Middle East

VideosSaudis Use AI, Drones and Thousands of Cameras to Keep Hajj Pilgrims Safe

This is Beirut 05/06 12:15 - Reading : less than a minute

In Mecca, a large-scale technological system operates around the clock during the Hajj. With more than 15,000 smart cameras, drones, and AI-powered software, authorities monitor crowd movements and coordinate the transport of 1.6 million pilgrims in real time using over 23,000 buses. The goal is to prevent incidents, avoid human bottlenecks, and ...

Gamers Get Hold of Nintendo's Hotly Awaited Switch 2

This is Beirut 05/06 12:05 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Japan Nintendo Switch 2

Gamers finally got their hands on Nintendo's new Switch 2 on Thursday, the console that could score record early sales for the Japanese "Super Mario" creator. The device, which features a bigger screen and more processing power, is an upgrade to the Switch that became a global phenomenon with hit games such as "Animal ...

Zelensky Slams Russia After Three Generations Killed in Drone Strike

This is Beirut 05/06 11:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Volodymyr Zelensky Donald Trump Ukraine drones Russia

A Russian drone slammed into a residential house in central Ukraine overnight Thursday, killing three members of one family, including a one-year-old baby, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. He accused Moscow of trying to "buy time for itself to continue killing" and called for the West to put "maximum sanctions" and ...

Muslim Pilgrims Ascend Mount Arafat for Hajj's Pivotal Day

This is Beirut 05/06 10:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Saudi Arabia Mount Arafat Pilgrims Hajj Adha

Muslim pilgrims prayed atop Mount Arafat on Thursday during the high point of the annual hajj pilgrimage, as Saudi officials called on participants to refrain from being outside during the hottest hours of the day. Thousands of pilgrims began to gather before dawn around the hill and the surrounding plain where the Prophet Mohammed is believed to ...

Israel PM Says Bodies of Two Hostages Retrieved From Gaza

This is Beirut 05/06 10:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Palestine Benjamin Netanyahu Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the bodies of two Israeli-Americans killed in Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack and held in Gaza had been returned to Israel. "In a special operation by the (security agency) and the (military) in the Gaza Strip, the bodies of two of our hostages held by the murderous terrorist ...

Op-edThe Enrichment Gamble: Iran, Israel, and the Brinkmanship of 2025

Salam El Zaatari 05/06 10:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Iran United States Nuclear

Let me tell you something that every Israeli general, Iranian ayatollah, and American diplomat knows — but hopes you don’t: The next big war in the Middle East won’t start with a ground invasion. It will begin with a whisper in the desert and end with fire in the sky — and the trigger might be buried deep in the Natanz nuclear ...

US Pressures NATO to Seal Deal on Ramping Up Defense Spending

This is Beirut 05/06 09:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

USA Donald Trump Europe NATO The Hague

US defense chief Pete Hegseth on Thursday pushed NATO to agree to a deal on ramping up defense spending that can satisfy President Donald Trump at a summit later this month. The volatile US leader has demanded that alliance members agree to boost defense budgets to five percent of their GDP at the June 24-25 meeting in The Netherlands. NATO ...

Trump Orders Inquiry Into 'Conspiracy' to Hide Biden's Health Decline

This is Beirut 05/06 09:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Donald Trump Republicans Democrats United States

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered an investigation into what Republicans claim was a "conspiracy" to cover up Joe Biden's declining cognitive health during his time in the White House. The move, which was slammed by Biden, is the latest in a long-running campaign by Trump -- with the backing of Republican Party politicians and their ...

Trump Slaps New Travel Ban on 12 Countries

This is Beirut 05/06 09:15 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Donald Trump USA Travel ban Terrorists

US President Donald Trump signed a new travel ban Wednesday targeting 12 countries including Afghanistan, Iran and Yemen, reviving one of the most controversial measures from his first term. Trump said the measure was spurred by a makeshift flamethrower attack on a Jewish protest in Colorado that US authorities blamed on an man they said was in ...

US Blocks Gaza Ceasefire Resolution at UN Security Council

This is Beirut 04/06 23:36 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam United States Gaza UN Security Council

The United States vetoed Wednesday a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian access in Gaza, which Washington claimed undermined ongoing diplomacy to resolve the conflict. It was the 15-member body's first vote on the situation since November, when the United States -- a key Israeli ally -- also ...

Syria Monitor Says 13 Alawites Killed by Security Forces

This is Beirut 04/06 23:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Alawite Community SOHR

Syrian forces shot dead eight members of the Alawite minority at a checkpoint on Wednesday, a war monitor said, after reporting that five men were found dead following their detention. Since the fall of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, the Alawite community which the deposed president hails from has been the target of many attacks, ...

Trump Says Deal with Xi 'Extremely Hard' as Steel Tariffs Double

This is Beirut 04/06 22:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Donald Trump United States China Tarrifs Xi Jinping

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday it is "extremely hard" to reach a deal with China over a trade impasse that has roiled global markets, while his doubling of metal tariffs fueled tensions with key partners. Trump's latest salvos came as ministers from Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries ...