This is Beirut

Senator Ronny Jackson Calls for a Security Monopoly by the Lebanese Army

This is Beirut, 22/02 19:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

A delegation from the US Congress, led by Senator Ronny Jackson, met on Saturday with the President of the Republic, Joseph Aoun, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, in the presence of the US Ambassador to Lebanon, Lisa Johnson. At the end of the meeting, Jackson expressed the United States’ desire to see a new phase of peace and stability in ...

Trump Says Wants Musk to Be 'More Aggressive' in Federal Cuts

This is Beirut, 22/02 17:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Donald Trump USA

US President Donald Trump said Saturday he would like his billionaire advisor Elon Musk to get "more aggressive" in implementing his reform agenda, cutting back the federal government. "Elon is doing a great job, but I would like to see him get more aggressive," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "Remember, we have ...

What Should America Do About Syria?

David Hale , 21/02 18:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Syria USA America Gaza Lebanon

While Lebanese are focused intently on developments in Syria, the topic is absent in Washington. Yet what is happening there is one of the landmark geo-strategic developments of the Middle East of our times, the demise of a long-standing problematic regime for America and its friends and part and parcel of the reversal of fortunes of a major ...

Macron to Tell Trump: "You Can't Be Weak with Putin" Ahead of US Visit

This is Beirut, 20/02 22:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Donald Trump Emmanuel Macron USA Volodymyr Zelensky Europe

President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that France was entering a "new era" and that he planned to tell US President Donald Trump he could not "be weak" with Vladimir Putin. Macron spoke to the French ahead of a planned visit to the White House to meet Trump next week, as Europe scrambles to respond to his Ukraine war ...

Exclusive: Dr. Matthew Levitt: A Majority of Lebanese Are Annoyed by Hezbollah's Entry into War with Israel

Tylia El Helou, 20/02 21:45 - Reading : less than a minute

Lebanon Hezbollah USA Israel Lebanese Army

In an exclusive interview, Dr. Matthew Levitt, the Director of the Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, explained how the Lebanese Army exceeded Washington’s expectations in its deployment in South Lebanon. He also explained that Lebanon and Israel should start discussing peace ...

US Appeals Court Keeps Lock on Trump's Birthright Order

This is Beirut, 20/02 12:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Donald Trump USA US Supreme Court birthright citizenship

An appeals court upheld an order on Wednesday blocking President Donald Trump from ending birthright citizenship for children whose parents are in the United States illegally. The emergency request was filed by the Justice Department in an attempt to clear the path for Trump's executive order, which has been blocked by judges in lower district ...

G20 Foreign Ministers Meet in South Africa Without US on Board

This is Beirut, 20/02 09:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

USA Donald Trump

Top diplomats from the Group of 20 major economies will convene in South Africa on Thursday for a meeting dominated by a packed global agenda but overshadowed by a snub by the top US envoy. As a curtain-raiser to the G20 summit in November, the foreign ministers will gather for talks over two days, held for the first time in Africa. South ...

Trump’s Art of the Deal: Ukraine, Russia, and the $500 Billion Power Play

Salam El Zaatari, 20/02 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Ukraine Donald Trump USA Russia

If you think diplomacy is about treaties and handshakes, you haven’t been paying attention. In the world of Donald J. Trump, geopolitics is just another business deal. And in his latest playbook for Ukraine, he’s offering a trade deal that sounds more like a corporate takeover than a peace agreement. Here’s the pitch: Ukraine, battered by ...

Zelensky Says Trump has Succumbed to Russian 'Disinformation'

This is Beirut, 19/02 15:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Volodymyr Zelensky Donald Trump USA Kyiv Russia War

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday accused Donald Trump of succumbing to Russian "disinformation", deepening a rift between Kyiv and the new US administration. Speaking to reporters at a press conference on Tuesday, Trump echoed many of Russia's talking points on the three-year war in Ukraine, blaming Kyiv for having "started" ...

US top diplomat visits UAE on final leg of Mideast tour

This is Beirut, 19/02 09:35 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

United Arab Emirates USA Gulf

US top diplomat Marco Rubio visited the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday for the final leg of his first Middle East tour, after breakthrough talks with Russian officials in Riyadh. After arriving in Abu Dhabi in the morning, the US secretary of state was set to meet with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Foreign Minister Abdullah ...

In Joint Interview, Trump Outlines Musk's Role as Enforcer-in-Chief

This is Beirut, 19/02 09:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump USA Elon Musk

US President Donald Trump painted Elon Musk as his enforcer-in-chief Tuesday, hailing the tech billionaire's zeal in implementing the blizzard of executive orders the president has issued since returning to office. In a joint interview broadcast on Fox News, the two men spent substantial time singing the other's praises and dismissing concerns ...

US Reaffirms Support for Lebanese Army

This is Beirut, 18/02 21:55 - Reading : less than a minute

Lebanese Army USA United States Washington

The United States has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Lebanon’s security and stability, emphasizing that assistance to the Lebanese Army (LAF) will continue. In a statement posted on its official X account on Tuesday, the US State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs stressed that Washington remains dedicated to backing the ...

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