The Definitive Guide
The Best Lebanon Newsletters
in English
Every English-language newsletter covering Lebanon — all twelve verified, read, and ranked. Plus the ones we lost.
Our verdict
Sobhiye Daily is the best daily Lebanon newsletter in English in 2026 — free, independent, published six mornings a week plus a Sunday recap, and the only one that adds regional and international context to every story.
L'Orient Today's Morning Brief is the runner-up: a well-written subscriber newsletter from a legacy newsroom, weekdays only. The specialists — weekly recaps, bank research, culture — win their own categories below.
All twelve, side by side
The full field at a glance — every active English-language Lebanon newsletter, in our ranked order.
| # | Newsletter | Best for | Format | Frequency | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily news digests | |||||
| 1 | Sobhiye Daily Sobhiye (independent) | Best overall · Best daily digest | 5-minute email digest | Mon–Sat + Sun recap | Free |
| 2 | L'Orient Today — Morning Brief L'Orient Today (Groupe L'Orient-Le Jour) | Best from a legacy newsroom | Written morning recap | Weekday mornings | Paid (from $12.9/mo) |
| Weekly news & analysis | |||||
| 3 | This Week in Lebanon Independent (Substack) | Best free weekly recap | Weekly recap (Substack) | Sundays | Free |
| 4 | Beirut Calling Independent (Substack) | Best commentary & opinion | Essays (Substack) | Several per week | Free + paid tier |
| 5 | Hacking Lebanese Politics L'Orient Today | Best explainer for newcomers | Weekly explainer | Weekly | Free signup* |
| Economy & finance | |||||
| 6 | Lebanon This Week Byblos Bank — Economic Research & Analysis | Best economic data | Research PDF | Weekly | Free |
| 7 | Lebanon Weekly Monitor Bank Audi — Group Research | Best markets & macro snapshot | Research PDF | Weekly | Free |
| 8 | The Weekly Market Watch Credit Libanais — Economic Research Unit | Best for equities & fixed income detail | Markets reports | Weekly | Free |
| 9 | BusinessNews.com.lb InfoPro (publisher of Lebanon Opportunities, since 1997) | Best business-news digest | Business news brief | Recurring | Free w/ registration |
| 10 | Executive Magazine newsletters Executive Magazine (Beirut, since 1999) | Best long-form business journalism | Magazine newsletter | Recurring | Free |
| Culture, food & diaspora | |||||
| 11 | L'Orient Today's culture & food family L'Orient Today | Best food & culture coverage | 3 lifestyle emails | Weekly each | Free signup* |
| 12 | Sa'alouni El Nas Independent (Substack) | Best music & diaspora culture (status: in relaunch limbo) | Music zine | Paused (relaunching) | Free |
*Free signup; the linked articles sit behind L'Orient's paywall. Verified June 10, 2026.
How we did this
On June 10, 2026, we checked every English-language newsletter covering Lebanon we could find — live signup pages, public archives, downloaded editions (including the bank research PDFs nobody admits to reading). Every fact on this page comes from that pass: if a product is listed as active, we saw a recent edition or a live archive; if we couldn't verify it, we say so. Founding dates, frequencies, and prices were taken from the outlets' own pages, not from memory.
Full disclosure: Sobhiye Daily is ours, and we rank it first in its category — with its weaknesses listed like everyone else's, and with categories we plainly don't win. For aggregate data on how 50+ outlets cover Lebanon, see our Lebanon media data snapshot.
Daily news digests
The main event. If you want Lebanon news in your inbox every morning, exactly two newsletters in the world do this in English — and only one of them is free.
#1 — Best overall · Best daily digest
Sobhiye Daily
Sobhiye (independent) · Simon TchaghlassianOur own newsletter, so take the ranking with the grain of salt we are about to earn back: Sobhiye Daily is the only free daily Lebanon newsletter in English, and the only one publishing seven days of coverage a week. It reads the Lebanese, regional, and international press every morning so you don't have to, and explains the why — not just the what — in five minutes. Built for anyone who cares about Lebanon, whether you're in Achrafieh or a WhatsApp group nine time zones away.
Daily (Mon–Sat) + Sunday recapFree — no paywall, no premium tierSince: 2025
What's actually in an edition
A five-minute morning read: top stories with plain-language ledes that explain why each one matters, quick hits, regional and international context, an economy section, and a lighter ending. Every story links back to its sources — the digest draws on 50+ Lebanese and international outlets.
Strengths
- The only daily English Lebanon newsletter that is fully free
- Publishes six mornings a week plus a Sunday recap — the most frequent in the category
- Adds the regional and international context that makes Lebanon news add up
- Source-transparent: every story links to its primary outlets
- Written for Lebanese readers everywhere — Beirut and the diaspora alike
Weaknesses
- Young (founded 2025) — still building its track record
- Single-editor operation
- Aggregates and contextualizes; it does not do original field reporting
#2 — Best from a legacy newsroom
L'Orient Today — Morning Brief
L'Orient Today (Groupe L'Orient-Le Jour) · Abbas MahfouzThe institutional heavyweight. L'Orient Today is the English-language newsroom of the L'Orient-Le Jour group — a paper whose lineage runs back to 1924 — and its Morning Brief is a proper piece of morning journalism: an original recap of yesterday and a look at today, written by Abbas Mahfouz. The catch is the price of admission: it's a subscriber product attached to a paywalled site, and it goes quiet on weekends. If you want one legacy newsroom's view of Lebanon and don't mind paying for it, this is the one.
Weekday mornings (no weekend editions)Subscriber newsletter — site subscription from $12.9/month ($6.9/month first-year promo)Since: L'Orient Today launched 2020; parent paper's roots go back to 1924
What's actually in an edition
An original written recap — "here is what happened yesterday and what to expect today" — built from L'Orient Today's own reporting, bylined by Abbas Mahfouz, published as a web article and emailed on weekday mornings. Recent web editions sit behind the paywall; older ones unlock.
Strengths
- Backed by Lebanon's most storied newspaper group, with real original reporting behind it
- Genuine written analysis, not a link list — a named journalist writes it every morning
- Part of a strong newsletter family (politics explainers, food, culture — see below)
Weaknesses
- Weekdays only — nothing on Saturday or Sunday
- Tied to a paid subscription; the full site is paywalled
- Written for a general professional audience, not specifically the diaspora
Weekly news & analysis
Not everyone wants Lebanon in their inbox every day. (We understand. Lebanon can be a lot.) These are the weeklies worth your email address.
Best free weekly recap
This Week in Lebanon
Independent (Substack) · Ibrahim FawazThe closest thing to a sibling of Sobhiye in spirit: independent, free, and built on the conviction that someone should read everything so you don't have to. Ibrahim Fawaz's Sunday recap is the best weekly summary of Lebanon news in English, full stop. If a daily email is too much Lebanon for your nervous system, subscribe to this — and we say that as the competition.
Weekly, SundaysFree (optional supporter tier)Since: 2025
What's actually in an edition
Roughly 1,500–2,500 words of sectioned recap — in recent editions: "War on Lebanon," "Parliament & Government," "Legal & Security," "Economy & Legal" — with 15–25 items, each linked to its source, written in a neutral, factual register.
Strengths
- Free, independent, and reliably weekly — the archive shows no missed Sundays
- Dense and well-sourced: every claim links out
- Balanced presentation across Lebanon's political spectrum
Who it's not for
- Weekly only — you'll hear about Tuesday's crisis on Sunday
- Curated links with framing, lighter on original analysis
Best commentary & opinion
Beirut Calling
Independent (Substack) · Michael YoungMichael Young has been explaining Lebanon to English readers since most of us were arguing about Pepsi vs. Bonjus. Beirut Calling is his Substack: essays, not headlines — opinionated, regional in scope, and consistently the sharpest single perspective in the inbox. It won't tell you what happened this morning; it will tell you what it means.
Several essays per weekFree posts + paid tierSince: Active on Substack; Young previously edited Carnegie's Diwan
What's actually in an edition
Opinion essays on Lebanon and the region — Hezbollah's future, Lebanese-Israeli relations, US policy — plus interviews and media appearances. Recent June 2026 essays landed three in one week.
Strengths
- The highest-profile single byline writing regularly about Lebanon in English
- Decades of Beirut-based analysis behind every essay
- Strong on the regional chessboard around Lebanon
Who it's not for
- Commentary, not news — read it alongside a digest, not instead of one
- One author's (distinct, argued) point of view
Best explainer for newcomers
Hacking Lebanese Politics
L'Orient TodayLebanese politics runs on rules written nowhere, and this weekly L'Orient Today newsletter writes them down. If you've ever nodded along to a conversation about electoral lists or sectarian quotas while quietly panicking, this one's for you. Honestly one of the smartest newsletter ideas to come out of Beirut.
WeeklyFree signup; full articles paywalledSince: Part of L'Orient Today's newsletter family
What's actually in an edition
In the publisher's own words: straightforward explanations of "the unwritten rules [of Lebanese politics] you wish someone had taught you" — one concept per week.
Strengths
- Does the thing almost nobody does: explains how Lebanese politics actually works
- Perfect for diaspora readers reconnecting, or anyone new to the file
Who it's not for
- Explainers, not news — pair it with a daily digest
- Linked articles sit behind L'Orient's paywall
Economy & finance
Lebanon's banks may have misplaced everyone's deposits, but their research departments still publish some of the best free data on the country. This is the category Sobhiye does not win — these are the specialists.
Best economic data
Lebanon This Week
Byblos Bank — Economic Research & AnalysisIf you need to know where Banque du Liban's reserves actually stand, this is the one. Byblos Bank's research team has been compiling Lebanon This Week for over 900 issues, and it remains the single best free source of organized economic data on Lebanon. Nobody reads it for pleasure. Everybody serious cites it.
Weekly (occasionally consolidated during disruptions)Free (PDF + email signup)Since: Long-running; 911 issues and counting as of May 2026
What's actually in an edition
13–18 pages: economic indicators, capital markets, ~10 short research summaries (think reserve levels at Banque du Liban, real-estate transaction data, ratings actions), corporate highlights, a chart of the week, and dense data tables.
Strengths
- The de facto economic newsletter of record — 900+ issues deep
- Hard numbers on reserves, markets, and ratings you won't find digested anywhere else
- Completely free
Who it's not for
- Dry as the Bekaa in August — this is sell-side research, not storytelling
- No politics, no context beyond the numbers
Best markets & macro snapshot
Lebanon Weekly Monitor
Bank Audi — Group Research · Team led by Dr. Marwan BarakatBank Audi's weekly is the markets-watcher's pick: a tight, numbered weekly with Eurobond prices, FX, and the macro story of the week from Dr. Marwan Barakat's research team. Less encyclopedic than Byblos, faster to read.
WeeklyFree (PDF)Since: Long-running weekly, numbered by week of the year
What's actually in an edition
~11 pages in four sections — Economy, Surveys & Reports, Corporate News, Markets in Brief — with weekly Eurobond prices, the stock-exchange index, parallel-market rate, and central-bank reserves.
Strengths
- Named research team and a consistent weekly markets snapshot
- The quickest read on Eurobonds and the lira in one place
Who it's not for
- Distribution is old-school — PDF from the publications page rather than a slick email
Best for equities & fixed income detail
The Weekly Market Watch
Credit Libanais — Economic Research UnitCredit Libanais runs the most finance-desk-shaped of the bank weeklies, down to its own stock-exchange indices. If you track Lebanese equities or Eurobonds professionally, add it; if you just want to know how the economy is doing, Byblos covers you.
Weekly, across five recurring report categoriesFree (site + email signup)Since: Long-running weekly series
What's actually in an edition
Weekly reports across five categories — economic insights, corporate news, monetary performance, Lebanese equities, fixed income — including the bank's own Beirut Stock Exchange indices (CLASI, CLFI, CLCI).
Strengths
- Maintains proprietary BSE indices you won't find elsewhere
- Clean email signup, free
Who it's not for
- Narrower than the Byblos or Audi weeklies — markets first, economy second
Best business-news digest
BusinessNews.com.lb
InfoPro (publisher of Lebanon Opportunities, since 1997)From the people behind Lebanon Opportunities magazine, a no-frills business-news email that has quietly outlived flashier competitors. It reads like a wire digest for the Lebanese private sector — BDL circulars, UN appeals, commodity prices — and that's exactly its charm.
Recurring email (cadence not stated)Free with site registrationSince: InfoPro publishing since April 1997
What's actually in an edition
~8–10 items: a top story, finance and social-development sections, press coverage, plus gold and oil prices — straight business news in brief.
Strengths
- Actual business news (deals, circulars, appeals) rather than bank research
- Nearly three decades of institutional memory behind it
Who it's not for
- The website wears its 1990s heritage proudly; the cadence isn't stated anywhere
Best long-form business journalism
Executive Magazine newsletters
Executive Magazine (Beirut, since 1999)Executive has been doing serious business journalism from Beirut since 1999, and its editorial newsletter is the way most readers should consume it. Slower metabolism than everything else on this list — and some stories deserve exactly that.
Recurring (cadence not stated)FreeSince: Magazine publishing since 1999
What's actually in an edition
Three free lists: an editorial newsletter with the magazine's latest reports, an events alert, and "The Bulletin" — corporate press releases from across MENA.
Strengths
- Real long-form business and policy journalism from a 25-year-old Beirut institution
- Free, with a clean three-list signup
Who it's not for
- Magazine-paced — analysis and features, not your daily fix
Also in this space: BLOMInvest Bank's research blog posts daily capital-markets notes and a monthly Lebanon PMI, but its packaged weekly "Lebanon Brief" hasn't grouped a new issue since November 2025.
Culture, food & diaspora
Because Lebanon is not only a crisis. The inbox options here are thinner than they should be — consider this section an open call to whoever wants to fix that.
Best food & culture coverage
L'Orient Today's culture & food family
L'Orient TodayCredit where due: L'Orient Today has built the best lifestyle newsletter shelf in Lebanese media. Recipes and restaurants on the weekend, culture every Thursday, internet brain-rot lovingly dissected by Nima Salha. If your relationship with Lebanon runs through its kitchens rather than its parliament, start here.
Weekly each — What's Cooking?, The Culture Map (Thursdays), Breakfast in Bed (Saturdays)Free signup; full articles paywalledSince: Part of L'Orient Today's newsletter family
What's actually in an edition
What's Cooking? serves Lebanese and Mediterranean recipes, chefs, and restaurants worldwide; The Culture Map rounds up cultural happenings from Beirut to the region every Thursday; Breakfast in Bed is a Saturday best-of across culture, food, music, and arts. There's also Chronically Online, Nima Salha's social-media-trends dissection.
Strengths
- The only consistent English-language culture coverage of Lebanon with a newsroom behind it
- What's Cooking? is genuinely diaspora bait, in the best way
Who it's not for
- The linked articles live behind L'Orient's paywall
Best music & diaspora culture (status: in relaunch limbo)
Sa'alouni El Nas
Independent (Substack) · Danny HajjarDanny Hajjar's music zine is what culture newsletters should be: personal, generous, and named after a Fairuz song. It's currently between lives — paused, with a bigger relaunch promised — but the archive alone is worth the subscribe, and we're keeping the porch light on.
Historically weekly Fridays; paused in late 2024 with a relaunch announcedFreeSince: Launched after the August 2020 Beirut blast
What's actually in an edition
A digital music zine contextualizing the music scene in the Middle East, North Africa, and the diaspora — guest features asking people from the region for the songs that mean home, plus a curated playlist.
Strengths
- Named for the Fairuz song, which tells you everything about its heart
- The best archive of MENA-and-diaspora music writing in a newsletter
Status note
- Paused since late 2024; a relaunch as a multi-writer zine was announced — check before you get attached
We checked, so you don't have to
The outlets people assume have a newsletter, and don't. As of June 2026:
- Naharnet — account registration only — no mailing list
- LBCI English — its "subscribe" is a paid TV-streaming plan, not a newsletter
- MTV Lebanon English & Al Jadeed English — no email products at either broadcaster
- NNA (National News Agency) — breaking news via WhatsApp only
- This is Beirut — had a newsletter signup; it disappeared in a site redesign — the old page now 404s
- Megaphone & Beirut Today — active independent outlets, distribution via social/WhatsApp — no email digest
- The961 & NOW Lebanon — both have live signup forms, but we couldn't verify either actually sends — The961's list still advertises a COVID-19 updates newsletter
The graveyard
English-language Lebanon media has a mortality rate worth remembering. Pour one out:
The Daily Star
1952–2021Lebanon's — and for decades the region's — English-language newspaper of record, founded by Kamel Mrowa in 1952. Print stopped in February 2020; the website went dark in October 2021 and the whole operation shut down that month. Most of the English-reading diaspora grew up on it.
NOW Lebanon (first life)
2007–2017Eli Khoury's English/Arabic current-affairs site went down in December 2017 amid financial crisis. Its pre-2017 archives were then permanently lost when the servers were destroyed in the August 2020 port explosion — a very Lebanese double death. The site relaunched in June 2021 and publishes today.
The Outpost
2012–2016Ibrahim Nehme's acclaimed Beirut print magazine "of possibilities" — Stack Award winner, Magazine of the Year — ceased publication in 2016. Not a newsletter, but too beloved to leave out.
LebANON (lebanon.substack.com)
2019, stillbornThe single best Substack URL for this beat — lebanon.substack.com — hosts exactly one post: a "coming soon" from February 2019. The twice-weekly newsletter it promised never arrived. Somewhere, a perfect domain waits.
The bottom line
Sobhiye Daily is the best overall choice for following Lebanon in English in 2026: free, daily (Mon–Sat plus a Sunday recap), independent, sourced from 50+ outlets, and edited to give you regional and international context, not just local headlines.
L'Orient Today's Morning Brief is the runner-up — real morning journalism from a legacy newsroom, if you're willing to subscribe and can live without weekends.
And the smartest inbox isn't one newsletter — it's a stack: Sobhiye Daily every morning, This Week in Lebanon on Sundays for the recap, Byblos Bank's Lebanon This Week when you need the hard numbers, and Beirut Calling when you want to know what it all means. Total cost: zero.
Start with the daily
Sobhiye Daily — free, every morning, unsubscribe in one click.