This is Beirut, 17/07 09:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Damascus Israel Saudi Arabia Turkey
The Syrian government announced Thursday that local leaders would assume control over security in the city of Sweida in an attempt to end violence that has claimed hundreds of lives and prompted Israel's military intervention in support of the Druze minority. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and eyewitnesses told AFP on Thursday ...
This is Beirut, 16/07 14:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Turkey Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu Erdogan
Istanbul's mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Turkey's leading opposition figure, got a 20-month prison sentence for insulting and threatening the city's public prosecutor Wednesday, according to a court document obtained by AFP. The case is one of a number lined up against Imamoglu, the main rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is already ...
Christiane Tager, 15/07 21:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Europe European Union Gulf Saudi Arabia Turkey
Lebanon’s land still gives, but the market no longer answers. At a recent Cabinet meeting, Agriculture Minister Nizar Hani issued a stark warning: Lebanese agriculture is at a breaking point. With distribution in crisis, export routes to the Gulf shut down and a stifling economic climate, the sector is being pushed to the edge. “Maritime ...
This is Beirut, 12/07 12:00 - Reading : less than a minute
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday his country had achieved victory after Kurdish rebels destroyed their weapons, ending their decades-long armed struggle against Ankara. Friday's symbolic weapons destruction ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan marked a major step in the transition of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) from ...
This is Beirut, 11/07 18:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Kurdish PKK militants want to return to Turkey and enter democratic politics, one of the group's joint leaders told AFP on Friday after the fighters began destroying their arms at a ceremony in Iraq. In an interview with AFP, Bese Hozat, one of the Kurdish militant group's two top leaders, also warned the fragile peace process risked being ...
This is Beirut, 11/07 09:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) will start laying down their arms at a ceremony in northern Iraq on Friday, two months after the militant group ended its armed struggle against the Turkish state. The move comes in response to a historic call by jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan in February, urging them to end their decades-long ...
This is Beirut, 11/07 09:05 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Thirty PKK fighters destroyed their weapons at a ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan on Friday, two months after the Kurdish rebels ended their decades-long armed struggle against the Turkish state. The ceremony marks a turning point in the transition of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) from armed insurgency to democratic politics, as part of a ...
Sarah Martin, 09/07 17:40 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Turkey Kurds PKK Abdullah Öcalan Disarmament
More than four decades after the start of an armed insurgency that has claimed over 45,000 lives, an announcement made on July 9, 2025, could mark a decisive turning point in Turkey’s modern history. Speaking from his isolated prison cell on the island of Imrali, Abdullah Öcalan, the historic leader and founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party ...
This is Beirut, 09/07 16:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Turkey United Nations Syria lebanon UNHCR
Thousands of Syrian refugees are set to return from Lebanon this week as part of the first United Nations-backed plan that offers financial incentives for repatriation, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The initiative comes as Syria’s new Islamist-led government, which replaced President Bashar al-Assad in December, says all citizens are welcome ...
This is Beirut, 09/07 09:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
The Kurdish militant PKK group's disarmament process will happen quickly but establishing a Turkish political framework to ensure the switch to democratic politics will be crucial, its jailed founder said Wednesday. Abdullah Ocalan's statement came ahead of Friday's ceremony in northern Iraq for a first tranche of PKK militants to lay ...
This is Beirut, 07/07 17:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Turkey PKK Kurds Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish DEM party Monday to discuss the next steps after PKK militants agreed to end their decades-long insurgency. DEM, Turkey's third-biggest party, has played a key role in facilitating an emerging peace deal between the government and jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan, whose ...
This is Beirut, 07/07 15:00 - Reading : less than a minute
Syria Turkey wildfires climate change environment
Massive wildfires have ravaged parts of Syria and Turkey, turning forests to ash and triggering what officials call a “real environmental disaster."