L'Orient Today

L'Orient Today Lebanon's independent, critical news service. A sister publication of L'Orient-Le Jour

L’Orient Today is the English-language sister publication of L’Orient-Le Jour. It is an independent news platform that aims to examine the failure of the Lebanese system and to hold political and economic powerbrokers accountable through comprehensive, in-depth reporting.

Restriction on freedom of expression? A warning against any communication with the Israeli army issued Saturday by Infor...
11/06/2025

Restriction on freedom of expression? A warning against any communication with the Israeli army issued Saturday by Information Minister Paul Morcos sparked a wave of criticism on social media in Lebanon.

The minister’s position came in response to a video posted by Lebanese actress Nadine al-Rassi, in which she directly addresses the Arabic-language spokesperson of the Israeli army, Avichay Adraee, who later replied.

The move proved divisive. What is the context behind the ministry’s directive? What does the law say?

Layak Dagher examines the controversy.

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olj.me/1464046

📸 The actress' Instagram account

Controversy spread on social media platforms for the past two days when a news item attributed to daily Nidaa al-Watan s...
11/06/2025

Controversy spread on social media platforms for the past two days when a news item attributed to daily Nidaa al-Watan spread on local news channels and social media claiming that “hundreds of Lebanese who believed they had received the Pfizer [COVID-19] vaccine were instead injected with a saline solution,” sparking widespread backlash on social media.

L'Orient Today reached out Tuesday to Nidaa al-Watan to verify the claim, and Nidaa al-Watan denied publishing such an article "recently."

Ghadir Hamadi writes...

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olj.me/1463918

📸 AFP

Nearly half of the more than 7,000 languages spoken on this planet are endangered. Arabic is not one of them — unless, p...
10/06/2025

Nearly half of the more than 7,000 languages spoken on this planet are endangered. Arabic is not one of them — unless, perhaps, you’re in Canada.

Decades of immigration show that those who leave home for the colossal sea-to-sea country might be the last in their lineage to speak their mother tongue, and Arabic is no exception.

But is it possible the tides are turning? There seems to be a renewed enthusiasm among the diaspora.

Amelia Hankins writes...

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olj.me/1463627

📸 Jaimee Lee Haddad/ L'Orient Today

The Israeli army has expanded the militarized buffer zone surrounding the enclave from 300 meters to one kilometer — rep...
10/06/2025

The Israeli army has expanded the militarized buffer zone surrounding the enclave from 300 meters to one kilometer — representing 30 percent of Gaza's total area.

The army has also taken control of about 40 percent of the territory — the north of the enclave up to Gaza City, the region south of the Netzarim corridor, the Morag axis zone and the Rafah region — displaying a target of 75 percent for the coming weeks.

Tatiana Krotoff writes...

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olj.me/1463637

📸 Google Earth and AFP

08/06/2025

In late May, France's Interior Ministry published a report titled "Frères musulmans et islamisme politique en France" (The Muslim Brotherhood and Political Islam in France) that has sparked considerable debate. While the report acknowledges the movement’s real but waning influence, the government and segments of the political class have presented it as evidence that the Brotherhood’s “entryism” poses a threat to republican institutions and social cohesion.

This framing may come as a surprise, not only because the document itself cautions against exaggerating the phenomenon, but also because the organization and the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) movement appear, at least in their 'home' region of Egypt and across the Arab world, to have been in clear decline since the 2013 coup that ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. Many analysts have described the movement’s declining trajectory in recent years.

Soulayma Mardam Bey writes. olj.me/1463673

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said during a May 14 conference on Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank...
08/06/2025

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said during a May 14 conference on Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank: "Gaza will be completely destroyed, civilians will be sent south to a humanitarian zone without Hamas, and from there, they will begin to leave in large numbers for third countries."

The statement seems to be materializing with the expansion of the Israeli offensive on Gaza, launched two days later and justified by Israeli officials as a necessary action to dismantle Hamas and secure the release of the remaining hostages.

The "safe" areas accessible to the civilian population now represent only 20 percent of the total area of the enclave.

Tatiana Krotoff writes: olj.me/1463637

It appears as if Syria is taking off while Lebanon remains stuck.In recent days, the Lebanese press reflected a growing ...
05/06/2025

It appears as if Syria is taking off while Lebanon remains stuck.

In recent days, the Lebanese press reflected a growing frustration in the country, which appears to be losing ground to its neighbor.

After the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime in December and the election, one month later, of Joseph Aoun as president, the two countries, engaging as equals for the first time, seemed to be on a shared path toward economic recovery, the restoration of state authority and reintegration into the Arab world.

Salah Hijazi writes...

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olj.me/1463369

📸 Photo provided by the Grand Serail

My father’s old-fashioned fabric shop, inherited from my grandfather, is right across what used to be one of Gaza’s prou...
05/06/2025

My father’s old-fashioned fabric shop, inherited from my grandfather, is right across what used to be one of Gaza’s proudest landmarks: Souk Feras (al-Feras Market).

Day after day, we opened our shop’s doors to the sounds and smells of that place — vendors shouting prices, shoppers bargaining, the scent of mint, fresh bread and warm fabric filling the air.

The market sat right on Omar al-Mokhtar Street, a street that once pulsed with energy, trade and people.

Noor Alyacoubi writes...

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olj.me/1463271

📸 AFP

This week, something historic happened.You’ve heard the word kafala — in the news, in protest chants, in videos of domes...
04/06/2025

This week, something historic happened.

You’ve heard the word kafala — in the news, in protest chants, in videos of domestic workers locked on balconies or pleading outside embassies.

For the first time in Lebanon, a migrant domestic worker was granted a visa by General Security to return and did come back to testify in a court case classified as slavery.

Her name is Meseret Hailu. Her story could mark a turning point — but to understand why, we need to look at the system that made it possible, Kafala.

Every week, Sahar Ghoussoub and Joelle Khoury cut through the chaos with straight-up explanations of the stuff you wish someone had taught you — unwritten rules, sectarian deals, shifting alliances, all of it.

This week: What is Kafala, the system behind an unfolding slavery case in Lebanon?

🔗 Tap on the link below for a detailed explanation
olj.me/1463257

The Civil Defense announced on Wednesday that one person was killed and four others injured in a major fire that broke o...
04/06/2025

The Civil Defense announced on Wednesday that one person was killed and four others injured in a major fire that broke out at a gas station in Hadath, Mount Lebanon.

The statement came just hours after firefighters managed to bring the blaze under control.

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olj.me/1463169

📸 Mohammed Yassin/ L'Orient Today

It’s 6:40 a.m. when about 10 cars begin lining up at the first General Security checkpoint outside the Arida border post...
04/06/2025

It’s 6:40 a.m. when about 10 cars begin lining up at the first General Security checkpoint outside the Arida border post, which connects northern Lebanon’s Akkar coast to Syria.

Closed since Dec. 6, 2024, following an Israeli strike that destroyed part of the roadway embankment, the crossing reopened Tuesday to the relief of travelers and taxi drivers on both sides of the border.

Lyana Alameddine writes...

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olj.me/1463091

📸 Mohammed Yassin/ L'Orient Today

Dima Hussein Abou Dayyah and Samer Ahmad Meshref are young Shiite opponents to Hezbollah in their regions, and they have...
03/06/2025

Dima Hussein Abou Dayyah and Samer Ahmad Meshref are young Shiite opponents to Hezbollah in their regions, and they have just been elected — she in Zahle, he in Jbeil — to the municipal councils of their respective towns on lists sponsored by none other than the Lebanese Forces.

The Christian party is seen as the biggest local rivals to the Amal and Hezbollah duo and is often criticized among this community, long an electoral stronghold for the alliance.

Stephanie Khouri writes...

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olj.me/1462948

📸 Dima Abou Daya's Facebook profile

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