World

Rubio Confirms Takeover of USAID, Vows to End 'Insubordination'

This is Beirut 03/02 20:15 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

United States Marco Rubio USAID Donald Trump

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday he had been put in charge of the US aid agency, saying he would stop its "insubordination" to President Donald Trump's agenda. After Trump's billionaire friend and advisor Elon Musk vowed to destroy the US Agency for International Development (USAID), whose website went dark over the weekend, Rubio ...

USAID at Risk of Shutdown: Impact on Lebanon

Sana Richa Choucair 03/02 19:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump United States USAID Lebanon

Elon Musk stated on Monday that President Donald Trump confirmed his intention to shut down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). “I discussed USAID in detail with (the president), and he agreed that we should shut it down,” Musk said during a conversation on X Spaces early on Monday morning. The announcement comes ...

Trump Halts Canada and Mexico tariffs

This is Beirut 03/02 18:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

United States Mexico Donald Trump Trade

President Donald Trump delayed the start of tariffs on Mexico and Canada for a month Monday after the US neighbors struck last-minute deals to tighten border measures against the flow of migrants and the drug fentanyl. Global stock markets had slumped as Trump's threat of sweeping 25 percent levies on exports from Canada and Mexico to the ...

Canada's Ontario Bans US Firms from Govt Contracts, Dumps Starlink Deal

This is Beirut 03/02 17:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Canada United States Donald Trump Starlink

Ontario, Canada's most populous province and its economic engine, announced Monday a ban on US companies bidding on tens of billions of dollars worth of government contracts, and dumped a deal with Elon Musk's Starlink in a pushback to US tariffs. "Ontario won't do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy," Ontario Premier Doug ...

Hamas Officials Say 'Ready' for Negotiations on Phase Two of Gaza Truce

This is Beirut 03/02 17:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Hamas Israel ceasefire hostages

Hamas is ready to begin talks on the details of a second phase of the ongoing truce in Gaza, two officials from the Palestinian militant group told AFP on Monday. "Hamas has informed the mediators, during ongoing communications and meetings held with Egyptian mediators last week in Cairo, that we are ready to start the negotiations for the second ...

Car Bomb Kills 15 in Northern Syria

This is Beirut 03/02 16:07 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria

A car bomb on Monday killed 15 people, mostly women farm workers, in the northern Syrian city of Manbij where Kurdish forces are battling Turkey-backed groups, state media reported. Citing White Helmet rescuers, SANA news agency said there had been a "massacre" on a local road, with "the explosion of a car bomb near a vehicle transporting ...

Syrian Leader in Turkey on Tuesday on Second International Trip

This is Beirut 03/02 15:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Turkey Sryria Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Syria's interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa will visit Turkey on Tuesday on his second international visit since the toppling of Bashar al-Assad in December, the Turkish presidency said. He went to Saudi Arabia on Sunday. War-ravaged Syria is looking to wealthy Gulf countries to finance reconstruction and revive its economy. Sharaa "will pay a ...

Turkey’s Deadly Quake: Two Years On

This is Beirut 03/02 15:05 - Reading : less than a minute

Turkey

Nearly two years after Turkey's deadly quake, displaced residents are gradually settling into government housing. #Turkiye

The Vatican Calls for a Unified Easter Date

Fady Noun 03/02 11:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

European Union Pope Francis USA

During the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, observed from January 18 to 25, Pope Francis voiced his support for unifying the date of Easter. "The Catholic Church is willing to accept the date that everyone agrees on: a date of unity," he stated. Catholics and Orthodox Christians traditionally celebrate Easter on different dates due to ...

Q&AHow China Allegedly Contributes to the Deadly Fentanyl Crisis

This is Beirut 03/02 10:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Donald Trump United States USA Washington Fentanyl

US President Donald Trump has slapped new tariffs on Chinese goods, partly in response to Beijing's alleged role in a deadly opioid epidemic in the United States. Washington has long accused Beijing of turning a blind eye to the deadly fentanyl trade, which US authorities estimate caused tens of thousands of deaths a year. China denies ...

VideosTime Travel: Murder of Belle Starr

Chelsea Al Arif 03/02 10:10 - Reading : less than a minute

Time Travel Belle Starr

Travel back in time to 1889. What happened in the United States on February 3, 1889? Join us weekly on Time Travel as we explore historical events under a different theme every month. This February, we're exploring the USA in the 19th century!

AnalysisMitigated or Stifled Transitions?

Charles Chartouni 03/02 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanon Syria Gaza Iran Israel USA

The transitions in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza are still controversial, and their actors are undecided about their outcomes. Observers ask whether the various actors are genuinely interested in the transformative courses and to what extent. The newly set dynamics that have taken place throughout the Near East have not yet been relayed by steadier, ...