Middle East

Israel Approves David Zini, Netanyahu's Pick, for Domestic Security Chief

This is Beirut 2025-09-25 22:25 - Reading : less than a minute

Nawaf Salam Benjamin Netanyahu shin beit

An Israeli panel confirmed on Thursday the nomination of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's pick for the next head of the Shin Bet domestic security service, a government statement said. Netanyahu named David Zini as his pick to lead the Shin Bet in May, after months of legal and political wrangling over his bid to dismiss the agency's ...

Israeli Army Strikes Houthi Targets in Sanaa

This is Beirut 2025-09-25 22:18 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Houthi strike Yemen

Israeli air strikes on Yemen's capital Sanaa killed at least eight people and wounded 142 others on Thursday, the Houthis said, a day after a drone attack hit an Israeli resort. Israeli forces struck several Houthi-linked targets in the capital, Israeli officials said, warning of more attacks to come. AFP correspondents in Sanaa heard ...

Netanyahu Meets US Envoy Witkoff in New York to Discuss Gaza

This is Beirut 2025-09-25 22:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Benjamin Netanyahu New York Palestine USA Donald Trump

According to The Times of Israel, citing Channel 13, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Strategic Affairs Adviser Ron Dermer met today at their hotel in New York with US special envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of hostages. Trump’s team is ...

Trump Urges Turkey's Erdogan to Stop Buying Russian Oil

This is Beirut 2025-09-25 21:01 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump Turkey USA erdogan sanctions

US President Donald Trump on Thursday urged Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to stop buying Russian oil over the war in Ukraine, as Erdogan sought a long-awaited deal to buy US stealth fighter jets. As Erdogan visited the White House for the first time since 2019 during Trump's first term, Trump called on him to use his influence with ...

Israel to Reopen Only West Bank-Jordan Crossing Friday

This is Beirut 2025-09-25 18:49 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam West Bank Palestine Jordan crossing

Israel will reopen the sole crossing accessible to Palestinians between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jordan on Friday, the three sides said, after its closure following an attack that killed two Israelis. The Palestinian borders authority announced in a statement the resumption of operations at the Allenby crossing "starting from ...

Pentagon: Hegseth Calls Unusual Meeting of Senior Military Leaders

This is Beirut 2025-09-25 18:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Donald Trump United States USA Washington

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered hundreds of US Army generals and admirals to gather next week at a Marine Corps base in Virginia, without giving an official reason, the Washington Post reported Thursday. This unusual summons has caused confusion and concern, especially following the Trump administration’s numerous dismissals of ...

At UN, Abbas Defends Palestinian Cause, Rejects Hamas

This is Beirut 2025-09-25 18:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Hamas Palestine UN Mahmud Abbas

Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas on Thursday rejected any future role for Hamas and condemned antisemitism, as he appealed for full global support for a state in the face of Israeli annexation threats. Days after France led a special summit and several Western powers recognized a state of Palestine, the veteran 89-year-old leader was forced to ...

Syrian Kurdish Forces Say Five Members Killed in IS Attack

This is Beirut 2025-09-25 17:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

USA Kurds Syria ISIS

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said that an attack on Thursday by Islamic State group militants in Syria's east killed five of its members. IS jihadists, once in control of large swathes of Iraq and Syria, were territorially defeated in Syria in 2019 in a battle spearheaded by the SDF with support from an international ...

Israel Army Says 700,000 Palestinians Fled South from Gaza City

This is Beirut 2025-09-25 16:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Palestine United Nations Gaza Hamas

The Israeli military said Thursday that 700,000 Palestinians have fled Gaza City to the south since late August, as it presses an air and ground assault on the urban center. When asked by AFP, the military said that "700,000 Palestinians have evacuated" from Gaza City to the south of the Gaza Strip. The UN's humanitarian agency, OCHA, on ...

What Do We Know About Sudan's Shifting Battlefield?

This is Beirut 2025-09-25 14:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Sudan Rapid Support Forces Darfur

The war in Sudan has reached a critical phase that threatens to permanently fracture a country already devastated by displacement, famine, and disease. What began more than two years ago as a power struggle between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has escalated into a brutal fight for territorial control, with the ...

Politico: White House Orders Agencies to Ready Mass Firings in Looming Shutdown

This is Beirut 2025-09-25 13:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

United States White House Donald Trump government shutdown

The White House has told US federal agencies to prepare for more mass firings during a possible government shutdown next week, according to a memo first published by US news outlet Politico. The memo by the Office of Management and Budget indicated that President Donald Trump's administration would go beyond the usual practice of temporary ...

VideosThe Whistling Voices of the High Atlas

This is Beirut 2025-09-25 12:55 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

HighAtlas Morocco Mountain Traditions Whistle

In Morocco's High Atlas Mountains, shepherds Hammou Amraoui and his son hardly need words to speak. Across peaks, they whistle at each other in a century-old language, now jeopardized by rural flight. "The whistle language is our telephone," joked Hammou, 59, the elder of a family known for the tradition in Imzerri, a hamlet in the ...