United States

Trump Gives Russia 50 Days to Make Ukraine Deal

US President Donald Trump told Russia on Monday to end its Ukraine war within 50 days or face massive new economic sanctions as he laid out plans for new infusions of weaponry for Kyiv via NATO. Trump said he was "very, very unhappy" with Vladimir Putin, underlining his insistence that his patience had finally snapped with the Russian ...

Barrack: Hezbollah Must Hand Over Weapons That Threaten Israel

Washington made clear on Monday, via its envoy Tom Barrack, that the disarmament of Hezbollah should focus specifically on “weapons that threaten Israel’s security.” Barrack stressed in a statement that the United States continues to classify Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and called on the Lebanese government to take the lead in ...

Iran Says No Nuclear Talks If US Insists It Abandon Enrichment

Iran said on Monday there would be no new nuclear talks with the United States if they were conditioned on Tehran abandoning its uranium enrichment activities. Washington and Tehran had been engaged in several rounds of negotiations seeking to strike a deal on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, but Israel derailed the talks when it ...

Joumblatt Asserts Commitment to Sovereignty and Praises LAF Efforts

Former head of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) Walid Joumblatt emphasized on Monday that preserving the Lebanese state remains a shared priority with international partners, particularly the United States. “Our concern is the same as the American concern, to preserve Greater Lebanon,” Joumblatt said following a meeting with Parliament ...

EU Could Target 72 Bn Euros of US Goods If Tariff Talks Fail

The European Commission on Monday said it was putting forward a new list of US goods worth 72 billion euros ($84 billion) that could be targeted by EU levies if tariff talks with Washington fail. The bloc's trade chief, Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, announced the proposal, "accounting for some 72 billion euros' worth of US ...

Lebanon's Central Bank Partners with K2 Integrity to Exit Grey List

As part of its strategy to curb the expansion of the informal economy and combat illicit and fraudulent activities, Lebanon’s Central Bank announced on Monday the signing of a cooperation agreement with US-based firm K2 Integrity, which specializes in global risk management, compliance, and financial investigations. The agreement is part of the ...

Trump Says US Will Send Ukraine Patriot Air Defense Systems

US President Donald Trump is hosting the NATO chief in Washington on Monday after teasing a "major statement" on Russia's war in Ukraine, with senior Republicans preparing an arsenal of sanctions against Moscow. Trump, seeking to negotiate an end to the three-year war, has expressed growing impatience with the Kremlin leader, and ...

The Unfinished Wars

The regional political scene is quite treacherous, as it conveys misleading signals regarding the outcomes of the ongoing wars in the greater Middle East. American diplomacy remains evasive regarding these wars and their prospects. This uncertainty complicates international relations and makes it challenging for global powers to formulate coherent ...

EU Chief Delays Retaliation for US Tariffs in Search of Deal

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday Brussels will keep holding off on hitting back at US steel and aluminium tariffs, as it seeks a deal to ward off broader 30-percent levies. US President Donald Trump on Saturday threw months of painstaking negotiations into disarray by announcing he would hammer the 27-nation bloc with sweeping 30-percent ...

Israel Launches Communications Satellite from Florida

Israel on Sunday said it had launched a new national communications satellite on board a SpaceX rocket from the United States. The Dror 1 satellite was blasted into orbit on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral in Florida, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and the foreign ministry said. "This $200 million 'smartphone in space' will power ...

Chelsea Out to Stop PSG Completing Clean Sweep in Club World Cup Final

Chelsea must somehow try to stop an irresistible Paris Saint-Germain side from adding the Club World Cup trophy to their UEFA Champions League title as the final of the first edition of FIFA's expanded competition takes place on Sunday. PSG travelled to the United States fresh from becoming European champions with a stunning 5-0 demolition of ...

Macron Declares July 12 Annual Dreyfus Commemoration Day

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday declared July 12 a French day of national commemoration for Alfred Dreyfus, a French army captain wrongly convicted of treason in 1894 in a notorious act of antisemitism. "From now on, there will be a commemoration ceremony every July 12 for Dreyfus, for the victory of justice and the truth ...