This is Beirut

Hochstein: Israel Will Withdraw From All Lebanese Territories

This is Beirut, 2025-01-06 19:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Amos Hochstein Lebanese Army United States USA

US envoy to Lebanon Amos Hochstein announced on Monday the start of the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Naqoura. Following his meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh and Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in the Grand Serail, Hochstein reiterated Washington's support for the Lebanese army. “Israeli forces ...

'Protect Our People': Armed Syrian Volunteers Watch Over Damascus

This is Beirut, 2025-01-06 14:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Damascus USA

Every night, Damascus residents stand guard outside shops and homes armed with light weapons often supplied by Syria's new rulers, eager to fill the security vacuum that followed the recent takeover. After Islamist-led rebels ousted former president Bashar al-Assad in early December, thousands of soldiers, policemen and other security officials ...

Equivocations

Charles Chartouni, 2025-01-06 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Lebanon Syria Hezbollah Iran USA

The situation in both Lebanon and Syria is still shrouded in ambiguities, deliberate equivocations, and malevolence. Nothing seems clear, and actors continue to operate in grey zones, let alone in the dark alleys that persist throughout.. The chances of negotiations and constructive engagement are quite narrow and are not part of the political ...

Truce Violations Persist... Adraee: "Hezbollah Will Not Be Allowed to Rearm"

This is Beirut, 2025-01-05 20:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Hezbollah USA

The Lebanese army reopened three roads that had been blocked by Israel at dawn after the latter infiltrated the Taybeh-Marjeyoun area and obstructed the roads with dirt barriers, the Lebanese army said in a statement. The Israeli army advanced on Sunday toward the town of Taybeh, where it demolished several houses using explosives and conducted ...

Wafic Safa: Our Only Veto Is Against Samir Geagea

This is Beirut, 2025-01-05 12:20 - Reading : less than a minute

Amos Hochstein Hassan Nasrallah Joseph Aoun USA Hezbollah

As four days separate us from the January 9 presidential election, the head of Hezbollah's coordination and liaison unit, Wafic Safa, declared that “there is no veto on the candidacy of the commander-in-chief of the army, General Joseph Aoun, for the presidency of the Republic. However, our only veto is against Samir Geagea, as he embodies a ...

Gaza Truce Talks Resume in Qatar as Violence Shows no Let-Up

This is Beirut, 2025-01-05 09:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Palestine Donald Trump Benjamin Netanyahu USA Hamas

Israel confirmed on Saturday that negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal had resumed in Qatar, as rescuers said more than 30 people had been killed in fresh bombardment of the territory. The civil defence agency said a dawn air strike on the home of the al-Ghoula family in Gaza City killed 11 people, seven of them ...

Judge to Sentence Trump Before Inauguration in Hush Money Case

This is Beirut, 2025-01-04 09:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump New York USA

The New York judge presiding over President-elect Donald Trump's hush money case on Friday set sentencing for 10 days before his January 20 inauguration and said he was not inclined to impose jail time. Judge Juan Merchan said Trump, the first former president ever convicted of a crime, can appear either in person or virtually at his January 10 ...

National Funeral Service, Flyover and 39 Bells for Carter Sendoff

This is Beirut, 2025-01-04 09:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump USA Washington White House Carter

Mourners are to begin paying their respects to Jimmy Carter on Saturday, kicking off a carefully choreographed six-day farewell for America's longest-lived president. Flags have been flying at half-mast around the country since Carter died on December 29 at the age of 100 in his hometown of Plains, Georgia. Carter's state funeral officially ...

Biden Blocks US Steel Sale to Japan's Nippon Steel

This is Beirut, 2025-01-04 09:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

USA Donald Trump

US Steel and Nippon Steel threatened legal action Friday after President Joe Biden blocked a controversial $14.9 billion deal for the Japanese company to buy its American rival. Biden cited a strategic need to protect domestic industry -- but the move drew sharp criticism from both companies. The decision came after a government panel failed to ...

Czech Republic Reopens Damascus Embassy to Help US

This is Beirut, 2025-01-03 12:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam USA Damascus Middle East

The Czech Republic, whose embassy has represented the United States in Syria since 2012, has reopened its mission after closing it last month following a coup that toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad. The Czech Republic has represented the US and other Western countries in Syria after nations closed their embassies because of civil war. "We ...

Top US Republican Fights for Future in Cliffhanger Vote

This is Beirut, 2025-01-03 09:35 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Republicans USA Donald Trump Democrats

US Republican leader Mike Johnson was set to face down critics Friday in a vote in Congress that could see him returned as one of the country's top statesmen – or jettisoned to the back benches and political obscurity. Having seized the gavel in a palace coup in 2023, the Louisiana conservative is vying for reelection as speaker of the House of ...

Asia stocks begin year on cautious note

This is Beirut, 2025-01-02 17:27 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Donald Trump New York USA Washington

Asian stocks began 2025 mostly in the red on Thursday after worries about US interest rates, tariffs and China's economy gave Wall Street the holiday blues for a fourth straight session. Equities mostly had a bumper 2024 on the back of enthusiasm about artificial intelligence (AI), cuts in borrowing costs by central banks and Donald Trump's ...

Usa