Israeli president visits a starving Gaza as cease-fire talks stall: Everything you need to know this Thursday
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L'Orient-Le Jour
3 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
New pro-Trump billboard near Beirut
A new billboard featuring U.S. President Donald Trump appeared Sunday in Sin al-Fil, Beirut. Witnesses said the banner was installed on the roof of a building near the Jisr al-Wati bridge. 'We know that you love Lebanon' is written in large letters next to a smiling portrait of Trump, along with a quote from famed Lebanese writer Gibran Khalil Gibran: 'The truly great man is he who would master no one, and be mastered by none.' The phrase comes from Gibran's 1926 poetry collection Sand and Foam. Social media backlash and propaganda The billboard drew swift backlash on social media, with some users comparing it to pro-Iranian axis and Hezbollah propaganda. 'But where is Lebanese sovereignty??? Staggering. How is such a thing possible?' one user wrote. Another commented: 'Here's how you have to deal with Trump: you steer him in the desired direction using flattery.' The origin of the billboard remains unclear. Unlike other political advertisements in Lebanon, it carries no signature or dedication. This campaign is similar to the 'Mabrouk [congratulations] to Dr. Massad Boulos' posters that appeared across Lebanon in January, after Boulos — the father of Trump's Lebanese son-in-law — was appointed adviser for Arab and Middle Eastern affairs. That campaign was reportedly backed by Tony Fayad, a businessman from northern Lebanon. At the same time, other posters featuring Lebanese President Joseph Aoun with the slogan 'Make Lebanon Great Again' — echoing Trump's 2016 campaign — were displayed around Beirut for months. Since Trump took office in January, his special envoys — first Morgan Ortagus, then Tom Barrack — have made repeated visits to Lebanon, delivering U.S. demands to local authorities. These have included calls for Hezbollah's disarmament and urgent economic reforms, particularly banking sector restructuring. In a May speech at the Saudi-American Economic Forum in Riyadh, Trump said he was 'ready to help Lebanon,' praising its new leadership and advocating for a 'more productive partnership with the United States.' 'My administration is ready to help Lebanon create a future of economic development and peace with its neighbors. There are wonderful people in Lebanon — doctors, lawyers, great professionals. I hear it all the time,' Trump said.
L'Orient-Le Jour
3 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
One killed, one injured by Israeli drone strike in Khiam
An Israeli drone strike killed at least one person Monday afternoon in the town of Khiam, in the Marjayoun district of southern Lebanon. The victim's brother, who was riding a motorcycle, was seriously injured and taken to the hospital by rescue teams who arrived at the scene. According to L'Orient Today's correspondent in the region, the drone strike occurred in front of a house in the same neighborhood where the Khiam prison was located. The victims' identities have not yet been made public. Elsewhere, Israeli artillery fire targeted the southern outskirts of the border village Yaroun (Bint Jbeil district). A surveillance camera placed by the Israeli army was also discovered in a field in the town of Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil district). Earlier in the day, Israeli soldiers stationed at the Rweissat al-Alam site on the heights of Kfar Shuba (Hasbaya district) opened machine-gun fire toward the areas of Sadaneh and Birket al-Nakkar, south of Shebaa (Hasbaya district), our correspondent reported. Monday morning was also marked by drone overflights in several areas of southern Lebanon, as well as over Beirut's southern suburbs, according to our correspondent and local media. Despite the adoption of a cease-fire on Nov. 27, 2024, the Israeli army continues to occupy five positions deemed 'strategic' along the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel. It still regularly targets Lebanese territory and civilians. According to a tally by L'Orient Today based on figures provided by the U.N. and Lebanon's Ministry of Health, at least 291 people have been killed in Israeli attacks, strikes, and shelling since the cease-fire took effect on Nov. 27. The fragile truce, almost daily violated by the Israeli army, ended 13 months of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel. More than 4,000 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli attacks since Oct. 8, 2023, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
L'Orient-Le Jour
3 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Lebanese baccalaureate candidates can submit appeals online starting Tuesday
The Ministry of Education announced that general baccalaureate candidates who wish to contest their results from the first session of the 2025 exams can file appeals online between Tuesday and Thursday. The ministry released results for all four baccalaureate tracks on Friday, Aug. 1. South Lebanon posted the highest pass rates across the board — an exceptional outcome given the region's daily targeting by Israeli strikes since October 2023, which continue despite a cease-fire coming into effect on November 2024. The results were published on the ministry's official website ( on social media platforms, and sent via SMS to candidates' registered phone numbers. According to the ministry's statement, appeals are open to candidates in all four general baccalaureate tracks — general sciences, life sciences, economics and sociology, and literature and humanities. Requests must be submitted over three days, starting the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 5. Appeals can only be filed via the online form available on the Ministry of Education and Higher Education's website. Applicants must provide all required details, including their exam registration number, phone number and the subjects for which a grade review is requested (limited to a maximum of three subjects). Candidates will be contacted by phone once their appeal has been reviewed. The ministry also noted that the process is free of charge and warned that "any announcement to the contrary exposes its author to criminal prosecution." This year, the literature and humanities track recorded a national success rate of 59.28 percent, with South Lebanon leading at 90.48 percent and the North ranking lowest at 40.27 percent. In economics and sociology, results improved significantly with an average pass rate of 85.62 percent. Nabatieh recorded the highest rate at 93.89 percent, while Baalbek-Hermel had the lowest at 78.26 percent. The general sciences track saw an even higher success rate at 91.92 percent, with South Lebanon again leading (96.31 percent) and Baalbek-Hermel trailing (83.16 percent). In life sciences, the national pass rate hovered around 91 percent. South Lebanon maintained the highest rate at 94.84 percent, while Baalbek-Hermel remained the least performing region at 84.81 percent.
