cell service fees has had upon Lebanon’s poor: Shopping for grapes at Beirut’s wholesale market to resell from her produce cart, an exhausted Rawaa Ghosn described how another layer of her increasingly tenuous life was peeled away after she had […]
Read more »Via Politics Today, a look at how Lebanon, Iran and Sudan are all suffering from a lack of energy sources, but these are merely underlying causes of a larger issue: their real struggle will be in overcoming rampant inflation: Political instability has arisen around the world, driven by rising costs, food insecurity, and current effects of […]
Read more »Via Silk Road Briefing, a look at some significant MENA-based BRI projects: The MENA region – the Middle-East and North Africa – has also been targeted as part of Beijing’s Belt & Road Initiative, with greater interconnectivity and supply chains to much needed oil and gas reserves being put in place. The MENA region has vast […]
Read more »Via Foreign Policy, a look at how business interests prevent Lebanon from rebuilding its infrastructure, government, and economy: Even after decades, the international community still has not quite figured out what makes Lebanese politicians tick. Potential donors focus on economic mismanagement and political will, but gloss over the shady commercial interests that keep sectarian leaders popular. […]
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