This is Beirut - United States

Lebanon Should Take a Cue from al-Sharaa - and Talk to Israel

Hussain Abdul-Hussain, 20/05 16:48 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanon Israel Syria United States Donald Trump

A joke has it that Syria’s self-proclaimed president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, offered to build a Trump Tower in Damascus to make up for the two New York towers that Al-Qaeda, al-Sharaa former organization, destroyed on 9/11, killing 2,753 Americans. Times are changing. Since October 7, Iran has been begging America for a nuclear deal that ...

Trump Gets talks Pledge but no Ukraine Ceasefire from Putin

This is Beirut, 20/05 09:04 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Donald Trump Vladimir Putin United States Russia

Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine would "immediately" start peace talks after he spoke with Vladimir Putin on Monday, despite the Russian leader rebuffing the US president's call for an unconditional truce. Trump framed the two-hour conversation as a breakthrough as the Republican seeks an elusive deal to end the conflict that he ...

Trump Fuels Biden Cancer Cover-up Claims

This is Beirut, 20/05 05:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

United States Joe Biden Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump fueled speculation Monday that Joe Biden's cancer diagnosis was covered up, saying he was "surprised" the public was not told about his predecessor's condition earlier. Republican Trump's extraordinary claim came just a day after it emerged that his bitter Democratic political rival, 82, had an ...

Zelensky Warns U.S. Against Disengagement from Ukraine Peace Efforts

This is Beirut, 19/05 23:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky Russia United States

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday issued a warning to the United States, cautioning that any withdrawal from peace efforts would play directly into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Speaking after former U.S. President Donald Trump held calls with both Zelensky and Putin as part of a new initiative to end the ...

Pope Meets Vance ahead of Ukraine Ceasefire Push

This is Beirut, 19/05 17:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump Pope Francis United States Vatican

Pope Leo XIV received US Vice President JD Vance and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican on Monday, ahead of a US-led push to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The Vatican released photographs of Vance and Rubio smiling as they met with the Chicago-born pontiff, who was elected as head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics on May 8 ...

Nvidia Unveils Plans for Taiwan’s First AI Supercomputer

This is Beirut, 19/05 11:38 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United States USA Huang Nvidia

Nvidia boss Jensen Huang announced plans for Taiwan's "first AI supercomputer", as he showcased on Monday the company's latest advances in artificial intelligence. Global semiconductor chip giants have gathered in Taiwan for the island's top tech expo, Computex, as the sector grapples with the impact of US tariffs and disrupted supply ...

New Middle East US Foreign Policy Shifts Put Lebanon at a Crossroads

Amal Chmouny, 19/05 10:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Lebanon United States Donald Trump Saudi Arabia

As Lebanon finds itself at a crucial juncture, the implications of recent US diplomatic maneuvers cannot be overstated. As the US focuses more on its relationships with Sunni Gulf states, tensions with Iran are on the rise, changing the complex political dynamics in Lebanon. These changes come at a time when Iran's influence appears to be ...

Joe Biden Diagnosed with Aggressive Prostate Cancer

This is Beirut, 19/05 09:12 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

United States Joe Biden

Former US president Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an "aggressive" form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, and is reviewing treatment options, his office said Sunday. On Friday, the 82-year-old Democrat -- whose son Beau Biden died of cancer in 2015 -- was diagnosed with the disease after he experienced urinary symptoms and a ...

Italy's Meloni, US VP Vance and EU Chief to Meet on Sunday

This is Beirut, 18/05 16:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Giorgia Meloni JD Vance Urusla von der Leyen Italy European Commission United States

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will host a three-way meeting with US Vice President JD Vance and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen later on Sunday, her office announced. The 3:30 pm (1330 GMT) meeting "will focus on relations between the European Union and the United States, as well as on the main issues on the ...

Severe Tornadoes Kill More Than 25 in South-Central Us

This is Beirut, 18/05 05:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United States Climate Tornadoes

Severe storms that swept through the US states of Missouri, Kentucky and Virginia left more than 25 people dead, laying waste to local communities and cutting off electricity to nearly 200,000, authorities said Saturday. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said on X at least 18 people had died in the storms Friday night, while local officials in ...

Erdogan Sees End in Sight for US Sanctions on Turkish Defense Sector

This is Beirut, 17/05 15:07 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Turkey United States Donald Trump Sanctions CAATSA

Turkey has seen an easing of US sanctions on its defense sector since Donald Trump became president, with steps towards ending the measure advancing quickly, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday. "We can easily say that there is a softening in CAATSA," he told reporters while returning from a European summit, referring to US ...

Republican Infighting Derails Key Vote on Trump’s Signature Mega-Bill

This is Beirut, 16/05 22:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United States Republican Party Donald Trump Congress

Republican fiscal hawks on Friday sunk a key vote on advancing the mega-bill that is the centerpiece of Donald Trump's domestic agenda, in a significant setback for the US president's tax and spending policies. Trump is pushing to usher into law his so-called "One Big, Beautiful Bill," pairing an extension of his first-term tax cuts with savings ...

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