World

Iran Guards say Military Capabilities 'Red Lines' in US Talks

This is Beirut 15/04 11:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Tuesday the country's military capabilities were off limits, ahead of a second round of talks with the United States on its nuclear program. "National security and defense and military power are among the red lines of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which cannot be discussed or negotiated under any ...

US Climate Cuts Hurting Global Science: Europe's Weather Agency

This is Beirut 15/04 10:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Europe USA Donald Trump White House

Europe's meteorological agency says cuts by US President Donald Trump's administration to a key American science agency had hindered the sharing of crucial observations used around the globe to monitor the climate and forecast weather. Trump's administration has fired hundreds of staff at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ...

Algerian expulsion of French officials 'will have consequences': French FM

This is Beirut 15/04 09:55 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

France Barrot Algeria

France's foreign minister on Tuesday slammed Algeria's decision to expel 12 French officials and warned of a riposte, as tensions mounted between Paris and its former North African colony. Jean-Noel Barrot said the move was "regrettable" and warned it "will not be without consequences", adding that if "Algeria chooses escalation, we will respond ...

Pandemic Treaty Talks Inch Towards Accord

This is Beirut 15/04 09:35 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump Covid-19 USA

Countries hope more than three years of negotiations on battling future pandemics will finally end Tuesday, after reaching a preliminary agreement last week. It has been more than five years since the Covid-19 pandemic began, killing millions of people and devastating economies. Experts say an accord has become even more crucial with new health ...

Trump Envoy Says Putin Open to 'Permanent Peace' Deal with Ukraine

This is Beirut 15/04 09:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Donald Trump Ukraine USA Kyiv

US President Donald Trump's special envoy said Monday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin was open to a "permanent peace" deal with Ukraine, following talks seeking to end the more than three-year war. Trump has been pressing Moscow and Kyiv to agree to a ceasefire but has failed to extract any major concessions from the Kremlin, despite repeated ...

London Hosts Talks to Find 'Pathway' to End Sudan War

This is Beirut 15/04 09:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

United Nations European Union Sudan

Senior officials gather in London on Tuesday aiming to chart a pathway to peace for Sudan on the second anniversary of its brutal civil conflict, but without the presence of the warring parties. Dubbed the "forgotten war", the conflict which erupted on April 15, 2023 between Sudan's regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in ...

Israel Demands Hostage release for Gaza Ceasefire

This is Beirut 15/04 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Hamas Palestine Israel United States USA

Hamas said Monday that Israel has offered a 45-day ceasefire if it releases half of the remaining hostages held in Gaza, which the United Nations said is now in the grip of its worst humanitarian crisis since the start of the war. A Hamas official told AFP that Israel had also demanded that the Palestinian militants disarm to secure an end to the ...

Iran's Top Diplomat to Visit Russia after US Nuclear Talks

This is Beirut 15/04 08:57 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

USA Donald Trump Tehran Nuclear

Iran's foreign minister is to visit ally Russia this week to discuss nuclear negotiations with the United States, ahead of a new round of talks planned between the foes. On Saturday, Abbas Araghchi held talks with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in Oman -- the highest-level discussions since the 2015 nuclear accord ...

Harvard Sees $2.2 Billion in Funding Frozen After Defying Trump

This is Beirut 15/04 05:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United States Harvard Donald Trump Israel Palestine

Elite US university Harvard was hit with a $2.2 billion freeze in federal funding Monday after rejecting a list of sweeping demands that the White House said was intended to crack down on campus anti-Semitism. The call for changes to its governance, hiring practices and admissions procedures expands on a list Harvard received on April 3, which ...

US Opens Door to Tariffs on Pharma, Semiconductors

This is Beirut 15/04 05:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

United States Donald Trump Tariffs Markets

The United States opened the door Monday to tariffs targeting high-end technology and pharmaceuticals, feeding the uncertainty gripping the global economy in a trade war that Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned can have "no winner." After weeks of indications such a move was coming, the US Commerce secretary formally announced ...

Senior Hamas Official Says Israeli Ceasefire Proposal Crosses 'Red Line'

This is Beirut 14/04 23:46 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Egypt Israel Gaza

A senior Hamas official told AFP Monday that a new Israeli ceasefire proposal crosses a "red line" with demands that the Palestinian militants disarm before any permanent end to the Gaza war. "Hamas and the resistance factions' position is that the resistance's weapons are a red line and non-negotiable," the ...

Ukraine-US Hold 'Constructive' Talks on Minerals Deal

This is Beirut 14/04 22:38 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky Donald Trump United States Minerals

Talks last week between the United States and Ukraine on a proposed minerals deal were "constructive," a senior official familiar with the discussions told AFP on Monday. "The meeting was normal, no problems; everyone says that they talked constructively," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, after a meeting in Washington on ...