This is Beirut, 12/12 11:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
EU states on Thursday cleared Bulgaria and Romania to become full members of the borderless Schengen zone from the start of next year, officials said. "It is a historic moment to finally welcome Bulgaria and Romania," said Hungarian Interior Minister Sandor Pinter, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency. The two countries, both members ...
This is Beirut, 11/12 18:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
EU countries agreed on Wednesday to blacklist around 50 additional oil tankers from Russia's "shadow fleet," which have been used to circumvent Western sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine, officials said. The move, which is set to be formally approved by foreign ministers on Monday, is part of the EU's 15th sanctions package since Russia's ...
This is Beirut, 09/12 20:39 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland and several Nordic countries said Monday they would freeze all pending asylum requests from Syrians, a day after the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad. While Berlin and other governments said they were watching the fast-moving developments in the war-ravaged nation, Vienna signalled it would soon deport ...
This is Beirut, 09/12 15:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
European Union Germany HTS Syria Bachar el-Assad
Germany said on Monday it would judge Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) the Syrian rebel group that spearheaded the offensive to oust president Bashar al-Assad, by the actions it takes in government. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) would "certainly play a role in the future of Syria", foreign ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer told a regular press ...
This is Beirut, 06/12 16:45 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
European Union Mercosur South Americain Von der Leyen
The EU and four South American countries have concluded a huge, but controversial trade deal that is opposed by France and many European farmers, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announced on Friday. "This is a win-win agreement," von der Leyen said in Uruguay, where she was attending a summit of the Mercosur bloc involved ...
This is Beirut, 06/12 09:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Europe's new Vega-C rocket launched Thursday from French Guiana and put a satellite into orbit in its first takeoff since a failed flight two years ago. After two days of delays, the rocket -- crucial to Europe's autonomy in reaching space -- took off without problems, carrying the Sentinel-1C satellite for the European Union's Copernicus Earth ...
This is Beirut, 04/12 21:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
European Union Kyiv Ukraine Russia
Russia and Ukraine will send their foreign ministers to Malta this week for a summit of the OSCE, officials said Wednesday, in one of the few events attended by both countries since Moscow's Ukraine offensive began. The trip marks Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's first to an EU member since the start of the conflict in February 2022, and ...
This is Beirut, 03/12 10:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
European Union United States USA Syria HTS
The Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which seized Aleppo in a shock offensive over the weekend, is an Islamist movement that has long ruled swathes of the country's northwest. The group has sought to moderate its image in recent years, including by cutting ties with its one-time sponsor Al-Qaeda, but it faces an uphill battle ...
This is Beirut, 29/11 17:15 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
European Union Lithuania China diplomacy Taiwan
Lithuania announced on Friday that it was expelling three staff members of the Chinese embassy, as relations between the Baltic nation and Beijing deteriorate over Lithuania’s support for Taiwan and the suspected involvement of a Chinese ship in the damage to undersea telecommunications cables. Earlier this month, two Baltic Sea ...
This is Beirut, 29/11 17:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
European Union Georgia Protests
Police in Georgia arrested dozens of people overnight and early Friday in a violent crackdown on protests against the government's decision to delay EU membership talks. The Black Sea nation has been rocked by turmoil since the ruling party declared victory in October parliamentary elections that the pro-EU opposition decried as ...
This is Beirut, 29/11 14:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
European Union Israel Lebanese Army UN Security Council United Nations United States
The European Union reaffirmed its commitment to mobilizing a wide range of tools to support the Lebanese Army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), so that UN Security Council Resolution 1701 can be “effectively and fully implemented on the ground.” The EU viewed the ceasefire agreement as “a major achievement, which the ...
This is Beirut, 28/11 19:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
European Union Ukraine Russia Military Aid
The European Union on Thursday confirmed it would give Ukraine 18.1 billion euros ($19 billion) as part of a bigger G7 loan backed by profits from frozen Russian assets. The Group of Seven advanced economies last month finalised an agreement on a $50 billion loan to Kyiv to help prop up the country as it struggles to fight back against Moscow's ...