This is Beirut - United States

World-First IVF Trial Reduces Risk of Babies Inheriting Diseases

This is Beirut, 17/07 11:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United Kingdom United States IVF Babies Mitochondrial

Eight healthy babies have been born in the UK using a new IVF technique that successfully reduced their risk of inheriting genetic diseases from their mothers, the results of a world-first trial said Wednesday. The findings were hailed as a breakthrough which raises hopes that women with mutations in their mitochondrial DNA could one day have ...

France Court Orders Release of Lebanese Militant After Four Decades in Prison

This is Beirut, 17/07 11:35 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

United States Georges Ibrahim Abdallah France

A French appeals court Thursday ordered the release of pro-Palestinian Lebanese militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, who has been imprisoned for 40 years for the 1982 killings of two foreign diplomats. Abdallah, 74, was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for his involvement in the murders of US military attaché Charles Robert Ray and Israeli ...

Ukraine's Wartime Reshuffle: What We Know

This is Beirut, 17/07 10:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky Donald Trump Kyiv United States

Following weeks of rumours, President Volodymyr Zelensky this week unveiled a government reshuffle, replacing his prime minister and defence minister as he aims to inject fresh energy into his team, with no end in sight to the war. Here are the main points to know about the shake up, which comes as ceasefire talks with Russia stall and with the ...

Trump Slams Own Supporters as Epstein Row Grows

This is Beirut, 17/07 05:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

United States Donald Trump Jeffrey Epstein

US President Donald Trump blasted his own supporters and "stupid" Republicans Wednesday as he went on the attack against anyone questioning his administration's handling of the case of dead sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein. Trump took his most combative tone yet to try and shut down the issue, after days of struggling to brush off a conspiracy theory ...

Syria: Agreement Reached to End Violence, Says Rubio

This is Beirut, 16/07 23:08 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump Marco Rubio United States Syria Israel

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that an agreement had been reached to restore calm in Syria by the end of the day, describing the current situation as a “misunderstanding” following Israeli strikes on Damascus and southern Syria. “We have agreed on specific measures that will put an end to this troubling and ...

International Community Reacts to Israeli Strikes in Syria

This is Beirut, 16/07 22:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Syria Israel Tom Barrack United States

The United States' special envoy for Syria on Wednesday called on all parties to step back and engage in dialogue for a lasting ceasefire in Syria following clashes with Druze factions in the south and Israeli strikes in Damascus. "We unequivocally condemn violence against civilians in Sweida... All parties must step back and engage in ...

Russian Strikes Continue in Ukraine Despite Trump’s Ultimatum

This is Beirut, 16/07 21:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Russia Ukraine Donald Trump United States

A Russian strike on a commercial area in eastern Ukraine killed at least two people and injured around twenty others on Wednesday, local authorities reported, just days after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum to Moscow to end the war. On Monday, President Trump gave Russia 50 days to reach a peace agreement with Ukraine or face ...

Trump Says Not Firing Fed Chair, but Not Ruling Out

This is Beirut, 16/07 20:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United States Donald Trump Federal Reserve Jerome Powell

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he was not currently planning to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell but added that he did not rule it out. Trump's mixed messaging, after months of escalating attacks on the independent central bank chief, sent the yield on the 30-year US Treasury bond surging above five percent. Asked about ...

Multinational Crew Returns to Earth on SpaceX Capsule After ISS Mission

Lyne Sammouri, 16/07 14:15 - Reading : less than a minute

United States

A SpaceX capsule with astronauts from India, Poland, Hungary and the United States safely landed off the coast of California, concluding Axiom Mission 4 after 20 days in orbit.

Southern Syria: Israeli Strikes Continue Despite U.S. Calls for De-escalation

This is Beirut, 16/07 11:14 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump Israel United States Syria

Despite repeated calls from the United States to reduce tensions, Israeli warplanes carried out new airstrikes in southern Syria on Wednesday. According to Al-Hadath and Al-Arabiya, Israeli jets conducted three strikes near the outskirts of Sweida province, followed by a fourth targeting the 52nd Brigade in eastern Daraa. This escalation comes ...

Efforts in Congress to Repeal the Caesar Act Amid Shifts in Syria

Amal Chmouny, 16/07 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Syria United States Sanctions Caesar Act Donald Trump

In a significant shift in US foreign policy, a growing bipartisan movement in Congress is pushing to repeal the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019. This push follows President Trump's recent executive order that lifted several longstanding US sanctions on Syria, coinciding with a transformative political climate in the region, ...

The US-China Chip War in Dates

This is Beirut, 16/07 09:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

USA Donald Trump United States China War

The United States has in recent years sought to curb exports of cutting-edge semiconductors to China, with Nvidia and other US chip companies lobbying against its tough restrictions. As Nvidia says it will resume sales of a less powerful AI semiconductor model to China, here is a run-down of the microchip conflict: August 2022: Biden's Chips ...