This is Beirut 01/01 19:24 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Saudi Arabia Iran Drug trafficking
Saudi Arabia has put six Iranians to death for drug trafficking, the interior ministry said Wednesday, after a year in which it carried out a record number of executions, according to an AFP tally of official reports. The six were executed in Dammam, on the Gulf coast, for having "clandestinely introduced hashish" into the kingdom, the ministry ...
This is Beirut 01/01 18:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
The war in Syria has claimed more than 528,500 lives, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Wednesday, marking nearly 14 years of a devastating conflict triggered by the regime of Bashar al-Assad’s violent crackdown on a pro-democracy uprising. Assad was overthrown on December 8 2024. More than 181,939 civilians are among ...
This is Beirut 01/01 18:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Hamas Palestine United Nations
Gaza's civil defense agency said an Israeli air strike killed at least 25 people in the territory's north on Wednesday, in what it called the first deadly attack of the New Year. "The world welcomed the New Year with celebrations and festivities, while we witnessed 2025 begin with the first Israeli massacre in the town of ...
This is Beirut 01/01 13:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Some Russians ushering in the New Year said they wanted the conflict with Ukraine to end in 2025 and for a return of "peace" and "stability". But on the streets of Moscow there was no mention of Russia withdrawing its troops or giving up territory seized during the nearly three-year offensive. "Of course, we would like the country to finally end ...
This is Beirut 01/01 13:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Iran will hold nuclear talks with France, Britain, and Germany on January 13 in Switzerland, local media reported on Wednesday, quoting a foreign ministry official. "The new round of talks between Iran and three European countries will be held in Geneva on January 13," said Kazem Gharibabadi, Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International ...
This is Beirut 01/01 12:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Yahya al-Batran clutched the tiny clothes of his dead newborn son Jumaa, just days after the baby died from the cold in their tent in war-torn Gaza. "We are watching our children die before our eyes," said the 44-year-old. Their baby was one of the seven children who died from the cold within the span of a week, the Hamas-run territory's health ...
This is Beirut 01/01 12:35 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Syria Saudi Arabia Air bridge Damascus
Saudi Arabia on Wednesday launched a humanitarian air bridge to Syria, delivering food, shelter, and medical supplies, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. The air bridge, established by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), aims to "alleviate the effects of the difficult conditions currently facing the Syrian ...
This is Beirut 01/01 12:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
HTS Syria Bashar al-Assad Freedom of expression
Syria's minister of information in the country's transitional government told AFP he is working towards a free press and committed to "freedom of expression" after decades of tight control under the country's former rulers. "We are working to consolidate freedoms of the press and expression that were severely restricted" in areas controlled by ...
This is Beirut 01/01 11:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Syria Damascus Bashar al-Assad New Year
Umayyad Square in Damascus hummed to the throngs of people brandishing "revolution" flags as Syria saw in the new year with hope following 13 years of civil war. Gunshots rang out from Mount Qasioun overlooking the capital, where hundreds of people gazed up at fireworks, an AFP reporter at the square saw. It was the first new year's celebration ...
This is Beirut 01/01 11:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Milan Italy Prohibiton Smoking
Smokers in Italy's financial and fashion capital of Milan risk being fined for lighting up on city streets or crowded public areas after the country's toughest ban comes into effect Wednesday. Those who defy the new prohibition in the polluted northern Italian city could be fined between 40 to 240 euros ($41 to $249), a punishment that does not ...
This is Beirut 01/01 10:45 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Israel's devastating campaigns against Iran's regional allies have severely weakened its arch-enemy's ability to project its power, but Yemen's Tehran-backed Houthis remain a stubborn thorn in its side, analysts say. With the ranks of Hamas and Hezbollah decimated after more than a year of war, and with the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria ...
This is Beirut 01/01 10:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday vowed that his country would use 2025 to fight for an end to Russia's nearly three-year-long invasion by any means necessary. The Ukrainian leader's address caps a difficult year for the war-battered country, which has been fending off a better-resourced Russian army for nearly three years. "May ...