Middle East

First Security Guarantees, then Putin Summit, Zelensky Says

This is Beirut 2025-08-21 12:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Volodymyr Zelensky Donald Trump Russia Putin Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he could meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but only after his allies agreed on security guarantees for Ukraine that would deter future Russian attacks once the fighting stops. In comments released Thursday, he also warned both sides were preparing for further fighting, with Russia building up ...

Russia Ramps up Strikes on Ukraine, Killing One

This is Beirut 2025-08-21 12:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky Donald Trump Kyiv USA

Russia launched hundreds of drones and missiles against Ukraine overnight in the biggest barrage since mid-July, killing one person and wounding many others. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said several missiles were aimed at a US-owned business in western Ukraine "producing everyday items like coffee machines". Fifteen people ...

Israel Strikes Gaza City After Offensive Gets Green Light

This is Beirut 2025-08-21 11:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Palestine Hamas United Nations Gaza

Israel struck Gaza City and its outskirts overnight, residents said Thursday, after the defense ministry approved an expanded offensive to target the remaining Hamas strongholds in the strip. The newly approved plan authorizes the call-up of roughly 60,000 reservists, deepening fears the campaign will worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian ...

Op-edTrump, Putin and the Future of Europe: A Deal that Could Redraw the Map

Salam El Zaatari 2025-08-21 11:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Russia Ukraine Europe United States Donald Trump

On August 18, 2025, the White House became the stage for a meeting that may be remembered as a turning point in modern geopolitics. US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a cadre of European leaders gathered to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war. Europe’s top leaders crammed into the Oval Office, listening in silence ...

Texas Republicans Advance Map that Reignited US Redistricting Wars

This is Beirut 2025-08-21 09:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Republicans USA Donald Trump Democrats Texas Gerrymandering

The Texas legislature's lower chamber passed a contentious new electoral map on Wednesday that aims to help Donald Trump's Republican Party retain its razor-thin US House majority in the 2026 midterm elections. The vote had been delayed by two weeks after Democratic legislators fled the southern state to halt the aggressive redistricting drive, ...

Israel Approves Major West Bank Settlement Project

This is Beirut 2025-08-21 09:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam West Bank Hamas Palestine

Israel approved a major settlement project on Wednesday in an area of the West Bank that the international community has warned threatens the viability of a future Palestinian state. Israel has long had ambitions to build on the roughly 12-square-kilometre (five-square-mile) parcel known as E1 just east of Jerusalem, but the plan had been ...

Trump Flirts with Ukraine Security, with Narrow Margins

This is Beirut 2025-08-21 09:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Donald Trump Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky Kyiv Republicans

Donald Trump's newfound if vague willingness to entertain security guarantees for Ukraine could be a game-changer, but the US president's right-wing base is already warning him not to go too far. After a campaign last year spent bashing predecessor Joe Biden over billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, and Trump's public upbraiding of Ukrainian ...

Trump Raises Pressure on Fed With Call for Governor To Resign

This is Beirut 2025-08-21 04:35 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United States Donald Trump Politique

President Donald Trump ramped up pressure on the US central bank Wednesday with a call for Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to step down, as he repeatedly criticizes Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates. "Cook must resign, now!!!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, sharing a Bloomberg news report on how the ...

India Test-Fires Nuclear-Capable Ballistic Missile

This is Beirut 2025-08-20 22:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

India Nuclear Weapons Defense

India said Wednesday it had successfully test-fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile, which, when operational, should be capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to any part of China. The Agni-5 missile was successfully launched in India's eastern Odisha state, with authorities saying it "validated all operational and technical ...

Iran Says Europe Has No Right to Extend Deadline for Snapback Sanctions

This is Beirut 2025-08-20 21:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Abbas Araghchi Iran Europe Sanctions

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday said European powers had no right to trigger snapback sanctions under a moribund 2015 nuclear deal or extend the October deadline to trigger them. His remarks came after Iranian diplomats met in July with counterparts from Germany, France, and Britain, the first such talks since Israel's attack ...

SpotlightSweida at the Center of Damascus-Tel Aviv Talks in Paris

Soumia Benmerzoug 2025-08-20 20:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Damascus Washington Paris syria

Syria and Israel resumed direct dialogue on Tuesday in Paris. Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Chaibani met with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer to explore ways to stabilize southern Syria, which has been rocked by violent clashes in recent weeks. This marks the second direct meeting between the two countries in less than a ...

US Targets More ICC Judges Including over Israel

This is Beirut 2025-08-20 19:23 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

International Criminal Court Sanctions United States

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on four more International Criminal Court judges or prosecutors, including from allies France and Canada, in a new effort to hobble the tribunal particularly over actions against Israel. "The Court is a national security threat that has been an instrument for lawfare against the United States ...