Syria to Start Replacing Currency from Jan 1: Central Bank Chief

This is Beirut 18:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Banks Damascus United States Syria Currency

Syria's central bank chief said Thursday that the country's currency would start to be replaced with a revamped version from January 1, as Damascus tries to relaunch its economy after emerging from the rule of ousted leader Bashar al-Assad last year. Improving the standing of the Syrian pound is among the greatest challenges for Syria's new ...

Iraq on High Alert: Baghdad Warns of Imminent Israeli Strikes

This is Beirut 17:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Israel Middle East UN Security Council Iraq US

According to several corroborating reports cited by Israeli media, Iraqi authorities have been discreetly warned of the possibility of targeted Israeli strikes on their territory, aimed at pro-Iranian armed groups operating in the country. These warnings, described as “extremely serious,” are said to have been delivered through Western and ...

SpotlightAn Unprecedented Christmas Message and a Call for Peace in the Levant

This is Beirut 15:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Lebanon Israel Benjamin Netanyahu christians christmas

For the first time since returning to office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a Christmas message to Christians around the world last night. Broadcast from Jerusalem, his address carried symbolic weight, signaling a notable shift in rhetoric that extended far beyond a traditional seasonal greeting. By highlighting the ...

Israel Calls Countries Condemning New West Bank Settlements 'Morally Wrong'

This is Beirut 12:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel West Bank Palestine Conflict settlements

Israel reacted furiously on Thursday to a condemnation by 14 countries, including France and Britain, of its approval of new settlements in the occupied West Bank, calling the criticism discriminatory against Jews. "Foreign governments will not restrict the right of Jews to live in the Land of Israel, and any such call is morally wrong and ...

Israel Arrests Citizen Suspected of Spying for Iran

This is Beirut 12:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel United States Iran Spying

Israeli authorities announced on Thursday the arrest of an Israeli man on suspicion of committing security offenses under the direction of Iranian intelligence agents, days after Tehran executed an Iranian accused of spying for Israel. The arrest is the latest in a series of cases in which Israel has charged its own citizens with spying for its ...

Turkey Detains 115 Alleged IS Members

This is Beirut 12:20 - Reading : less than a minute

Turkey IS Arrest

Some 115 alleged members of the Islamic State group suspected of planning attacks during the end of year holidays have been arrested in Turkey, Istanbul's prosecutor general said Thursday. "Following intelligence indicating that the IS terrorist organization was planning attacks during Christmas and New Year celebrations," the prosecutor's office ...

Syria Says Killed Senior IS Leader

This is Beirut 10:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Damascus USA Washington

Syrian authorities on Thursday said they killed a senior leader in the Islamic State group in coordination with the US-led coalition, hours after the arrest near Damascus of another leader. Syrian security and intelligence forces, working in coordination with the international coalition, conducted what the interior ministry described as a ...

Syria State TV Reports Jordanian Strikes Targeting Drug Trafficking Networks

This is Beirut 10:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah

The Jordanian army launched air strikes targeting drug smuggling networks in southern Syria on Wednesday, Syrian state media said. State broadcaster Al-Ikhbariya reported on Telegram that the Jordanian army targeted "drug smuggling networks and storage farms in the southern and eastern countryside" of Sweida. In a statement, the Jordanian army ...

Yemen Warring Parties to Exchange Bodies as Part of Major Prisoner Swap

This is Beirut 10:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Houthi Tehran United Nations

Yemen's Houthi rebels and its internationally recognised government said they agreed on Wednesday to recover and exchange bodies as part of a major prisoner swap, sparking hope for families of those missing in the war. A day earlier, the warring sides had agreed to a prisoner swap of nearly 3,000 people -- the largest such exchange in 11 years of ...

Syria State Media Says 3 Dead in Clashes in Latakia Province

This is Beirut 24/12 18:05 - Reading : less than a minute

Syrian state media said three people were killed Wednesday in clashes with security forces in coastal Latakia province, the heartland of the country's Alawite community. "Three members of remnants of the former regime were killed after clashes with internal security forces on the outskirts of the city of Jableh," state television ...

Festive Lights, Security Tight for Christmas in Damascus

This is Beirut 24/12 17:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Damascus Syria Christmas christians

Christmas lights illuminate Damascus's Old City while government forces patrol its shadows as security fears haunt Syria's Christian community. They recall the shooting and suicide attack in June at the Saint Elias church in the Syrian capital that killed 25 people and wounded dozens more. "People are going home early, and are afraid," said Tala ...

How Syria Can Begin Integrating the SDF

Seth J. Frantzman 24/12 10:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Turkey Syria SDF Kurds Ahmad al-Sharaa

Clashes erupted December 22 in Aleppo between Syrian government troops and the local Kurdish security forces (Asayish), killing at least three people and underscoring the challenges facing efforts to unify armed factions under the Syrian transitional government. Even as Damascus seeks to consolidate nationwide security and integrate armed ...