Trump would 'welcome' end of conflict in Lebanon: US official
President Donald Trump would "welcome" an end to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, but such an agreement is not part of peace talks with Iran, a senior U.S....
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Syria begins loading Iraqi oil shipments for re-export
Syria began loading its first tanker carrying Iraqi oil on Wednesday at the Baniyas port refinery, according to state media and an AFP correspondent, after Iraq was largely unable to export...
15 April 2026
Imminent Lebanon cease-fire: Competing narratives emerge
No one expected it. The late-afternoon announcement on Wednesday of a possible imminent cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah came as a surprise. And as soon as the first reports began...
Salah HIJAZI, 16 April 2026
Jordan, UAE sign $2.3 billion railway project
Jordan and the United Arab Emirates signed an agreement on Wednesday to launch a rail project worth $2.3 billion, linking the Jordanian port of Aqaba to nearby mining regions. The venture includes...
15 April 2026
US says nine vessels turned back in 48 hours of Iran port blockade
The U.S. military said Wednesday that it successfully stopped nine vessels from sailing out of Iranian ports during the first 48 hours of a naval blockade against the Islamic republic. "Nine...
15 April 2026
Israel army chief orders 'Hezbollah kill zone' south of Lebanon's Litani River
Israel's military chief of staff on Wednesday said he had ordered areas south of Lebanon's Litani River to be turned into a Hezbollah "kill zone" as troops pressed a major...
15 April 2026
Direct negotiations with Israel: What the Lebanese press said about the meeting in Washington
The now-iconic photo of the meeting in the office of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on April 14 was prominently featured, unsurprisingly, on the front pages of nearly all...
L'Orient Today staff, 15 April 2026
Thousands of additional American troops to the Middle East, Trump 'seeks to put pressure on Iran'
BEIRUT — The Pentagon is expected to deploy thousands of additional troops to the Middle East in the coming days, at a time when the Trump administration is intensifying pressure on Iran to reach...
L'Orient Today staff, 15 April 2026
Saudi investment official says Neom projects delayed, not cancelled
A leading Saudi investment official said in a speech on Wednesday that infrastructure projects that were part of the futuristic desert city of Neom would likely suffer delays but had not been...
15 April 2026
Starmer says 'won't yield' to Trump's Mideast war threats
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday said he would not "yield" to pressure to join the Iran war after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to scrap a UK trade deal....
15 April 2026
Foreign media group slams Israel military over AI image of killed Lebanese reporter
An international media association on Wednesday accused the Israeli military of discrediting a Lebanese journalist it killed last month by circulating an AI‑generated image of him in Hezbollah...
15 April 2026
UNIFIL denounces interception by Israeli army of one of its convoys en route to Naqoura
BEIRUT — The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement that one of its convoys was intercepted Tuesday in southern Lebanon by Israeli army soldiers, just a few kilometers...
L'Orient Today staff, 15 April 2026
UNHCR chief announces appeal for $308 million in aid from Beirut
BEIRUT — The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Barham Saleh, while on a visit to destroyed part of Lebanon, announced Wednesday that he had launched an urgent appeal for $308 million...
L'Orient Today staff, 15 April 2026
Lebanon in talks with IMF for potential rapid financing, Bloomberg reports
BEIRUT — Lebanon and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are discussing options to access fast-track assistance to help the country cope with the impact of the Middle East war, Bloomberg reported...
L'Orient Today staff, 15 April 2026
Successive strikes on rescue workers in Nabatieh region: Three killed and six injured
SOUTH LEBANON — At least three rescue workers were killed and several others injured in successive Israeli strikes targeting rescue teams who had arrived at the site of a bombing in Mayfadoun, in...
L'Orient Today staff, 15 April 2026
Jounieh highway widening project has not been canceled, Rassamny assures
Public Works and Transport Minister Fayez Rassamny denied in a statement Wednesday the reports claiming that the project to widen the coastal highway in Jounieh , in Kesrouan, was canceled,...
P.H.B., 15 April 2026
Negotiations: Lebanese leaders split between unconditional support, pessimism, and criticism of an 'incompetent government'
Political leaders and party figures continue to hold their respective positions following Tuesday’s meeting in Washington, held in preparation for direct negotiations between Lebanon and...
L'Orient Today staff with Jeanine JALKH, 15 April 2026
Battle of Bint Jbeil in Maps: Israeli army encircles the town's center
SOUTH LEBANON — The Israeli invading troops continue to advance rapidly into Bint Jbeil and have encircled the center of the large town in southern Lebanon, following days of fierce fighting with...
L'Orient Today staff, 15 April 2026
Joe Saddi's tour of Zahrani, South Lebanon
SOUTH LEBANON — Energy and Water Minister Joe Saddi visited Zahrani, near Saida in South Lebanon, at the site of the oil installations and the power plant. The senior official expressed his...
L'Orient Today staff, 15 April 2026
US sends thousands more troops to Middle East as 'Trump seeks to squeeze Iran,' reports say
BEIRUT — The Pentagon is deploying thousands of additional troops to the Middle East in the coming days as the Trump administration increases pressure on Iran to reach a deal that could end the...
L'Orient Today staff, 15 April 2026
Ahead of Trump–Xi summit, China moves to preserve the Middle East truce
“Dangerous and irresponsible behavior.” That is how Beijing described the blockade imposed on Monday, April 13, by Washington on all vessels departing from or heading to Iranian ports. The move...
Laure-Maïssa FARJALLAH, 15 April 2026
Trump risks alienating voters in Pope feud
Despite Donald Trump’s denial, it is hard to accept this was simply a misinterpretation. The U.S. president shared an AI-generated image on Truth Social portraying himself in a Messiah-like figure,...
Clara HAGE, 15 April 2026
Iran used Chinese spy satellite to target US bases, FT reports
Iran quietly acquired a Chinese spy satellite in late 2024 that allowed it to target U.S. military bases across the Middle East during the recent war, the Financial Times (FT) reported on...
Reuters/L'Orient Today staff, 15 April 2026
Stocks rally, oil falls further as Trump fans fresh peace hopes
Stocks rose and crude dropped again Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said a second round of U.S.-Iran talks could take place "over the next two days," fueling hopes for a deal...
L'Orient Today staff, 15 April 2026
Negotiations with Israel: Rai supports 'the language of dialogue'
BEIRUT — Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai told the press he supports "the language of negotiations and dialogue," a day after a meeting at the State Department in Washington between the...
L'Orient Today staff, 15 April 2026
Mother confesses to suffocating her two children in Choueifat
BEIRUT — A Syrian mother has confessed to killing her two young children in Lebanon’s Choueifat area, south of Beirut, after initially claiming she found them unresponsive at home, the Internal...
L'Orient Today staff, 15 April 2026
Ali and Ahmad Tahan, two brothers killed by Israel in Younin during Ramadan
It was a day in Ramadan much like any other, an unremarkable March 11. Three families had gathered to break their fast. The war loomed in the background, but no one imagined what would happen next....
Soulayma MARDAM BEY, 15 April 2026
Tunnel used for 'arms trafficking' between Syria and Lebanon discovered in Homs
Syrian internal security forces on Wednesday discovered a tunnel linking Syria and Lebanon in the southern countryside of Homs (west), reportedly used for "arms trafficking" operations...
L'Orient Today staff, 15 April 2026
Lebanon–Israel talks: France pays the price for tensions with Tel Aviv
France, Lebanon’s “tender mother” is nowhere to be seen. Talks between Lebanon and Israel for which a preparatory meeting was held Tuesday under U.S. auspices, are taking place without France — a...
Nemtala EDDÉ, 15 April 2026
More than 200 Hezbollah targets struck in the past 24 hours, Israel says, amid cease-fire talks
SOUTH LEBANON — Tuesday's talks in Washington , did not directly pave the way for a de-escalation in Lebanon—quite the opposite. After a particularly violent day unfolding in parallel with...
L'Orient Today staff, 15 April 2026
The Fairuz effect: Why the West keeps sampling her voice
In "All the Love," from his 2026 album "Bully," Kanye West — now Ye — brings in, from the very start, a fragment of Fairuz’s Fayek Alaya. Torn from its orchestral setting, the...
Rayanne TAWIL, 15 April 2026
Peace talks: Who is calling the shots on the Lebanese side?
The first preparatory meeting for direct negotiations between Beirut and Tel Aviv, under U.S. auspices, was held Tuesday evening in Washington.Represented by its ambassador in Washington, Nada...
Anne-Marie El-HAGE, 15 April 2026
Interceptor missile falls on house in Ablah, central Bekaa
BEKAA — An interceptor missile fell Wednesday on the home of a civilian, Tony Abou Moussa, in the locality of Ablah in central Bekaa, causing material damage, according to our regional...
L'Orient Today staff, 15 April 2026
Hezbollah fired about 30 rockets at northern Israel on Wednesday morning
SOUTH LEBANON — Hezbollah fighters fired about 30 rockets at Israel from Lebanon at about 6.40 am Wednesday morning, an Israeli army spokesperson told AFP , while the party claimed responsibility...
AFP/ L'Orient Today staff, 15 April 2026
Washington secures a photo-op, Tel Aviv calculates its moves: Where is Lebanon heading and what will Hezbollah do?
From the American and Israeli standpoint, everything appeared carefully orchestrated. For Lebanon, however, it translated into mounting pressure.Washington and Tel Aviv are speaking of a peace...
Mounir RABIH, 15 April 2026
Did Apple Maps remove villages from southern Lebanon?
The information/Statement: In recent days, internet users have accused Apple Maps of removing towns from Southern Lebanon. Images from the app showing the area south of Sour without any village...
Layal DAGHER, 15 April 2026
Trump doubles down in criticizing Pope Leo over war on Iran
BEIRUT — U.S. President Donald Trump, whose war and immigration policies have been condemned by Pope Leo, reiterated his criticism of the religious leader on Tuesday night. In a post on Truth...
L'Oreint Today staff/Reuters, 15 April 2026
Former Evin Prison detainee Louis Arnaud: In January Iranians 'lost everything'
A few days after the return of Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, the last French hostages in Iran, Louis Arnaud, former French detainee of the infamous Evin Prison in Tehran and author of "La...
Valentine LEMAIRE, 15 April 2026
US-Kuwaiti journalist detained amid Gulf crackdown on war footage
BEIRUT — A U.S.-Kuwaiti journalist has been detained for weeks and charged in Kuwait, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on Tuesday, as Gulf countries crack down on people sharing...
AFP/L'Orient Today staff, 15 April 2026
Trump would welcome end to hostilities in Lebanon, US official says; Netanyahu says Israel reinforcing 'security zone' and 'on the verge of taking Bint Jbeil' | LIVE
00:09 Beirut Time Hezbollah and Iran are one, in war and in cease-fire, says Ghalibaf Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on X that “the completion and...
L'Orient Today staff, Ghadir Hamadi, Muntasser Abdallah, Sarah ABDALLAH, 15 April 2026
Trump says war 'close to over'; Lebanon-Israel direct talks held in Washington; Israeli attacks on South Lebanon intensify: Everything you need to know this Wednesday
Want to get the Morning Brief by email? Click here to sign up.Wednesday, April 15, 2026 Some me key things to watch today:Spring Meetings at the International Monetary Fund in Washington.Updates on...
