This is Beirut

Palestinian President in Damascus for the First Time in 16 Years

This is Beirut, 18/04 19:15 - Reading : less than a minute

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas met Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on Friday, on his first visit to Syria in 16 years. According to a Syrian government source, the pair were expected to discuss reinforcing ties between Syria and the Palestinians, as well as the "threats" faced by both parties. According to the UN agency for ...

Syria: Hours of Waiting… for a Few Dollars

This is Beirut, 18/04 19:08 - Reading : less than a minute

Damascus Syria crisis liquidity dollars

In Damascus, lines stretch in front of ATMs. Amid a severe liquidity crisis, Syrians sometimes wait for hours to withdraw the equivalent of 20 dollars a day. This is daily life in a country where 90% of the population lives below the poverty line.

Syrian Interim President Meets With Iraqi PM for the First Time

This is Beirut, 17/04 22:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Iraq Ahmed al-Sharaa

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani met with Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Doha, Iraqi state media reported Thursday, in their first meeting since Bashar al-Assad was toppled. Sudani made "a quick visit to Qatar, where he met with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani" and Sharaa, the official INA news agency ...

Council of Ministers Approves UNIFIL’s Mandate Extension

This is Beirut, 17/04 14:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Council of ministers Lebanon Hezbollah UNIFIL Syria

Lebanon’s Cabinet approved the annual extension of the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Thursday. The decision, made during a meeting at Baabda Palace chaired by President Joseph Aoun, sets the stage for the upcoming UN Security Council vote on renewing the peacekeeping mission for another year at Lebanon’s ...

Sharaa–Bin Laden: Reversed Paths!

Marc Saikali, 17/04 13:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Damascus Israel HTS Ahmad al-Sharaa Syria Bachar el Assad

Let it be crystal clear: no Syrian, no Lebanese, no Palestinian… regrets the fall of the Khmer Rouge of the Levant. The Assad dynasty, guilty of crimes against humanity and large-scale massacres against its own people, as well as those of “brotherly” countries, has finally fallen after fourteen years of civil war. The problem is that today, ...

Charity Says 400,000 Children in Syria Risk 'Severe Malnutrition' after US Cuts

This is Beirut, 16/04 18:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Save the Children USAID

Save the Children said on Wednesday that more than 400,000 children in Syria were at risk of "severe malnutrition" after the United States suspended aid, forcing the charity to slash operations in the war-torn country. Bujar Hoxha, Save the Children's Syria director, in a statement called on the international community to urgently fill the ...

Syria Ministers to Attend IMF and World Bank Meetings Next Week

This is Beirut, 14/04 19:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

IMF World Bank Syria

Syrian ministers and the country's central bank chief are to take part in the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's spring meetings in Washington next week, two sources told AFP on Monday. Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, Finance Minister Mohammed Barnieh and central bank governor Abdul Qadir al-Hasriya were set to join the April 21-26 ...

PM Salam and al-Sharaa Conclude Talks, Agree on Key Issues

This is Beirut, 14/04 17:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Lebanon Ahmad Sharaa Nawaf Salam

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa concluded high-level talks in Damascus on Monday, agreeing to form a joint ministerial committee to address several long-standing bilateral issues, in what was described as a “very positive” atmosphere. Salam arrived at Damascus International Airport around 1:30 PM, accompanied ...

UAE President says Ready to Support Syria Reconstruction

This is Beirut, 14/04 09:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

United Arab Emirates Syria

The United Arab Emirates wants to support Syria's reconstruction, the Gulf nation's president said as he met Sunday with Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, state media said. At the meeting in Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan "affirmed the UAE's keenness to support... Syria to confront the challenges of the transitional phase and ...

Lebanon: The Staggering Transition

Charles Chartouni, 14/04 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanon United States Syria Hezbollah Israel

Foreign observers wonder why the transition seems to be so awkward at a time when the proper conditions for an orderly political change are in place. Far from being accidental, these botched opportunities are ascribed to systemic factors related to undermined national legitimacy, curtailed sovereignty, dysfunctional governance, and regional ...

Syria Leader Makes First Visit to Wealthy Emirates

This is Beirut, 13/04 16:15 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

United Arab Emirates Syria Ahmad al-Sharaa

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose war-devastated country seeks Gulf financial support, traveled to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for his first visit since Bashar al-Assad's overthrow, state media said. Nearly a week after rebels toppled Assad in December, UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said his government found ...

Salam on 50th Anniversary of Civil War: Time to Rebuild a State Protected by Its Army

This is Beirut, 13/04 13:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanon Civil War Nawaf Salam Syria

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who laid a wreath of flowers at the Martyrs’ Monument in central Beirut on the 50th anniversary of the commemoration of the Lebanese Civil War on Sunday, said, “We must learn from the tragedies of the war and it is time to rebuild our state capable of protecting us through its army.” On the occasion, he ...

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