This is Beirut 2025-05-22 17:26 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Damascus European Union Turkey Energy
Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Thursday in Damascus that his country would ramp up energy exports to Syria to help boost electricity supplies as its neighbour seeks to recover after years of war. "We want to triple our current electricity exports to meet Syria's electricity needs, and realise an electricity export of ...
This is Beirut 2025-05-22 15:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Ukraine Vatican Kremlin Russia
The Kremlin said Thursday it had not yet agreed to peace talks with Ukraine at the Vatican, after US media reported the city state could host a meeting soon. Russian and Ukrainian officials held their first face-to-face talks on the conflict in more than three years last week in Istanbul, but did not reach an agreement on a ceasefire. The Wall ...
This is Beirut 2025-05-22 14:15 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
European Union Abbas Halabi Damascus Saudi Arabia Tik Tok
At a currency exchange in Damascus, Anas al-Shammaa is one of many Syrians hopeful that promised relief from Western sanctions will help revive their country's economy after years of war and isolation. "We were totally cut off from the world," said Shammaa, 45, who has been running the exchange shop since 2008. With the lifting of ...
This is Beirut 2025-05-22 12:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Gaza Iran Hamas drones Jérusalem Yemen
Air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem, where AFP journalists reported loud booms overhead, as the Israeli military announced it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen Thursday for the second time in less than 12 hours. "Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was ...
This is Beirut 2025-05-22 11:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Nawaf Salam Hezbollah Palestine Kneecap
Irish rappers Kneecap on Thursday denied supporting a proscribed group and vowed to "vehemently defend ourselves" after a member of the band was charged with a terror offense for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a London concert. "We deny this 'offense' and will vehemently defend ourselves. This is political policing. This is a carnival ...
This is Beirut 2025-05-22 10:05 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Google Artificial Intelligence AI
As Google races to lead in artificial intelligence, it faces the challenge of making sure the technology doesn't slow its profit-pumping advertising engine. The internet giant is dabbling with ads in its new AI Mode for online search, a strategic move to fend off competition from ChatGPT while adapting its advertising business for an AI ...
This is Beirut 2025-05-22 09:45 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
United Nations Palestine Humanitarian
The UN said Wednesday it had "dispatched" around 90 trucks carrying aid into Gaza, as international pressure intensified over Israel's renewed offensive and blockade of the war-ravaged Palestinian territory. The first aid distribution in Gaza since early March came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was open to a "temporary ...
This is Beirut 2025-05-22 09:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Donald Trump Republicans US Treasury US Congress
Republicans announced Wednesday they will vote early Thursday on US President Donald Trump's sprawling domestic policy mega-bill pairing tax relief with spending cuts that critics say would decimate health care while ballooning the debt. The "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act" would usher into law Trump's vision for a new "Golden Age," achieved through ...
Salam El Zaatari 2025-05-22 09:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Nawaf Salam Lebanon Syria Donald Trump Joseph Aoun United States
If you want to understand the Middle East in 2025, don’t look at the maps. Look at the fault lines. They’re not drawn in ink – they’re drawn in fear, legacy and a deep unease that this time, the region isn’t just shifting, it’s splintering. This week, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio sounded an alarm loud enough to rattle ...
This is Beirut 2025-05-22 09:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Air traffic around Moscow was disrupted on Thursday as the Russian capital came under attack, with the defense ministry saying 35 Ukrainian drones targeting the city had been downed overnight. "Air defense systems destroyed and intercepted 105 Ukrainian drones," of which 35 were heading towards Moscow, the ministry said in a statement. Moscow's ...
This is Beirut 2025-05-22 09:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
United States Washington Shooting
Two Israeli embassy staffers were shot dead late Wednesday outside a Jewish museum in Washington by a gunman who shouted "free Palestine," authorities said, with US, Israeli and other world leaders expressing outrage over the killings. President Donald Trump condemned the attack in the heart of the US capital, saying: "These ...
This is Beirut 2025-05-22 09:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake rattled the Greek islands of Crete and Santorini on Thursday, the US Geological Survey said, with no major damage immediately reported. The strong quake struck 82 kilometres (51 miles) northeast of Crete's capital Heraklion at 0319 GMT at a depth of 68 kilometres (42 miles), the USGS said. AFP journalists said it ...