World

Iran's Foreign Minister to Visit Damascus in Support of Assad

This is Beirut 2024-12-01 11:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi said Sunday he will leave Tehran for Damascus to deliver a message of support for Syria's government and armed forces, state media said, after a lighting advance by rebels. Araghchi will head afterwards to Ankara for consultations with Turkish officials. Tehran has been a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar ...

New EU Chiefs to Visit Kyiv on First Day

This is Beirut 2024-12-01 10:41 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Kyiv EU Ukraine

The EU's new top diplomat Kaja Kallas and head of the European Council Antonio Costa arrived in Kyiv Sunday in a symbolic show of support for Ukraine on their first day in office. "We came to give a clear message that we stand with Ukraine, and we continue to give our full support," Costa told media outlets including AFP ...

US, Russia, Iran, and Turkey Address Escalation in Syria

This is Beirut 2024-12-01 10:04 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Turkey Syria Russia Iran

The United States on Saturday said Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad lost control of Aleppo because of his reliance on Russia and Iran. Syria's "reliance on Russia and Iran," along with its refusal to move forward with a 2015 peace process outlined by the UN Security Council, "created the conditions now unfolding," National ...

Macron’s Future Visit to Riyadh: Strengthening Strategic Ties With KSA

This is Beirut 2024-11-30 20:23 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Emmanuel Macron Middle East Saudi Arabia France

French President Emmanuel Macron, leveraging his role in the Lebanon ceasefire, hopes to bring Saudi Arabia back into play in Beirut and strengthen France's influence in the Middle East during a state visit to Riyadh starting Monday. The head of state, who will spend three days in Saudi Arabia, also aims to project a "new ambition" in relations ...

Gaza: Hamas Releases New Video of Israeli Hostage

This is Beirut 2024-11-30 17:40 - Reading : less than a minute

Hamas Israel USA hostage

Hamas has released a propaganda video featuring Edan Alexander, a 20-year-old hostage,the first such video in several months. The three-and-a-half-minute video is undated, but Alexander states he has been in captivity for over 420 days, suggesting the footage was filmed this week if accurate. Alexander, a US citizen and soldier, was stationed ...

SpotlightWhat’s Behind the Syrian Rebels' Push to Retake Aleppo ?

This is Beirut 2024-11-30 17:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Damascus Israel Tehran Turkey

Rebel forces opposing President Bashar al-Assad have launched their biggest offensive in years this week, controlling a majority of Syria's second city of Aleppo according to a monitor. Government forces offered little resistance, the war monitor said, and the army admitted that rebels had entered "large parts" of the city. Syrian ...

Syrian Rebels Advance Towards Hama After Capturing Aleppo

This is Beirut 2024-11-30 16:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Syria Russia Hezbollah

War monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that jihadists and allied rebel factions had taken most of Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city, in a lightning offensive that left more than 320 dead, a crushing blow to Bashar al-Assad's rule. Syrian rebels are now advancing towards the city of Hama, claiming to already ...

Gaza: Three Humanitarian Workers Killed in Israeli Strike

This is Beirut 2024-11-30 15:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel Gaza humanitarian aid WCK

The Gaza Strip Civil Defense announced on Saturday that three humanitarian workers were killed in an airstrike in Khan Younis (south), while the Israeli army stated it had targeted "a terrorist." The humanitarian workers, all Palestinians, were employed by the American NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK), according to the Civil Defense. The ...

Teenage girls, the first victims of HIV

This is Beirut 2024-11-29 21:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

United Nations

Seventy percent of young people aged 15 to 19 infected with HIV in 2023 were girls, a rate that reaches 90% in sub-Saharan Africa and could undermine recent progress in the fight against the disease, UNICEF said on Friday. While the number of children and adolescents infected with HIV has been declining globally over the past decade, adolescent ...

Syria: Jihadists, Allies Seize Five Aleppo City Neighbourhoods

This is Beirut 2024-11-29 17:54 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Syria Aleppo Rebels

Jihadists and their Turkish-backed allies reached Syria's second city of Aleppo Friday, as they pressed a lightning offensive against forces of the Iranian- and Russian-backed government. The fighting is some of the deadliest in years, with 255 people killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Most of the dead have been ...

Lithuania Expels Three Chinese Diplomats Amid Tensions Over Taiwan

This is Beirut 2024-11-29 17:15 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

European Union Lithuania China diplomacy Taiwan

Lithuania announced on Friday that it was expelling three staff members of the Chinese embassy, as relations between the Baltic nation and Beijing deteriorate over Lithuania’s support for Taiwan and the suspected involvement of a Chinese ship in the damage to undersea telecommunications cables. Earlier this month, two Baltic Sea ...

Police in Georgia Arrest Dozens in Clash With Pro-EU Protesters

This is Beirut 2024-11-29 17:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

European Union Georgia Protests

Police in Georgia arrested dozens of people overnight and early Friday in a violent crackdown on protests against the government's decision to delay EU membership talks. The Black Sea nation has been rocked by turmoil since the ruling party declared victory in October parliamentary elections that the pro-EU opposition decried as ...