USA

TikTok Faces Possible Ban in the US After January 19

A regulation that might ban TikTok in the United States unless it finds an American buyer by January 19 has been upheld by a federal court. The ruling requires TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to either sell its US business or shut down in the country. Therefore, the well-known application which is currently used by 170 million Americans, ...

Search for Bodies as LA Firefighters Brace for More Wind

Search teams with dogs fanned out looking for victims in Los Angeles on Monday, as firefighters girded for hurricane-force winds that could spark new blazes. With the disaster in America's second biggest city in its seventh day, 24 people are known to have died -- a toll expected to rise -- and more than 90,000 people remain displaced. But the ...

NATO Baltic Leaders Set to Boost Security After Cable 'Sabotage'

NATO countries on the Baltic Sea will look to boost security when they meet in Helsinki on Tuesday, following the suspected sabotage of undersea cables widely blamed on Russia. They are expected to announce a NATO patrol mission monitoring activity "below, above, and on the sea surface", researcher Iro Sarkka of the Finnish Institute of ...

Trump's Cabinet Picks Come Under US Senate Spotlight

Donald Trump's cabinet nominees go under the microscope in a frenzied week on Capitol Hill starting Tuesday, as US senators hold confirmation hearings that could make or break their political careers. Thirteen nominees will be grilled before 11 committees, and while many will sail through, others face controversies ranging from alleged sexual ...

Ukraine Drone Sparks Huge Fire at Russia Gas Site

A Ukrainian drone attack hit a gas storage tank in Russia's Tatarstan region on Tuesday, sparking a huge blaze, authorities said. Local media published images showing flames and black smoke billowing toward the sky near the city of Kazan, saying that the drone had struck a liquefied gas storage site near a chemical factory. "A gas tank caught ...

President Aoun Says Government Formation Will Be 'Smooth and Quick'

Following the appointment of Judge Nawaf Salam as Lebanon’s Prime Minister (PM), President Joseph Aoun spoke to journalists outside the presidential palace on Monday, expressing his hope that the subsequent formation of the government would be “smooth and quick.” “We have plenty of work ahead of us,” he added. At the end of a long ...

Russia, Iran to Sign 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' Treaty on Jan 17

Russia and Iran will sign a "comprehensive strategic partnership" treaty on Friday during a visit to Russia by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the Kremlin said Monday. Raising concerns in the West, Moscow and Tehran have boosted their military and political cooperation amid Russia's full-scale military offensive on Ukraine and ...

The LACC Applauds President Joseph Aoun's Election and Inaugural Address

In response to President Joseph Aoun's election and his transformative inaugural speech, the Lebanese-American Coordinating Committee (LACC) conveyed a message of support and commitment. In a letter addressed on Monday to the new President of the Republic, Joseph Aoun, following his election last Thursday, the LACC welcomed this new chapter for ...

Reevaluating the Era of Uncertainty in Syria: Balancing Optimism and Deep Concern

The Middle East stands at a crucial crossroads, where deep-rooted conflicts and power struggles continue reverberating through the region, impacting not only its immediate neighbors but also global security and stability. In light of ongoing developments in Syria, This is Beirut features the insights of renowned US foreign relations experts, ...

Iran, European Powers to Hold Nuclear Talks ahead of Trump Return

Iran is set to hold nuclear talks with France, Britain and Germany on Monday, just a week before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office. They are the second round of talks over Iran's nuclear programme in less than two months, following a discreet meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland, in November between Tehran and the three European powers, ...

Fueling the Los Angeles Fires: the Santa Ana Winds

Helping drive the wildfires in the US city of Los Angeles are the so-called Santa Ana winds, a weather phenomenon known to dry out "the hills and the nerves to flash point." The windstorms occur when cold air gathers in the neighboring states of Nevada and Utah. As it moves west and then rushes down California's mountains, it heats up -- and ...

California: Wildfire Victims Facing a Housing Crisis

Days after an inferno razed Pacific Palisades, Maya Lieberman is desperate to find somewhere to live. But unscrupulous landlords who are jacking up prices are making it hard. "The price gouging is going haywire, it's obscene," the 50-year-old stylist told AFP. "I can't find anywhere for us to go." Huge fires that have torn through Los Angeles ...