Middle East

Germany, France, UK Say Israel’s Gaza Aid Blockade ‘Must End’

This is Beirut 2025-04-23 12:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Germany, France and Britain on Wednesday called on Israel to stop blocking humanitarian aid into Gaza, warning of "an acute risk of starvation, epidemic disease and death". "This must end," their foreign ministers said in a joint statement. "We urge Israel to immediately re-start a rapid and unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza in order to ...

Iran Top Diplomat in China to Discuss Nuclear Talks

This is Beirut 2025-04-23 12:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

china Iran

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was visiting China on Wednesday for consultations ahead of a new round of nuclear talks with the United States. Iran and the United States are set to meet in Oman on Saturday for a third set of talks on the Iranian nuclear issue, with Araghchi and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff leading the ...

Pilgrims Flock to Pay Tribute to Pope Lying in State

This is Beirut 2025-04-23 11:50 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Pope Francis Saint Peter Basilica

Pope Francis's open coffin was transferred Wednesday to St Peter's Basilica for three days of lying in state, with thousands of people gathering to pay their respects to the leader of the world's Catholics. Bells from the basilica rang out as the wooden coffin was carried in procession past packed crowds in St Peter's Square, accompanied by ...

$New Round of Ukraine Talks in UK \$

New Round of Ukraine Talks in UK "Postponed"

This is Beirut 2025-04-23 11:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Ukraine United Kingdom Volodymyr Zelensky Donald Trump Emmanuel Macron

Ukraine peace talks involving international foreign ministers scheduled to take place in London on Wednesday have been postponed, the UK government said, but a meeting of lower level officials will still take place. "The Ukraine Peace Talks meeting with Foreign Ministers today is being postponed. Official level talks will continue," the ...

French FM Makes First Visit to Iraq

This is Beirut 2025-04-23 10:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Barrot France Irak Baghdad

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot will meet officials in Baghdad on Wednesday as part of a regional tour to push for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In a statement, the French foreign ministry said that Barrot, who will also visit Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, is on a tour to help "prepare for the ...

‘No One Else Will’: Sudan’s Journalists Risk All to Report the War

This is Beirut 2025-04-23 10:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Palestine Sudan Journalists

On a mountain near Sudan's border, journalists climb rugged slopes, phones held high, hoping to catch a faint signal from neighboring Chad to send stories amid the war's two-year communications blackout. Journalists say efforts like these are their only way to tell the world about the horrors unfolding in Darfur, where accounts of sexual ...

Embalming and Make-up: Pope’s Body Prepared for Lying-In-State

This is Beirut 2025-04-23 09:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Pope Francis Embalming

Ahead of his lying-in-state, Pope Francis's body was made ready to withstand Rome's warm spring weather with a temporary embalming and a touch of make-up, an expert told AFP. The body of the 88-year-old, who died on Monday, will be on display for three days in Saint Peter's Basilica from Wednesday before his funeral on Saturday. With thousands ...

Trump’s Return Boosts Israel’s Pro-Settlement Right

This is Beirut 2025-04-23 09:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Donald Trump Benjamin Netanyahu Hamas

US President Donald Trump's return to power has emboldened Israeli leaders' push to increase military presence in Gaza and reinvigorated right-wing ambitions to annex the occupied West Bank, experts say. After a phone call Tuesday with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said on social media: "We are on the same ...

Israeli Military Says ‘Likely’ Intercepted Missile Launched From Yemen

This is Beirut 2025-04-23 09:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Houthi Palestine

Israel's military said Wednesday that a missile was "launched from Yemen", where the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have regularly targeted Israel. Shortly after 4:00 am local time (0100 GMT), the Israeli army announced that the missile triggered air raid sirens in Haifa and other communities in northern Israel. "An interceptor was launched toward ...

India Hunts Gunmen Who Massacred 26 in Kashmir Tourist Hotspot

This is Beirut 2025-04-23 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

India Pakistan Kashmir Attack

Indian security forces in Kashmir carried out a major manhunt Wednesday, a day after gunmen opened fire on tourists, slaughtering 26 people in the region's deadliest attack on civilians since 2000. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who cut short a state visit to Saudi Arabia, decried the "heinous act" and pledged that the attackers ...

Trump’s Administration Moves to Scrap Artificial Food Dyes

This is Beirut 2025-04-23 05:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United States Health Food

President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday announced plans to remove synthetic dyes from the US food supply, marking a rare point of bipartisan convergence in an otherwise sharply divided political climate. Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. has vowed to overhaul America's food system under the banner of his "Make America ...

Iran Seizes Two Foreign Tankers for Smuggling Diesel in the Gulf

This is Beirut 2025-04-22 20:35 - Reading : less than a minute

Gulf Iran

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have seized two foreign vessels carrying "smuggled" fuel in the Gulf, local media said on Tuesday. "The Revolutionary Guards seized two Tanzanian-flagged vessels carrying 1.5 million liters of smuggled diesel fuel," said Iranian news agency Fars. Iranian forces regularly target tankers they say ...