This is Beirut 2024-12-31 14:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Russian forces advanced by 3,985 square kilometres (1,539 square miles) in Ukraine in 2024, seven times more than in 2023, according to an AFP analysis of data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Much of the Russian gains came in the autumn, as they took 610 square kilometres in October and 725 square kilometres in November. ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-31 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
French aircraft have bombed Islamic State positions in Syria, Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Tuesday, in its first such strike on the country's soil since the fall of Bashar al-Assad. "Our armed forces remain engaged in battling terrorism in the Levant," Lecornu wrote on X while on a New Year visit to French UN peacekeepers in ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-31 13:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
A United Nations report published Tuesday found that Israeli strikes on and near hospitals in the Gaza Strip had left healthcare in the Palestinian territory on the verge of collapse. The report by the UN human rights office said such strikes raised grave concerns about Israel's compliance with international law. "Israel's pattern of deadly ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-31 13:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
The military chief of the radical Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has been appointed Minister of Defense in Syria’s transitional government, authorities announced on Tuesday. "The general command announces the appointment of General Mourhaf Abou Qasra as Minister of Defense in the new government of the Syrian Arab Republic," led by ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-31 12:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Israel Damascus Tehran United Nations
Iran's security chief Ali Akbar Ahmadian said a new group would emerge in Syria to fight Israel following the fall of president Bashar al-Assad, state media reported. "With the occupation of Syrian territories by the Zionist regime, a new resistance has been born that will manifest itself in the years to come," said Ahmadian, the secretary of ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-31 12:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
The new Syrian authorities have tasked a central bank official, Maysaa Sabrine, with "managing affairs" at the institution, marking an unprecedented appointment for a woman to this position, an internal source told AFP on Tuesday. This financial expert, who had served as the first deputy governor of the Syrian central bank since 2018, began her ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-31 11:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Donald Trump Europe Middle East
Crowds will marvel at fireworks and toast champagne to greet 2025 on Tuesday, waving goodbye to a year that brought Olympic glory, a dramatic Donald Trump return, and turmoil in the Middle East and Ukraine. It is all but certain 2024 will go down as the hottest year on record, climate-fuelled disasters wreaking havoc from the plains of Europe to ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-31 11:16 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
United States China Cybersecurity US Treasury Department
Beijing on Tuesday hit back at accusations that a China state-sponsored actor was behind a cyber breach at the US Treasury Department, calling the claims "groundless". The Treasury said the attack resulted in access to some of its workstations, according to a letter to Congress seen by AFP. According to the Treasury, the incident ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-31 10:45 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
United States Vladimir Putin China
Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to promote "world peace" in a New Year's message to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, state media reported on Tuesday. "No matter how the international situation changes, China will remain steadfast in further comprehensively deepening reform... and promoting world peace and development," Xi said, ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-31 10:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Iran played a central role in Jimmy Carter's presidency, but in Tehran, where state television branded him the "architect of economic sanctions", many have far from fond memories of the late US president. The former US president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who passed away on Monday at the age of 100, left behind a legacy of punitive measures ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-31 10:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
A South Korean court issued an arrest warrant on Tuesday for ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol to compel him to appear before investigators seeking to question him over his failed attempt to impose martial law. "The arrest warrant and search warrant against President Yoon Suk Yeol (...) were issued this morning," the High-Ranking Officials ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-31 10:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Houthis said Tuesday that they had fired two missiles at Israel, hours after the Israeli military said it had intercepted a projectile launched from the Yemen. "The first (attack) targeted Ben Gurion Airport" in Tel Aviv, and the second was fired at a power station south of Jerusalem, a Houthi military statement said. The rebels also said they ...