Levant Brief

Ducks swim through flooded marshland with reeds under a grey sky

The Brief16 September 2026

Reeds return to parts of the southern marshes after a wetter winter

Demo article: Boatmen and buffalo herders say water levels have improved in some areas, though they fear a return to drought.

Also in the Brief

IraqCulture
Baghdad's Mutanabbi Street hosts a late-night poetry reading
Demo article: Booksellers kept their stalls open after dark as poets read to a crowd that filled the street.
IraqGovernance
Erbil trials digital queue tickets at public service offices
Demo article: Residents book a slot by text message and wait from home instead of spending hours in a waiting room.

Latest

16 September 20261 min read

Reeds return to parts of the southern marshes after a wetter winter

Demo article: Boatmen and buffalo herders say water levels have improved in some areas, though they fear a return to drought.

A cedar forest on a rocky mountain slope, with a rope-fenced footpath in the foreground

Geopolitics and Security

13 September 20261 min read

Civil defence volunteers in the Bekaa complete a winter rescue drill

Towering sandstone rock formations rise above orange desert sand under a clear blue sky

Geopolitics and Security

13 September 20261 min read

Mountain rescue volunteers in the Kurdistan Region prepare for winter

Geopolitics and Security

12 September 20261 min read

Search and rescue teams train in Wadi Rum for desert emergencies

Close-up of ripe golden wheat in a field

Geopolitics and Security

12 September 20261 min read

Community sessions teach returning farmers to spot unexploded ordnance

11 September 20261 min read

Emergency medical volunteers run an earthquake preparedness drill

Demo article: Volunteer first responders practised triage and communications for a large earthquake, a risk along the Jordan Rift Valley.

Geopolitics and Security

11 September 20261 min read

Israel blows up Ali al-Taher tunnels

A large container ship stacked with shipping containers moored beside a blue gantry crane

Business and Economy

11 September 20261 min read

Tripoli port logs a busy season for fresh fruit exports

Business and Economy

10 September 20261 min read

Aleppo soap makers restart workshops and look for export orders

Business and Economy

10 September 20261 min read

Olive oil producers prepare for an early harvest after a hot summer

Podcast

All episodes

Episode 3

This Is the Best Music for Any Age (and Attitude)

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Pellentesque fermentum massa vel enim feugiat gravida. Phasellus velit risus, euismod a lacus et.

15 September 2026 Video

Episode 2

You Made Your Boyfriend a Cheesy, Valentine's Day Playlist

15 September 2026 Video

Episode 1

Listen to the Best Music From New York Fashion Week

15 September 2026 Video

The Brief

Iraq

16 September 20261 min read

Reeds return to parts of the southern marshes after a wetter winter

Demo article: Boatmen and buffalo herders say water levels have improved in some areas, though they fear a return to drought.

Geopolitics and Security

Lebanon

13 September 20261 min read

Civil defence volunteers in the Bekaa complete a winter rescue drill

Demo article: More than 80 volunteers spent two days practising road clearance and stranded-driver rescues ahead of the snow season.

Iraq

13 September 20261 min read

Mountain rescue volunteers in the Kurdistan Region prepare for winter

Demo article: Teams rehearsed rope rescues and avalanche searches in the mountains near the Iranian and Turkish borders.

Jordan

12 September 20261 min read

Search and rescue teams train in Wadi Rum for desert emergencies

Demo article: Volunteers and tour guides practised locating lost hikers and treating heat exhaustion ahead of the busy season.

Syria

12 September 20261 min read

Community sessions teach returning farmers to spot unexploded ordnance

Demo article: Trainers visited villages to show families what to look for, and whom to call, before working fields left untended for years.

Business and Economy

Lebanon

11 September 20261 min read

Tripoli port logs a busy season for fresh fruit exports

Demo article: Refrigerated container traffic rose through the summer as growers in the north shipped more apples, citrus and grapes.

Syria

10 September 20261 min read

Aleppo soap makers restart workshops and look for export orders

Iraq

9 September 20261 min read

Basra date growers bet on packaged exports

Jordan

9 September 20261 min read

Amman start-ups test a shared delivery network for neighbourhood shops

Governance

A smiling man in a blue blazer works on a laptop at an office desk

Lebanon

8 September 20261 min read

A Mount Lebanon municipality moves building permit applications online

Demo article: Residents can now track a permit request step by step instead of returning to the town hall to ask where it stands.

Israel & Palestinian Territories

7 September 20261 min read

A municipal council starts livestreaming its public meetings

Syria

6 September 20261 min read

Local councils in Homs post spending plans on neighbourhood noticeboards

Iraq

5 September 20261 min read

Erbil trials digital queue tickets at public service offices

Environment

Lebanon

5 September 20261 min read

Volunteers replant cedar seedlings on a fire-scarred mountain slope

Demo article: Around 3,000 seedlings went into the ground over one weekend, with local schools adopting rows to water through the dry months.

Young seedlings growing beside black drip irrigation lines in mulched soil

Syria

3 September 20261 min read

Farmers along the Orontes turn to drip irrigation to stretch scarce water

Demo article: Growers say drip lines cut water use sharply, but the upfront cost is keeping smaller farms from switching.

Solar panels cover the roofs of a row of apartment buildings at dusk

Israel & Palestinian Territories

2 September 20261 min read

Rooftop solar panels spread across family businesses in an old market

Demo article: Shop owners say shared rooftop installations are cutting electricity bills and keeping refrigerators running during outages.

Mounds of coral and a sea fan on a reef, with small yellow fish swimming past

Jordan

1 September 20261 min read

Aqaba divers record signs of coral recovery at a restored reef site

Demo article: Volunteer divers counting fish and coral at a protected site say damaged sections are showing new growth.

Culture

A stone mosaic panel spelling the word Poetry inside a decorative border

Syria

30 August 20261 min read

Restorers return to the painted ceilings of an old Damascus house

Demo article: A small team is cleaning and stabilising decorated wooden ceilings, working a few square metres a week.

Israel & Palestinian Territories

29 August 20261 min read