This is Beirut - United States

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

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

Nawaf Salam Donald Trump 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 ...

Trump says Indonesia to Face 19% Tariff Under Trade Deal

This is Beirut, 16/07 09:17 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United States Donald Trump Indonesia Tariffs

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he had struck a trade pact with Indonesia resulting in significant purchase commitments from the Southeast Asian country, following negotiations to avoid steeper tariffs. Indonesian goods entering the United States would face a 19 percent tariff, Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. This ...

Trump Says Any ‘Credible’ Epstein Files Should Be Released

This is Beirut, 16/07 05:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United States Donald Trump Politics Justice

President Donald Trump said Tuesday the US Justice Department should release all "credible" information from its probe into notorious sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein as he sought to douse a firestorm of criticism from his supporters over his handling of the case. Trump is facing the most serious split of his political career from his famously loyal ...

US Envoy Says Working to Restore Calm in Syria, Calls Clashes 'Worrisome'

This is Beirut, 15/07 20:20 - Reading : less than a minute

Syria United States Tom Barrack

US diplomat Tom Barrack said Tuesday that deadly violence in Syria's southern province of Sweida was "worrisome" and that his government was working to restore calm in the country. "The recent skirmishes in Sweida are worrisome on all sides, and we are attempting to come to a peaceful, inclusive outcome for Druze, Bedouin ...

Astronauts From US, India, Poland, Hungary on SpaceX Capsule Return to Earth

This is Beirut, 15/07 13:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

United States USA SpaceX Poland Hungary India

A SpaceX capsule carrying astronauts from India, Poland, Hungary and the United States splashed down off the California coast Tuesday, completing Axiom Mission 4 and capping 20 days in space. The Ax-4 crew undocked from the International Space Station at 7:15 am EST on Monday (1115 GMT) for a 22.5-hour journey, landing in the Pacific Ocean at ...

Aid Cuts, Misinformation Threaten Child Vaccination Progress: UN

This is Beirut, 15/07 09:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United Nations United States Covid

Global infant vaccination levels have stabilised after shrinking during the Covid crisis, the UN said Tuesday, but it warned that misinformation and drastic aid cuts were deepening dangerous coverage gaps and putting millions at risk. In 2024, 85 percent of infants globally, or 109 million, had received three doses of the vaccine against ...

Trump Gives Russia 50 Days to Make Ukraine Deal

This is Beirut, 15/07 09:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Donald Trump United States Russia Tariffs

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 ...

Lavrov Meets Xi in Beijing: Russian Foreign Ministry

This is Beirut, 15/07 09:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

United States Lavrov Xi Jinping Beijing

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with China's leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Tuesday, Moscow said, as the top Russian diplomat visited for a Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting. Xi received Lavrov in the Chinese capital "as part of his participation in the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation ...

Barrack: Hezbollah Must Hand Over Weapons That Threaten Israel

This is Beirut, 14/07 22:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Lebanon Hezbollah United States Tom Barrack

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

This is Beirut, 14/07 20:51 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam USA Tehran United States Washington

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 ...

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