This is Beirut, 19/03 20:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
The US Federal Reserve paused interest rate cuts again on Wednesday and noted an increase in economic uncertainty, as it navigates an economy unnerved by President Donald Trump's stop-start tariff rollout. Policymakers voted to hold the US central bank's key lending rate at between 4.25 percent and 4.50 percent, the Fed announced in a ...
David Hale , 19/03 17:15 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Donald Trump USA United States Middle East
Elections matter. Only a few months ago, the Biden Administration struggled to assert its relevance amidst dramatic events in the Middle East. It had plenty to say, much of it contradictory, as it attempted to deal with the Democratic Party's split personality on Israel and the Palestinians while losing an election. The fragile ceasefires that ...
This is Beirut, 19/03 16:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky Donald Trump United Arab Emirates Kyiv
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 372 soldiers in a prisoner swap brokered by the United Arab Emirates, Moscow and Kyiv said Wednesday. Prisoner swaps and the exchange of remains of killed soldiers is one of the only areas of cooperation between the warring countries since the Kremlin launched the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. The ...
This is Beirut, 19/03 13:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Volodymyr Zelensky Donald Trump Kyiv Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Wednesday against heeding a Kremlin call to halt military aid for his country and announced he would speak with US President Donald Trump later within hours. Russian leader Vladimir Putin issued the demand during a call with Trump on Tuesday, part of a rapprochement initiated by Washington that seeks to broker ...
This is Beirut, 19/03 11:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Donald Trump European Union Europe Ukraine
The EU on Wednesday will look to fire the starting pistol on plans to help member states bolster their defences, as Europe grapples with an aggressive Russia and the potential loss of US security protections. US President Donald Trump has turbocharged calls for Europe to rearm by casting doubt on Washington's central role in NATO and making ...
This is Beirut, 18/03 23:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Volodymyr Zelensky Vladimir Putin Donald Trump United States Russia Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said Ukraine was favorable to a US-proposed truce on strikes against energy infrastructure endorsed by Russia, but needed more "details" from Washington first. Speaking after a call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelensky also warned in an online briefing ...
This is Beirut, 18/03 22:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Donald Trump Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky United States Russia
Vladimir Putin agreed Tuesday in a call with Donald Trump to halt attacks against Ukrainian energy targets but would not accept an immediate full ceasefire and insisted that the West halt all military aid for Kyiv. The US and Russian leaders spoke for more than an hour and a half and both expressed hopes for repairing relations wrecked by ...
Mario Chartouni, 18/03 21:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Palestine Donald Trump Hamas Hezbollah Israel
As fighting in Gaza escalates with renewed hostilities and intensified strikes, uncertainty over the future of the Israel-Hamas conflict is deepening. With Palestinian sources reporting more than 400 deaths since Monday, This is Beirut spoke with General Khalil Helou to assess the dynamics at play, the potential impact on regional stability, and ...
This is Beirut, 18/03 16:54 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Israel Donald Trump Benjamin Netanyahu Hamas
Israel's deadly strikes on Gaza drew global condemnation on Tuesday, as it said it had "no alternative" other than to resume military operations in order to bring home hostages. The strikes, by far the deadliest since a truce took effect in January, killed more than 400 people, according to the health ministry in Gaza. Israel vowed ...
Philippe Abi-Akl, 18/03 08:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Donald Trump Hezbollah Lebanon Syria Yemen Iran
Last week, UAE Diplomatic Adviser Anwar Gargash delivered a message from President Donald Trump to Iran’s leadership, proposing a revival of nuclear negotiations that his administration suspended in 2015. Trump’s message stated, “A deal with Iran is preferable to military action, as I do not seek to harm it.” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali ...
This is Beirut, 18/03 02:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
United States Donald Trump Justice Politics
US President Donald Trump barreled towards a showdown with the courts Monday after his administration expelled alleged members of a Venezuelan gang under little-used, centuries-old wartime legislation. Trump, already pushing the law to its limits on several fronts, also claimed he had annulled pardons issued by Joe Biden on the grounds that his ...
This is Beirut, 17/03 19:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Houthi Movement United States Donald Trump Red Sea Trade
President Donald Trump declared on Monday that he will hold Iran directly responsible for any future attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis, who have targeted multiple US and other foreign ships in the Red Sea. "Every shot fired by the Houthis will be considered, from this point forward, as a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, ...