United States

Trump to Host Erdogan at White House on September 25

US President Donald Trump said Friday he will welcome Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the White House next week and expects a resolution to a long-running rift on fighter jets. It will be the first visit to the White House by Erdogan since 2019 during Trump's first term, with former president Joe Biden having a tense relationship with ...

Senate Democrats Reject GOP Funding Bill, Raising Risk of Government Shutdown

US senators failed to pass a stopgap funding bill Friday as Republicans raced to avert a government shutdown and political challenge to President Donald Trump. Lawmakers in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives had narrowly passed the measure, but it was shot down by Democrats in the Senate amid no sign of compromise with Trump's ...

Trump, Xi Report "Progress" on TikTok and Plan Meeting

US President Donald Trump hailed Friday what he called progress with Chinese President Xi Jinping, including on selling blockbuster app TikTok, and said he would visit the Asian power, which offered a more cautious assessment of their talks. The leaders of the world's two largest economies spoke by telephone for the second time since the return ...

Iran Withdraws Draft Resolution to Ban Attacks on Nuclear Facilities

Iran late Thursday withdrew a draft resolution at the UN nuclear watchdog that called to ban attacks against nuclear facilities after its war with Israel, citing reported US pressure for the last-minute change. In mid-June, Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran, triggering a 12-day war that saw Israeli and US strikes on ...

Trump Hopes to Settle TikTok's Fate on Xi Call

President Donald Trump, who recently accused Xi Jinping of working to "conspire" against the United States, hopes to finalize the fate of video-sharing app TikTok and make progress on trade talks in a phone call with the Chinese leader on Friday. "I'm speaking with President Xi, as you know, on Friday, having to do with TikTok, and also trade," ...

US Veto Blocks UN Security Council Resolution on Gaza Ceasefire

The United States on Thursday again wielded its veto and thwarted a UN Security Council call for a ceasefire in Gaza, shielding its ally Israel from meaningful diplomatic pressure. "The United States rejects this unacceptable resolution. It is beyond time that Hamas release every single hostage now and surrender immediately. The United States ...

US Ambassador Says Lebanese Army’s Efforts Are Strong but Insufficient

US Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson highlighted the central role played by the Lebanese Army since the ceasefire agreement, praising its performance as “impressive” but stressing that it is “not enough” to guarantee lasting stability. Speaking in Beirut, Johnson underscored the need for additional measures to strengthen security and ...

Hezbollah, the LAF, and U.S. Policy in Lebanon on This is America!

The debut of This is America is here. From Charlie Kirk’s murder to the 24th 9/11 commemoration, U.S. aid to the Lebanese Army, and an exclusive with Hanin Ghaddar on disarming Hezbollah and the road to peace with Israel—don’t miss the first episode tonight at 10:00 PM (3:00 PM EST) on This is Beirut.

Trump and Starmer Seal Historic 205 Billion Dollar Tech Deal

Donald Trump hailed America's "unbreakable bond" with Britain Thursday as he and Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a huge tech deal on the second day of the US president's pomp-filled state visit. A day after King Charles III treated Trump to a day of royal pageantry at Windsor Castle, Trump flew to Starmer's Chequers country residence for talks ...

Swiss Exports to US Tumble After Tariff Punch

Swiss exports to the United States fell to their lowest level since 2020 in August when massive US tariffs came into effect, official data showed Thursday. The Alpine country's exports to the United States reached 3.1 billion Swiss francs ($3.9 billion) in August, a 22.1 percent drop from July, customs figures showed. Donald Trump imposed a ...

Syria FM Heading to US, a First in 25 Years

Syria's foreign minister is heading to Washington on Thursday, a foreign ministry source rold AFP, in the first such visit in more than 25 years. "Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani will travel to Washington to discuss the lifting of the remaining sanctions," the source said, requesting anonymity as they were not allowed to brief the ...

Buffer Zones and Broken Red Lines: Israel’s New Security Architecture in Syria and Lebanon

For decades, Israel and Lebanon have lived under a paradox: perpetual hostility punctuated by temporary ceasefires. The 1949 Armistice created quiet without peace until the Lebanese state allowed the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to operate from its south in 1969. That decision transformed southern Lebanon into a launchpad for attacks on ...