Nada Maucourant Atallah

2 weeks ago | thenationalnews.com | Nada Homsi |Nada Maucourant Atallah |Jamie Prentis

Lebanese Hezbollah’s military defeat after 14 months of conflict with Israel has left it politically and militarily constrained and in no position to support its ally Iran in any future confrontation with Israel, analysts, military experts, and western diplomats told The National. Israel’s deadly overnight strike on Iran decapitated much of Tehran’s military and nuclear leadership.

2 weeks ago | thenationalnews.com | Nada Maucourant Atallah

A Lebanese official has denied reports in Israeli media claiming that Israel and the United States have agreed to end the mandate of UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon. “This is not serious. We have sources in Washington who completely denied it,” the official told The National, speaking on condition of anonymity.

3 weeks ago | thenationalnews.com | Nada Maucourant Atallah

Three Arab journalists have been recognised for their reporting on Syria and Gaza at the 20th edition of an EU-sponsored awards ceremony in honour of assassinated Lebanese journalist Samir Kassir. The Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press was held on Tuesday at Sursock Palace in Beirut. The annual event is organised by the Samir Kassir Foundation with EU financing. Mr Kassir was killed on June 2, 2005 in the Lebanese capital.

3 weeks ago | thenationalnews.com | Nada Maucourant Atallah

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun has pledged to expand digitalisation in the public sector as part of a broader drive to make government more efficient, revive the economy and tackle corruption. The country must be "open to regional partnerships and ready for foreign investment", he said at the Smart Government: Diaspora Experts for Lebanon conference in Beirut. “The smart government is always postponed so that citizens’ paperwork remains hostage to the whims of the corrupt,” Mr Aoun said.

3 weeks ago | thenationalnews.com | Nada Maucourant Atallah

The end of sanctions on Syria could not have been more cinematic. With US President Donald Trump as director and Saudi Arabia and Turkey as co-producers, what could have been a press release resembled a big budget Hollywood release. “They could have just signed a document and issued a statement,” said a senior banker at a leading private Syrian bank, speaking on condition of anonymity.