This is Beirut

Joumblatt Steps In to End Deadly Clashes Near Damascus as Israel Strikes Syria

This is Beirut, 30/04 15:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Damascus Israel Druze Walid Joumblatt Syria Islamists

A ceasefire between gunmen linked to Syrian authorities and Druze fighters was reportedly reached on Wednesday, following intensive mediation by former Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) leader Walid Joumblatt. The effort involved contacts with the new Syrian administration, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan, according to al-Markazia news ...

Swiss Ban on Hamas Comes Into Force May 15

This is Beirut, 30/04 12:55 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Hamas Israel Palestine Switzerland

A Swiss ban on the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas will come into force on May 15, the federal government said Wednesday following a parliamentary vote at the end of 2024. The government's political and security committees submitted a motion to ban Hamas in October 2023, after the group's deadly attack on Israel that month, said a government ...

Gen. Michael Leeney: New Chief of Ceasefire Commission

This is Beirut, 30/04 11:35 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Ceasefire Israel Kuwait United States

US Army General Michael J. Leeney has officially assumed the presidency of the ceasefire monitoring commission between Lebanon and Israel, succeeding his compatriot, General Jasper Jeffers. Born in 1966 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Michael J. Leeney is a seasoned general officer in the US Army. He graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in ...

Aoun to Meet Jeffers Before UAE Trip for Talks

This is Beirut, 29/04 17:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United Arab Emirates Hezbollah Israel Joseph Aoun

The Lebanese Presidency announced on its X account that President Joseph Aoun will travel on Wednesday to the United Arab Emirates for a two-day official visit at the request of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and Emir of Abu Dhabi. According to the statement, Aoun will hold talks with Sheikh Al Nahyan and other senior ...

Regional Messaging Between Israel and Iran

Johnny Kortbawi, 29/04 13:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Israel Donald Trump Hezbollah Middle East Lebanon

The hands of the clock have frozen in the Middle East as the region waits out the deadline set by US President Donald Trump and his administration to conclude negotiations with Iran—before a potential military escalation that would decisively tip the balance in Israel’s favor. But everything unfolding in the region during this lull amounts to ...

Hezbollah’s Naim Qassem Sets Three Priorities for Lebanon’s Stability

This is Beirut, 28/04 21:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Hezbollah Israel Naim Kassem Lebanon

In a televised speech broadcast by Al-Manar on Monday, Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem outlined three major priorities he said were essential for Lebanon’s stability, recovery and development as the country prepares for upcoming municipal elections. Qassem emphasized that the first priority is ending Israeli aggression. He called for ...

Iranian Nuclear Talks: Improbable Peace, Unlikely Agreement?

This is Beirut, 28/04 17:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump Benjamin Netanyahu Israel Middle East Tehran

In April, negotiations between the United States and Iran on the Iranian nuclear program took a notable step forward, with three rounds of talks mediated by Oman. The goal of these discussions is to limit Tehran's nuclear activities in exchange for a partial lifting of the economic sanctions imposed by Washington. The third round of talks took ...

Aoun Stresses Need for Israeli Withdrawal to Boost Border Security

This is Beirut, 28/04 12:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Hezbollah Joseph Aoun Lebanese Army Israël Syria France

President Joseph Aoun underscored the urgent need for Israeli forces to withdraw from five strategic points in southern Lebanon to facilitate the full deployment of the Lebanese Army (LAF) along the border. “This withdrawal is essential to enable the state to assume full responsibility for border security,” Aoun stated. Following the ...

Fires Rage 2 Days After Iran Port Blast Killed 46

This is Beirut, 28/04 12:02 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Israel Tehran Port

Firefighters in Iran battled raging fires on Monday at the country's largest commercial port, two days after a massive explosion killed at least 46 people, state TV reported. The blast took place on Saturday at Shahid Rajaee Port in Iran's south near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil output ...

Salam: Municipal Elections, First Step Towards Decentralization

This is Beirut, 28/04 10:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Israel Nawaf Salam Ahmed Hajjar Interior Ministry Taif Accord

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam reaffirmed on Monday that municipal elections will be held as scheduled, calling the vote a “democratic constitutional entitlement” and a promise the government is determined to fulfill. Speaking from the Ministry of Interior during the launch of the central operations room dedicated to overseeing the elections, ...

Top UN Court to Open Hearings on Israel’s Aid Obligation to Palestinians

This is Beirut, 28/04 09:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United Nations Israel International Court of Justice Hamas Palestine

The UN's top court will on Monday open a week of hearings on Israel's humanitarian obligations towards Palestinians, more than 50 days into its total blockade on aid entering war-ravaged Gaza. United Nations representatives will start the five days of sittings at the International Court of Justice in The Hague at 10:00 am (0800 GMT), followed by ...

Geopolitical Variations and Political Challenges

Charles Chartouni, 28/04 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Pope Francis Donald Trump Hezbollah Middle East Iran Israel

The past week was replete with events that cannot be overlooked if we are to address critical conflicts around the world: the death of Pope Francis and its reverberations ; the evolutions of the Ukraine war ; the ultimate scope of the US-Iranian negotiations; the shifting facades of Turkey’s Islamic authoritarianism; and the normalization ...

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