Antoun Sehnaoui, the Lebanese banker behind the platforms This Is Beirut, Ici Beyrouth, and Huna Lubnan, is at the center of a detailed investigation showing his outlets functioned as a conduit for Israeli state propaganda directed at Lebanese audiences — while presenting their contributor as an "independent journalist."

• The investigation, published by The Legal Agenda, found that Selena Ryan — identified by the three platforms as an independent journalist — is in fact a self-described Israeli army volunteer and "hasbara activist" who raised over $450,000 to equip Israeli military units, including the 401st Armored Brigade.
• Over six months, the platforms published four reports and 13 media posts under Ryan's name, all addressing Lebanese audiences — framing Israeli voices as a "message of peace" while omitting ongoing Israeli military operations in Lebanon.
• The investigation traces Ryan's work to a network headed by Tom Wegner, whose registered legal objectives include "amplifying the voice and messages of the State of Israel, as expressed by the official hasbara agencies of the state" — with documented ties to Israel's Foreign Ministry.
• The platforms also co-hosted a session at the Munich Security Conference with MIND Israel, an institution that defines itself as a "strategic partner" in shaping Israeli national security policy, with the Israeli former head of military intelligence as a participant.

Why it matters: The investigation places the question of Lebanese media accountability squarely in legal territory, with the Lebanese Penal Code's provisions on "illicit contacts with the enemy" and the recently approved media law both potentially relevant.

Following the fall of Ali al-Taher — which Sobhiye covered on Sep⁠tember 8 — Israeli forces have expanded their advance, now occupying and demolishing areas in and around Nabatieh and blowing up the coastal town of Mansouri, with Tyre increasingly in the crosshairs.

• Nabatieh and surrounding villages are being reduced to rubble, with Israel's army now on the outskirts of the city — an advance that Annahar's commentary says renders Hezbollah's narrative of strength and imminent Israeli demise untenable.
• The piece argues the current occupation could outlast the 22-year occupation that ended in 2000, with displacement potentially threatening the entire South and Hezbollah's own community base.
• The commentary calls on Hezbollah to hand all affairs concerning the South to the Lebanese state — including ending de facto authority in the region — or risk a "continuing war, long-term occupation, prolonged displacement, and ruins devoid of life."

Zooming out: With Nabatieh, Bint Jbeil, Khiam, and now Tyre in Israel's operational sights, the geography of the current conflict is reshaping faster than any diplomatic framework has been able to respond.

The coastal town of Mansouri, south of Tyre, has become one of the hardest-hit areas in southern Lebanon — and military analysts say Israel's objective there isn't simply to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure, but to physically reshape the terrain itself.

• A documented tally recorded more than 75 explosions inside Mansouri between Sep⁠tember 3 and midday Thurs⁠day, peaking on Wednes⁠day with dozens in a single day, according to Asharq Al-Awsat — with 12 more recorded Thurs⁠day morning alone.
• Israeli forces are using drones to drop explosive barrels onto rooftops before detonating them remotely — a tactic also recorded in Bani Hayyan.
• Retired Brig. Gen. Hassan Jouni says Israel is "reshaping the geography" to make surveillance easier — destroying elevated homes not because they contain weapons, but because of their commanding positions overlooking the area.
• The "yellow line" is not a fixed boundary, analysts clarify — it's a fluid operational zone stretching from Mansouri and Majdal Zoun west to Haddatha and east toward Ali al-Taher, with Israel seeking to control Mansouri "by fire" from surrounding hills without stationing troops inside.

What to watch: Whether Israel moves to physically occupy Mansouri or maintains standoff fire control will signal how far the current operational logic extends toward Tyre.

Even as the US naval blockade cuts off Iranian crude shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters has revealed the mechanics of how Tehran kept trade flowing for years — a barter-style arrangement trading oil credits for Chinese imports, including military equipment.

• Between $2 billion and $2.5 billion flowed through a special purpose vehicle over the last⁠ year, managed jointly by a firm linked to China's Ministry of Commerce and one tied to Iran's central bank, according to five sources cited by Reuters.
• China accounted for more than 80% of Iran's shipped oil in 2025, averaging 1.4 million barrels per day — making it Tehran's essential economic lifeline under sanctions.
• The mechanism was used at least once in the past year in connection with air defense equipment contracts worth millions of dollars, and has been in place since at least 2021.
• No Iranian crude has transited the Strait of Hormuz to China since the US blockade was reinstated on Jul⁠y 14.

What to watch: Whether Treasury Secretary Bessent's Aug⁠ust warning — cut ties with Iran or lose access to the dollar system — is enough to close the loopholes that have kept this mechanism running for five years.

Saudi Arabia's flagship futuristic megaproject, NEOM, was announced in 2017 with more than $500 billion in projected funding and a promise to house 9 million people by 2030 in a 170-kilometer straight-line city called "The Line." In 2026, almost nothing is being built.

• Satellite images show construction has slowed significantly or stopped entirely, and Saudi Arabia has spent more than $50 billion on the project to date, with internal projections putting total costs at up to $8.8 trillion by 2080 — more than 25 times the entire Saudi state budget.
• Multiple international contractors have terminated their contracts, including design firm Morphosis, which withdrew citing budget constraints and human rights concerns at the site.
• Saudi Public Investment Fund Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan denied any cancellations, describing it as a "rearrangement of priorities" — without reinstating the 2030 opening date.

The bigger picture: NEOM's quiet collapse raises broader questions about the pace and credibility of Gulf economic diversification strategies built on sovereign-fund megaprojects rather than incremental reform.

The British Museum opened its most anticipated exhibition in years this⁠ week — the return of the Bayeux Tapestry to England for the first time since 1066 — but the billionaire behind the £5 million ($6.75 million) sponsorship deal is now under scrutiny for separate Israeli defence-tech investments.

• Igor Tulchinsky, founder of investment firm WorldQuant, launched a Tel Aviv-based fund in Apr⁠il headed by a recently retired Israeli army commander who promoted remote-controlled vehicles used in Gaza, according to Middle East Eye.
• The fund has invested in NavAiro, an Israeli defence-tech startup developing counter-drone systems, with Tulchinsky quoted saying his "commitment to Israel and its future remains intact."
• Tickets for the first four months of the exhibition sold out within hours on the museum's single biggest day of sales.
• The British Museum also gave a private view of the tapestry to Peter Thiel, founder of Palantir, which supplies the Israeli military with AI software, according to the Guardian.

Zooming out: The controversy adds to a growing debate in European cultural institutions over where the line sits between private philanthropy and ethically contested business interests.