This is Beirut 2025-07-18 14:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
The United Nations rights chief demanded on Friday that Syria's interim authorities ensure accountability after days of deadly clashes in the southern city of Sweida that reportedly left hundreds dead. "This bloodshed and the violence must stop and the protection of all people must be the utmost priority," Volker Turk said in a ...
This is Beirut 2025-07-18 14:10 - Reading : less than a minute
wildfires spain Madrid climate change
A thick cloud of smoke just blanketed Madrid as wildfires rage near the city. With rising heatwaves and dry conditions, Spain is facing yet another brutal wildfire season. Climate change is no longer a warning — it’s happening now.
This is Beirut 2025-07-18 13:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Armed tribes supported by Syria's Islamist-led government clashed with Druze fighters outside Sweida Friday a day after government troops withdrew from the Druze-majority city, the warring parties and a monitoring group said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported "clashes west of Sweida pitting tribal fighters and Bedouin supported by ...
This is Beirut 2025-07-18 12:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Nawaf Salam Syria Druze Ahmad al-Sharaa
Under Israeli bombardment and diplomatic pressure, Ahmed al-Sharaa pulled troops from Syria's Druze heartland -- a move that exposes the interim leader's weakness just as he sought to assert control. Since seizing office in December after ousting longtime autocrat Bashar al-Assad, Sharaa has worked to recast himself from jihadist to statesman, ...
This is Beirut 2025-07-18 12:00 - Reading : less than a minute
Turkey has arrested 153 presumed members of the Islamic State group (IS) in nationwide raids, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Friday. The arrests took place from Izmir and Mugla in the west and southwest, to Hatay and Mardin in the southeast and Samsun on the northern Black Sea coast. "In the course of operations in 28 provinces over the ...
This is Beirut 2025-07-18 11:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Nawaf Salam Syria Druze bedouin mobilization
Tensions continue to rise in the predominantly Druze province of Sweida in southern Syria. A spokesperson for the Syrian Interior Ministry said that government forces were preparing to redeploy to the city of Sweida in order to put an end to the ongoing clashes between Druze and Bedouin communities. Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon ...
This is Beirut 2025-07-18 10:45 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Environment Climate Mining Oceans Jamaica
After two weeks of negotiations, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) is still far from finalizing rules for extracting coveted metals on the high seas despite heightened pressure triggered by US efforts to fast-track the controversial practice. Following a meeting in March and the current session in Jamaica, the 36 members of the ISA's ...
This is Beirut 2025-07-18 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
European Union Sanctions Russia
EU countries on Friday signed off on a new package of sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine, including lowering a price cap on Moscow's oil exports. The 18th round of economic punishment against Russia since its 2022 invasion was approved after Slovakia dropped a weeks-long block following talks with Brussels over separate plans to phase ...
This is Beirut 2025-07-18 10:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Netflix reported stronger than expected second-quarter results Thursday, with profit jumping 45 percent year-over-year as the streaming giant benefited from subscription price increases and a growing advertising business. Revenue climbed 16 percent to $11.1 billion in the quarter ended June 30, beating analyst estimates and the company's own ...
This is Beirut 2025-07-18 09:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Top European diplomats told their Iranian counterpart on Thursday they were determined to reactivate UN sanctions if Tehran does not make progress on a nuclear deal, France's foreign ministry said. The diplomats, from Britain, France, Germany and the European Union, told Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi of "their determination to use the ...
This is Beirut 2025-07-18 09:45 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Nawaf Salam Palestine Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed regret after Israeli tank fire killed three people at a Catholic church in Gaza on Thursday, blaming a "stray" round for the deaths after a phone call with US President Donald Trump. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said 10 others were also wounded in the attack on the Holy Family Church in Gaza City ...
This is Beirut 2025-07-18 09:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
US Congress Donald Trump USA Cuts Aid
US Republicans early Friday approved President Donald Trump's plan to cancel $9 billion in funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting, vowing it was just the start of broader efforts by Congress to slash the federal budget. The cuts achieve only a tiny fraction of the $1 trillion in annual savings that tech billionaire and estranged Trump ...