Middle East

US Senators Take Major Step Toward Ending Record Shutdown

This is Beirut 2025-11-10 10:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

USA Democrats Donald Trump Republicans New York

The US Senate took a major step Sunday toward ending the longest government shutdown in American history when it cleared the way for a formal debate on a motion to resume funding to federal agencies. The Republican-led chamber approved a procedural vote by 60 votes to 40, putting a hard limit on how much longer senators can discuss the ...

Egypt Begins Voting in Parliamentary Elections

This is Beirut 2025-11-10 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Egypt Elections Abdel Fattah al-Sisi

Egyptians head to the polls on Monday to elect a new parliament, which critics say will only further cement President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's grip on power. The opening of polling stations at 9:00 am (0700 GMT) marks the start of a weeks-long process to fill 568 of the 596 seats in the lower house, with some provinces not voting for another two ...

Amazon Poised to Host Toughest Climate Talks in Years

This is Beirut 2025-11-10 09:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

United Nations COP30 Belem Amazon 1.5°C

An odor of oil hung over last year's UN climate conference in Baku, the capital of fossil fuel-rich Azerbaijan. Starting Monday, the 50,000 participants of COP30 will instead feel the heavy, humid air of the Amazon rainforest in Belem, Brazil, where they face the daunting task of keeping global climate cooperation from collapsing. Unfazed, ...

UAE 'Probably' Won't Join Gaza Stabilisation Force

This is Beirut 2025-11-10 09:00 - Reading : less than a minute

Nawaf Salam Palestine Donald Trump United Arab Emirates ISF Gaza

The United Arab Emirates is not planning to join the international stabilization force for Gaza because it lacks a clear framework, a senior official said on Monday. "The UAE does not yet see a clear framework for the stability force, and under such circumstances will probably not participate in such a force," Emirati presidential advisor Anwar ...

Syrian President to Visit White House for Landmark Talks

This is Beirut 2025-11-10 08:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam White House Donald Trump United Nations Syria Ahmad al-Sharaa

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa is to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday for unprecedented talks, just days after Washington removed him from a terrorism blacklist. Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, will be the first Syrian leader to visit the White House since the ...

Suspect in 1994 Panama Plane Bombing Arrested in Venezuela

This is Beirut 2025-11-09 20:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Panama Hezbollah Venezuela

Panamanian authorities announced Sunday the arrest in Venezuela of the suspected mastermind behind a 1994 plane bombing that killed 21 people, mostly Jewish, in an attack attributed to Hezbollah. The aircraft, Alas Chiricanas Flight 901, exploded shortly after takeoff from an airport in Panama’s Colón province on the night of July ...

Israel Identifies Remains as Officer Hadar Goldin's, Killed in 2014 Gaza War

This is Beirut 2025-11-09 19:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Hamas Gaza Israeli Hostages Hadar Goldin

Israel said the remains it received on Sunday from Hamas were those of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, an Israeli officer killed in the 2014 Gaza War. "After the identification process was completed... Israeli military representatives informed the family of the fallen hostage, Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, that their loved one has been returned to ...

Syrian President Arrives in US for Landmark Visit

This is Beirut 2025-11-09 14:50 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Syria Ahmad al-Sharaa United States Donald Trump

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in the United States on Saturday for a landmark official visit, his country's state news agency reported, a day after Washington removed him from a terrorism blacklist. Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, is due to meet US President Donald Trump at the ...

Ukraine Scrambles for Energy with Power Generation at 'Zero'

This is Beirut 2025-11-09 12:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Ukraine Russia Energy

Ukraine was scrambling to turn lights and heating back on Sunday after Russian attacks targeting energy infrastructure, with the state's power provider saying its generating capacity was reduced to "zero." Moscow, which has escalated attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure in recent months, launched hundreds of drones at energy facilities across the ...

Tehran to Restrict Water as Iran Battles Drought

This is Beirut 2025-11-08 20:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Tehran Water Climate Iran

Iran was laying plans on Saturday to cut off water supplies periodically to Tehran's 10-million-strong population as it battles its worst drought in many decades. Rainfall in the capital has this year been at its lowest level in a century, local officials say, and half of Iran's provinces have not seen a drop fall in months. Now, to save ...

Israel Army Says Red Cross has Received Body of Gaza Hostage

This is Beirut 2025-11-07 22:05 - Reading : less than a minute

Nawaf Salam Hamas Palestine

The Israeli army announced on Friday that the Red Cross had received the remains of a hostage in the Gaza Strip as part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. "According to information provided by the Red Cross, a coffin of a deceased hostage has been transferred into its custody and is on the way to IDF ...

SpotlightAmerica’s Longest Shutdown: A Nation in Uncertainty

Sana Richa Choucair 2025-11-07 21:35 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Democrats Donald Trump Los Angeles Republicans United States

As the United States enters its sixth week without an approved budget, the paralysis of the federal government has spread far beyond Washington’s corridors of power. Flights are canceled, public services remain closed, and federal employees go unpaid. The crisis is testing the resilience of the world’s largest economy and raising urgent ...