This is Beirut - Nawaf Salam

Forceful Pleas at UN For Two-State Solution for Israel, Palestinians

This is Beirut, 29/07 09:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam United Nations Donald Trump Emmanuel Macron Palestine

There is no alternative to a two-state solution between Israelis and the Palestinians, France told a UN conference co-chaired with Saudi Arabia Monday that was boycotted by Israel and branded a stunt by Washington. "Only a political, two-state solution will help respond to the legitimate aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace ...

Thomas Barrack: When Diplomacy Moves in Circles and Lebanon Follows

Natasha Metni Torbey, 29/07 09:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Lebanon Hezbollah Joseph Aoun Saudi Arabia Tom Barrack

Listening to Thomas Barrack, one might think Lebanon is close to redemption or on the edge of a cliff, perhaps both at once. For months now, the American special envoy has issued statements that are sometimes hopeful, sometimes threatening, often confusing, and always repetitive. With every tweet and announcement, the same message comes through: ...

Replacing Iran with Turkey Is a Recipe for Disaster in Syria

Hussain Abdul-Hussain, 29/07 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Syria Turkey United States Iran

The Syrian revolution was not an uprising for liberty, freedom, or democracy. It was a manifestation of Sunni Islamists, backed by Turkey and Qatar, venting their rage against the rule of Assad, supported by Shia Islamist Iran. Syria’s Sunni Islamists did not care that Assad was a brutal dictator; they sought to replace him with their own ...

UNIFIL Mandate Shift Could Ignite Region: Will the US Push Back on Israeli Demands?

Philippe Abi-Akl, 29/07 08:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam United Nations UNIFIL USA France

One month separates Lebanon from a critical juncture, one of the most sensitive in its modern history. At the end of August, the United Nations Security Council will decide whether to renew the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for another year. The decision could either reaffirm the mission’s role or mark its ...

Israeli Drone Strike Kills One in Southern Lebanon

This is Beirut, 28/07 21:10 - Reading : less than a minute

Nawaf Salam Lebanon South Lebanon Israël

An Israeli drone strike killed one person and injured four others on Monday in the al-Baraka area of Bint Jbeil, southern Lebanon, after targeting a motorcycle with two missiles. The victim was identified as Haitham Muhammed Idris. Earlier in the day, local sources reported the presence of an Israeli reconnaissance drone flying at low altitude ...

US Dismisses UN Israel-Palestinian Conference as 'Publicity Stunt'

This is Beirut, 28/07 21:06 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam France Palestinian Statehood Two-State Solution United Nations Saudi Arabia

The United States on Monday dismissed a French-Saudi-sponsored conference at the United Nations on promoting a two-state solution to the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis as a "stunt." The US State Department labeled the three-day event "unproductive and ill-timed," as well as a "publicity stunt" that would ...

Lebanon Bids Farewell to Ziad Rahbani

This is Beirut, 28/07 20:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Achrafieh Joseph Aoun Ziad Rahbani Nawaf Salam

Lebanon bid farewell on Monday to Ziad Rahbani, one of its most revered and influential artists, in a solemn and emotional atmosphere during a public funeral held at the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary in Mhaidse, Bikfaya. The farewell drew thousands of grieving fans, officials, artists and loved ones, united in mourning the loss of a ...

Trump Announces Food Distribution Centers for Gaza

This is Beirut, 28/07 19:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Gaza United States Donald Trump Famine

President Donald Trump announced Monday that the United States will soon set up food distribution centers in war-ravaged Gaza, citing signs of a “real famine.” In the meantime, international agencies have begun delivering aid to the Palestinian territory, taking advantage of a limited pause in hostilities announced Sunday by Israel. However, ...

Egypt's Sisi Urges Trump to End Gaza War

This is Beirut, 28/07 16:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Palestine Hamas Egypt

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday made an impassioned call for US President Donald Trump to intervene to put an end to Israel's war in Gaza after more than 21 months. In a televised address, Sisi said Trump "is the one capable of stopping the war, bringing in aid and ending this suffering" after more than 21 months, with Gazans ...

Israeli Settlers Attack West Bank Christian Village

This is Beirut, 28/07 16:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam West Bank Palestine Attack

Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank overnight, torching cars and spray-painting threatening graffiti, a witness and the Palestinian Authority said Monday. Jeries Azar, a Taybeh resident and journalist for Palestine TV, told AFP his house and car were targeted in the pre-dawn assault. "I ...

Honkytonk Kenya: Africa’s Home of Country Music

This is Beirut, 28/07 16:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Music Kenya Culture

The party is in Kenya, but the vibe is distinctly Americana: a sea of cowboy hats and boots with a soundtrack of whisky-soaked tales about heartbreak and good old boys. Kenya has become the unlikely home of a growing country music scene, possibly the biggest in Africa, as testified by the thousands line-dancing in a field in the capital Nairobi ...

Israel Says Gaza Got 120 Trucks of Aid on Day One of Pause

This is Beirut, 28/07 11:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Palestine Gaza Aid

Israel said Monday that more than 120 truckloads of food aid were distributed by the UN and aid agencies in the Gaza Strip on the first day of a promised limited break in fighting. On Sunday, Israel declared a "tactical pause" in military operations in part of Gaza and promised to open secure routes for aid, urging humanitarian groups to step up ...

Nawaf Salam