World

Georgia’s New President Sworn in Amid Political Showdown

This is Beirut 2024-12-29 11:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

European Union Ukraine United States Georgia Russia

Georgia inaugurated a ruling party loyalist as president in the midst of a political showdown on Sunday, moments after Tbilisi's outgoing pro-EU leader declared herself the "only legitimate president". The inauguration of former footballer Mikhail Kavelashvili is set to further escalate a months-long political crisis that has seen huge ...

Trump Sides With Musk in Right-Wing Row Over Worker Visas

This is Beirut 2024-12-29 09:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump New York Republicans USA

Donald Trump weighed in Saturday in a bitter debate dividing his traditional supporters and tech barons like Elon Musk, saying that he backs a special visa program that helps highly skilled workers enter the country. "I've always liked the (H1-B) visas, I have always been in favor of the visas, that's why we have them" at Trump-owned facilities, ...

Israel Arrests The Director of a Gaza Hospital In a Military Operation, The WHO ‘Appalled’.

This is Beirut 2024-12-29 01:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Hamas Israel Benjamin Netanyahu Palestine USA

Israel said on Saturday that it had arrested the director of a hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip that had been presented as a Palestinian Hamas command centre and was now empty of patients and staff, according to the World Health Organisation, which said it was ‘appalled’. The Kamal Adwan hospital was the last major hospital ...

Police Commander Killed in South Iran 'Terrorist' Attack

This is Beirut 2024-12-28 21:50 - Reading : less than a minute

Tehran Iran terrorist police

A "terrorist attack" killed a police commander on Saturday in Bandar-e Lengeh, a coastal city in Iran's southern province of Hormozgan, local media reported. Tasnim news agency said the commander "was targeted" in the deadly attack. "The attacker was also killed," Tasnim said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, a rarity ...

Qatar PM Meets Hamas Delegation for Gaza Ceasefire Talks

This is Beirut 2024-12-28 21:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Hamas Israel Palestine Qatar ceasefire

Qatar's prime minister met a Hamas delegation in Doha on Saturday to discuss a "clear and comprehensive" ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza, a statement said. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani held talks with a Hamas team led by senior official Khalil al-Hayya, the foreign ministry statement said. It is unusual for Sheikh ...

WHO: Gaza's Kamal Adwan hospital 'now empty'

This is Beirut 2024-12-28 18:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel Palestine WHO hospital Gaza

The World Health Organization said Saturday that the Kamal Adwan hospital was "now empty" following an Israeli military raid which put north Gaza's last major health facility out of service. The WHO said it was "appalled" by Friday's raid, saying "hospitals have once again become battlegrounds", and describing the lifeline of healthcare in north ...

Turkey's Top Diplomat Tells Blinken Kurdish Fighters 'Cannot Be Allowed' in Syria

This is Beirut 2024-12-28 17:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Turkey USA Kurds Syria

Turkey's top diplomat on Saturday said Syrian Kurdish fighters essential for the United States in the fight against Islamic State (IS) extremists cannot be sheltered in Syria, in a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Blinken that "the PKK/YPG terrorist organization cannot be allowed to take ...

Houthis Say New Airstrikes Hit Northern Yemen

This is Beirut 2024-12-28 16:45 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Houthi Israel Yemen strikes

The Houthis said new airstrikes hit northern Yemen on Saturday, shortly after claiming responsibility for a missile attack on Israel. A Houthi military statement reported that the airstrikes targeted the Buhais area in the Medi district of Hajjah province, attributing the attacks to "US-British aggression." There was no immediate comment from ...

Turkey's Energy Ministry Sends Delegation to Damascus

This is Beirut 2024-12-28 16:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Damascus Turkey energy Syria

A delegation from Turkey's energy ministry headed to Syria on Saturday to help Syrians obtain access to essential services after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. "A team from our energy ministry is on the way to Damascus," Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar told a meeting of the ruling AKP party in the central Anatolian province of Nevsehir. "We ...

Putin Denies Responsibility, Offers Apology to Azerbaijan After Fatal Plane Crash

This is Beirut 2024-12-28 16:07 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Vladimir Putin Russia plane Azerbaijani

Russian leader Vladimir Putin told his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, on Saturday that Russian air defense systems were active when an Azerbaijani Airlines plane attempted to land in Grozny before it crashed, according to the Kremlin. Putin called Aliyev as speculation grew that Russian air defense may have accidentally shot down the ...

Visiting Libyan Official Says Discussed Energy, Migration with New Syria Leader

This is Beirut 2024-12-28 15:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Damascus Syria Libya visit HTS

A senior official from Libya's UN-recognized government met Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Saturday and discussed issues including diplomatic relations, energy and migration. "We expressed our full support for the Syrian authorities in the success of the important transitional phase," Libyan Minister of State for Communication and ...

Syria Remains Tense as New Leadership Struggles to Establish Authority

This is Beirut 2024-12-28 14:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria SOHR Latakia HTS

Syria remains fraught with tensions on Saturday, as the new leadership — emerging from a rebellion led by the Islamists of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and responsible for overthrowing former President Bashar al-Assad — struggles to assert its authority across the entire country. Operations in Latakia The new authorities launched a sweeping ...