Middle East

Syria Monitor: 14 Killed as Druze Fighters Clash with Security Forces Near Damascus

This is Beirut 2025-04-29 20:52 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

A Syria war monitor on Tuesday said 14 people, including seven Druze fighters, were killed in sectarian clashes near Damascus, as authorities blamed "gunmen" and vowed to pursue those involved. The overnight clashes, sparked by the circulation on social media of an audio recording deemed blasphemous, were met with condemnation from ...

SpotlightAbu Dhabi's Abrahamic Promise Under One Roof

Bélinda Ibrahim 2025-04-29 18:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi Abrahamic Family Religion Coexistence

In 2023, the Abrahamic Family House was created in the heart of Abu Dhabi. An architectural and spiritual work of art designed to bring Muslims, Christians and Jews together around their shared values. Located on Saadiyat Island, the site features three Houses of Worship—Eminence Ahmed Al-Tayeb Mosque, St. Francis Church, and the Moses Ben ...

France Accuses Russia of Being Behind Series of Cyberattacks Against It

This is Beirut 2025-04-29 17:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Emmanuel Macron Russia France Cyberattack

France on Tuesday accused Russian military intelligence of being behind a series of cyberattacks against the country over the last decade, including against an organization involved in the 2024 Paris Olympics and Emmanuel Macron's first presidential campaign in 2017. Since 2021, a branch of Russian military intelligence (GRU) dedicated to ...

From Homs to Damascus: An Alarming Escalation of Tensions Between Sunnis and Druze

This is Beirut 2025-04-29 16:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Damascus Syria Druze Islamists HTS fighting

Sectarian tensions between the Sunni and Druze communities are alarmingly resurging in Syria. From Homs to the outskirts of Damascus, to Sweida, a Druze heartland south of Syria, several violent incidents have reignited sectarian divisions in a country still deeply scarred by more than a decade of war. Clashes in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana ...

Syrian-American Jews Visit Damascus Synagogue

This is Beirut 2025-04-29 15:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

syria conflict religion judaism

A group of Syrian-American Jews prayed in a synagogue in Damascus on Tuesday, an AFP photographer reported, the latest such visit following the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad. The trip comes after local community leader Bakhour Chamntoub said unknown assailants broke into and desecrated the tomb of a 17th-century rabbi in Damascus last ...

Iran: Explosion at a Facility Affiliated with the Iranian National Security Council

This is Beirut 2025-04-29 15:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Iran explosion Isfahan

One person was killed and two others were injured in an explosion that occurred on Tuesday at the premises of a company located in Isfahan, Iran. The company operates under the supervision of Iran’s National Security Council and specializes in the manufacture of explosives, according to Iranian media reports. The incident comes just three days ...

Op-edCarnegie Endowment: “Trusting the Americans Is a Bad Idea”

Hussain Abdul-Hussain 2025-04-29 15:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

USA America United States Donald Trump

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, an American think tank, believes that “trusting the Americans is a bad idea.” Carnegie’s Michael Young did not qualify what he meant by “the Americans.” Did he mean the US government? Its policies? Or just all of the Americans, wholesale? Young even took a swipe at the May 17, 1983 ...

Sudan, an 'almost empty' country

This is Beirut 2025-04-29 15:20 - Reading : less than a minute

Omdurman Sudan

Aerial images showing bullet impacts on the walls of buildings in Omdurman, a city neighboring the capital Khartoum, following the war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Trump Admin Probes Harvard Law Review for Race Discrimination

This is Beirut 2025-04-29 14:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

us politics education harvard trump

US President Donald Trump's administration said it has launched an investigation into Harvard University and Harvard Law Review for "race-based discrimination" after receiving reports about the prestigious legal journal's selection process for articles. The probe comes as Trump cracks down on US universities on several fronts, alleging widespread ...

Erdogan, Meloni Hold Talks to Boost Italy-Turkey Ties

This is Beirut 2025-04-29 13:15 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

italy turkey diplomacy Meloni Etdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Rome for talks with Italy's Giorgia Meloni Tuesday, as the two Mediterranean countries seek to boost trade and cooperation. Meloni and Erdogan will discuss the war in Ukraine and the "situation in the Middle East" before a summit where government ministers are expected to sign a number of deals, ...

China Says Ready to Improve Canada Ties After Carney Win

This is Beirut 2025-04-29 13:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

canada vote china diplomacy

China said Tuesday it was open to improving ties with Canada, after Prime Minister Mark Carney won the country's election to lead his Liberal Party to another term in power. "China is willing to develop China-Canada relations on the basis of mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said. The results in ...

Power Returns to Most of Spain, Portugal After Massive Blackout

This is Beirut 2025-04-29 10:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Spain Portugal France Electricity Blackout

Lights flickered back to life in Spain and Portugal Tuesday after a massive blackout hit the Iberian peninsula stranding passengers in trains and hundreds of elevators while millions saw phone and internet coverage die. Electricity had been restored to more than 90 percent of mainland Spain early Tuesday, the REE power operator said. Lights came ...