This is Beirut 31/05 19:50 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Hamas Gaza Israel Steve Witkoff United States
Hamas announced on Saturday that it had submitted its reply to a US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal, but Washington's main negotiator almost immediately criticised the response as "totally unacceptable". Hamas did not say it had accepted the proposal from US envoy Steve Witkoff, but a Hamas source told AFP the group's response ...
This is Beirut 31/05 19:45 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Iran IAEA Iran Nuclear Program
Iran has ramped up production of highly enriched uranium, according to a confidential UN watchdog report, as Tehran said Saturday that it had received US proposals to settle its long-running nuclear dispute with the West. Iran rejected the report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the latest move in years-long efforts to restrict ...
This is Beirut 31/05 19:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
United States Tarrifs Donald Trump European Union
US President Donald Trump's announcement that he would double steel and aluminum import tariffs to 50 percent from next week drew ire from the European Union Saturday in the latest salvo in his trade wars aimed at protecting domestic industries. The EU warned it was "prepared" to retaliate against the latest tariffs, adding the sudden move ...
This is Beirut 31/05 18:59 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Friedrich Merz Germany United States Donald Trump
Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz will next Thursday meet with US President Donald Trump for talks at the White House with the Ukraine and Mideast conflicts as well as rocky trade relations on the agenda. The talks will focus on relations between the two countries, German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said Saturday, as well as ...
This is Beirut 31/05 18:54 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Saudi Arabia Syria Faisal bin Farhan Ahmad al-Sharaa
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan travelled to Damascus on Saturday, where he said his country would be at the forefront of efforts to rebuild Syria after nearly 14 years of civil war. Prince Faisal had landed in the Syrian capital earlier, alongside an economic delegation on a visit to discuss ways to support Syria's ...
This is Beirut 31/05 17:44 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Ukraine ordered the evacuation of 11 more villages in its Sumy region bordering Russia on Saturday amid fears Moscow was gearing up for a fresh ground assault. Russia claims to have captured several settlements in the northeastern region in recent weeks and has massed more than 50,000 soldiers on the other side of the border, according to ...
This is Beirut 31/05 17:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Israel Jordan Egypt Qatar UAE Saudi Arabia
The foreign ministers of five Arab countries, who had planned to visit the occupied West Bank this weekend, condemned on Saturday Israel's decision to block their trip. The ministers condemned "Israel's decision to ban the delegation's visit to Ramallah (on Sunday) to meet with the president of the State of Palestine, ...
This is Beirut 31/05 16:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Syria Kurds Syrian Democratic Forces
A delegation from northeast Syria's semi-autonomous Kurdish administration was headed to Damascus on Saturday for talks on implementing a March deal to integrate Kurdish institutions into the state, a member of the delegation said. Under the agreement signed by Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, head of the Kurdish-led ...
This is Beirut 31/05 16:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
China United States Pete Hegseth Taiwan
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Saturday warned that China was "credibly preparing" to use military force to upend the balance of power in Asia -- remarks that earned a sharp rebuke from Beijing. The Pentagon chief was speaking at an annual security forum in Singapore, as the administration of US President Donald Trump spars ...
This is Beirut 31/05 13:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Abbas Aragshi USA Israel Iran Donald Trump
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday that Iran considers nuclear weapons "unacceptable," reaffirming the country's longstanding position amid delicate negotiations with the United States. Western governments have long suspected Iran of seeking to develop a nuclear weapons capability to counter the widely suspected but ...
This is Beirut 31/05 12:45 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan Istanbul
Turkish authorities have issued 47 arrest warrants for municipal officials and staff across Istanbul, whose mayor—the main political rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan—has been jailed since March, the state news agency Anadolu reported on Saturday. The warrants were based on "four separate corruption investigations centered ...
This is Beirut 31/05 12:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Israel will not cooperate with a planned visit by Arab foreign ministers to the occupied West Bank, an Israeli official announced, after a Saudi source said the kingdom's top diplomat was heading to Ramallah. Israel controls the Palestinian territory's borders and airspace, meaning its approval would be needed for the diplomats to ...