World

Russia Launches Massive Strike On Ukraine's Energy Network On Christmas Day

This is Beirut 2024-12-26 01:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Kyiv Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky Vladimir Poutine Christmas

Russia launched more than 170 missiles and drones at Ukraine's energy system on Wednesday, an ‘inhumane’ attack that Kiev said killed one person and left hundreds of thousands of homes without electricity or heating on Christmas Day. Russian President Vladimir ‘Putin consciously chose Christmas for his attack. What could be more ...

Syria Monitor Reports 9 Dead in Clashes Over Attempted Arrest of Assad-Era Official

This is Beirut 2024-12-25 22:57 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Syria Syria Military Operations Administration Alawites

A Syria war monitor said nine people were killed Wednesday in clashes in Tartus province after security forces sought to arrest an officer under deposed leader Bashar al-Assad who was linked to a notorious prison. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said "six members of the General Security force" of Syria's new ...

Houthis Claim Ballistic Missile Attack on Israel

This is Beirut 2024-12-25 20:51 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Gulf Israel Benjamin Netanyahu Houthi Movement

Yemen's Houthis said Wednesday that they had fired a ballistic missile and drones at Israel, days after an attack on Tel Aviv wounded 16 people. Israel's military said it intercepted the missile before it entered Israeli territory, but did not immediately comment on the drone attacks which the Houthis said hit their targets. "The ...

Azerbaijani Jet Crash in Kazakhstan Leaves 38 Dead

This is Beirut 2024-12-25 20:21 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Airlines Kazakhstan

An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet crashed on Wednesday in western Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board, officials said. The Embraer 190 aircraft that was supposed to fly northwest from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to the city of Grozny in Chechnya in southern Russia but instead flew across the Caspian Sea and went down ...

Hamas, Israel Trade Blame Over Gaza Truce Delay

This is Beirut 2024-12-25 20:05 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Gaza Hamas Israel

Hamas and Israel traded accusations on Wednesday over delays in finalising a ceasefire and hostage release deal, after both had reported progress in the latest round of Gaza truce talks. Indirect negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States have taken place in Doha in recent days, rekindling hope for an agreement between the two ...

Erdogan Warns Kurdish Militia in Syria to Lay Down Arms

This is Beirut 2024-12-25 18:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan Syria Syrian Democratic Forces

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on Wednesday that Kurdish militants in Syria must either surrender their weapons or “be buried,” amid ongoing hostilities between Turkey-backed Syrian fighters and Kurdish militants following the fall of Bashar al-Assad this month, according to a report on Reuters. Since Assad's departure, Ankara ...

Syria Rescuers, Activist Say Site Outside Damascus Believed to Be Mass Grave

This is Beirut 2024-12-25 16:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Bashar al-Assad

A key Syrian rescue group and an activist told AFP on Wednesday a burial site outside Damascus was likely a mass grave for detainees held under former president Bashar al-Assad and fighters killed in the civil war. In a vast walled area located near the Baghdad Bridge, some 35 kilometres (22 miles) from the capital, AFP journalists visiting the ...

Syria Authorities Say Torched 1 Million Captagon Pills

This is Beirut 2024-12-25 14:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Damascus Saudi Arabia Syria captagon

Syria's new authorities torched a large stockpile of drugs on Wednesday, two security officials told AFP, including one million pills of captagon, whose industrial-scale production flourished under ousted president Bashar al-Assad. Captagon is a banned amphetamine-like stimulant that became Syria's largest export during the country's more than ...

Pope Calls for ‘Arms to Be Silenced’ Across World

This is Beirut 2024-12-25 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Hamas Israel Middle East Palestine Pope Francis Ukraine

Pope Francis called Wednesday for "arms to be silenced" around the world in his Christmas address, appealing for peace in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan as he denounced the "extremely grave" humanitarian situation in Gaza. He used his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" ("to the city and the world") message to the world's 1.4 billion Catholics to call ...

Christians Celebrate Sombre Christmas Under Shadow of Wars

This is Beirut 2024-12-25 11:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Gaza Ukraine Paris Vatican

Christians across the world celebrated Christmas Wednesday, with the mood darkened by wars and a massive Christmas morning attack on Ukraine by Russia and a plane crash in Kazakhstan. With the war in Gaza also showing no signs of ending, Pope Francis was also expected to call for peace in the Middle East during his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" ...

VideosDebunked: Why Does Christmas Have Different Dates?

Rayan Chami 2024-12-25 11:05 - Reading : less than a minute

Christmas Debunked

December 25, January 6, or January 7—why do Christians celebrate Christmas on different dates? Is it just a quirky calendar issue or something deeper? Let’s debunk the misconceptions about these festive traditions.

IMF, Egypt Reach Deal Unlocking $1.2 Bn

This is Beirut 2024-12-25 09:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Egypt IMF

The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday that it has reached a deal with Egyptian authorities allowing the country access to about $1.2 billion. The funding access is subject to executive board approval. "The Egyptian authorities have continued to implement key policies to preserve macroeconomic stability, despite ongoing regional tensions ...