Middle East

Canada Intends To Recognize Palestinian State at UN General Assembly

This is Beirut 2025-07-31 05:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Canada plans to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday, a major policy shift that drew an angry response from US President Donald Trump and was rejected by Israel. Carney said the move was necessary to preserve hopes of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian ...

US Imposes Sanctions on Shipping Empire Tied to Iranian Leaders

This is Beirut 2025-07-30 22:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

USA Donald Trump Tehran United States Iran

The United States on Wednesday slapped sanctions on a shipping empire controlled by the son of a top political advisor to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Treasury Department said sanctions were being imposed on companies and vessels operated by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the son of Ali Shamkhani, who has been subject to US ...

Syrian, Israeli Ministers to Hold Meeting in Baku on Thursday: Diplomat

This is Beirut 2025-07-30 19:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Damascus United States Syria Baku

A Syrian-Israeli ministerial meeting is set to take place Thursday in Baku to discuss security matters in southern Syria, a diplomat told AFP. The meeting between Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer follows a similar meeting between the two ministers in Paris last week. It will take ...

UAE Begins Pipeline Project to Ease Gaza Water Shortage

This is Beirut 2025-07-30 18:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam United Arab Emirates Palestine United Nations Hamas

The United Arab Emirates has begun construction on a major pipeline to carry desalinated water from Egypt to southern Gaza, according to multiple sources. Technical teams sent by the UAE have started transporting equipment needed for the project, the Emirati state news agency WAM reported on Wednesday. The nearly seven-kilometer (4.5-mile) ...

Trump hits India With 25% Tariff and 'Penalty' Over Russia Ties

This is Beirut 2025-07-30 18:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump United States Russia India Tarrifs

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that imports from India will face 25 percent tariffs, while also announcing an unspecified "penalty" over New Delhi's purchases of Russian weapons and energy. The measures will kick in on Friday, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, adding to a bevy of other tariff hikes set to take effect the same ...

Volcano Erupts After Quake in Russia's Far East

This is Beirut 2025-07-30 17:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Russia Volcano Tsunami Quake

A volcano in Russia's Far East erupted on Wednesday, Russian scientists said, hours after a major quake prompted evacuations and tsunami alerts across parts of the Pacific coast. Eruptions of the Klyuchevskoy volcano—the highest active volcano in Europe and Asia—are quite common, with at least 18 of them happening since 2000, according to the ...

WHO Chief Says Continuous Medical Aid Into Gaza 'Critical'

This is Beirut 2025-07-30 17:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Palestine United Nations WHO Gaza

The World Health Organization's chief said getting a continuous flow of medical supplies into Gaza was "critical", as WHO trucks carrying aid headed for the border on Wednesday. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the UN health agency had moved 10 trucks from El-Arish in Egypt to Israel's Kerem Shalom border crossing into the Gaza Strip. The trucks ...

US Envoy Witkoff to Visit Israel on Thursday

This is Beirut 2025-07-30 17:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam USA Donald Trump Hamas Witkoff

Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, will visit Israel on Thursday to "discuss next steps" on Gaza, an American official said. Witkoff has been involved in indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza. The discussions broke down last week when Israel ...

SpotlightThe Old Continent in Turnberry: Strategic Compromise or Keen Submission?

Mario Chartouni 2025-07-30 16:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

European Union United States Donald Trump Ursula Von Der Leyen

A new trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and the United States was reached on Sunday in Turnberry, Scotland, after weeks of tense negotiations. The pact sets a 15% tariff on most European goods exported to the US market, narrowly avoiding a trade war, but leaving a bitter taste in Brussels. While it marks a tariff truce, the deal has ...

VideosOvertaxed, Ryanair Pulls Out of Three French Cities

This is Beirut 2025-07-30 15:40 - Reading : less than a minute

Ryanair France Taxes Airline

Following a sharp rise in France’s airline ticket tax – from €2.63 to €7.40 – Ryanair is cancelling 25 routes this winter, including from Brive, Bergerac and Strasbourg. The airline warns that the tax hike threatens regional airports’ competitiveness, 750,000 seats, tourism and local jobs. Unless Paris reverses what Ryanair calls a ...

ExplainerWhen Losing a Dog Hurts More Than Losing a Loved One

Bélinda Ibrahim 2025-07-30 15:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Dog Grief Suffering Humans Unconditional Love

“It’s only a dog.” This phrase, often said with a hint of condescension, can feel like a harsh blow to those who have just lost their four-legged companion. Yet growing scientific evidence shows that grieving a pet – especially a dog – can be just as intense as, and sometimes even more profound than, mourning a human loved one. The ...

Huge Quake off Russia Sparks Pacific Tsunami Warnings

This is Beirut 2025-07-30 13:23 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Earthquake Russia Japan Hawaii United States

One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia's sparsely populated Far East on Wednesday, causing tsunamis up to four metres (12 feet) high across the Pacific and sparking evacuations from Hawaii to Japan. The magnitude 8.8 quake struck off Petropavlovsk on Russia's remote Kamchatka peninsula, and was the largest since 2011 ...