White House

Disarming Hezbollah Starts with the Banks

One billion dollars. That is the sum Hezbollah is said to have received from Iran in 2025. An astonishing figure, revealed during the highly political visit of the U.S. Treasury delegation led by Sebastian Gorka, the White House’s counterterrorism director. How did the militia manage to receive such an amount? Through currency exchange offices, ...

Syria Foils Two Islamic State Plots to Assassinate Sharaa

According to Reuters, Syrian authorities have thwarted two separate Islamic State (IS) plots to assassinate President Ahmed al-Sharaa in recent months, in what officials described as a direct threat to the leader as he prepares to join a U.S.-led coalition against the militant group. Two senior officials, one Syrian and one from the broader ...

Syrian President to Visit White House for Landmark Talks

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa is to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday for unprecedented talks, just days after Washington removed him from a terrorism blacklist. Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, will be the first Syrian leader to visit the White House since the ...

U.S. Treasury Delegation in Beirut, Sanctions Top of the Agenda

This is Beirut has learned that President Joseph Aoun will meet tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Baabda Palace with a delegation from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, headed by Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John Hurley, and accompanied by officials from the White House. Talks are expected to focus on counterterrorism ...

Former Jihadist Syrian Leader Makes Unprecedented White House Visit

President Ahmed al-Sharaa will become Syria's first leader to pay an official visit to the White House on Monday, a crowning achievement for the ex-jihadist who, since taking power, has ended his country's isolation. Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, will meet President Donald Trump during the ...

White House Withdraws Joel Rayburn’s Nomination for Deputy Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs

The White House has withdrawn the nomination of Joel Rayburn for the position of Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, according to the American media outlet Axios. Rayburn’s nomination had stirred controversy over his alleged role in concealing U.S. troop levels in Syria from then-President Donald Trump during his first term, ...

Trump Completes Demolition of White House East Wing

Demolition workers have finished tearing down the White House's entire East Wing to make way for US President Donald Trump's giant new $300 million ballroom, satellite pictures showed Thursday. The completion of the wrecking work came as the White House released a list of donors to the ballroom including Apple, Google and Meta. A gray ...

US Vice President JD Vance to Visit Israel as Trump Administration Pushes Gaza Ceasefire Implementation

US Vice President JD Vance is expected to visit Israel on Monday as part of efforts by the Trump administration to accelerate the implementation of the agreement ending the recent Gaza war, Axios reported Friday, citing US and Israeli sources. While US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff was initially expected to lead the delegation, the White House ...

María Corina Machado Wins the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize

At 58, María Corina Machado became the first Venezuelan woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. The announcement from Oslo recognizes her steadfast and nonviolent fight for democracy in a country where opposing the government carries great risk. Born in Caracas in 1967, she is an industrial engineer and a graduate of the Andrés Bello Catholic ...

White House says Nobel Trump Snub was 'Politics Over Peace'

The White House lashed out at the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday after it awarded the peace prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and overlooked US President Donald Trump. "The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace," White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung said on ...

Trump and Artificial Intelligence: Reclaiming America’s Lead

In January 2025, barely back in the White House, Donald Trump set the tone: artificial intelligence would not be merely a technological challenge but a strategic instrument to secure American supremacy. The Executive Order 14179, Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence, marked a turning point. Regulatory constraints ...

ADDS Energy Projects Terminated, New York Funding Freeze

Efforts to swiftly end the US government shutdown collapsed Wednesday as Democrats in Congress went home without resolving a funding stand-off with President Donald Trump and the White House threatened public sector jobs. Federal funding expired at midnight after Trump and lawmakers failed to agree on a deal to keep the lights on, prompting ...