This is Beirut 2024-12-25 16:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
A key Syrian rescue group and an activist told AFP on Wednesday a burial site outside Damascus was likely a mass grave for detainees held under former president Bashar al-Assad and fighters killed in the civil war. In a vast walled area located near the Baghdad Bridge, some 35 kilometres (22 miles) from the capital, AFP journalists visiting the ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-25 14:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Damascus Saudi Arabia Syria captagon
Syria's new authorities torched a large stockpile of drugs on Wednesday, two security officials told AFP, including one million pills of captagon, whose industrial-scale production flourished under ousted president Bashar al-Assad. Captagon is a banned amphetamine-like stimulant that became Syria's largest export during the country's more than ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-25 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Hamas Israel Middle East Palestine Pope Francis Ukraine
Pope Francis called Wednesday for "arms to be silenced" around the world in his Christmas address, appealing for peace in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan as he denounced the "extremely grave" humanitarian situation in Gaza. He used his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" ("to the city and the world") message to the world's 1.4 billion Catholics to call ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-25 11:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Christians across the world celebrated Christmas Wednesday, with the mood darkened by wars and a massive Christmas morning attack on Ukraine by Russia and a plane crash in Kazakhstan. With the war in Gaza also showing no signs of ending, Pope Francis was also expected to call for peace in the Middle East during his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" ...
Rayan Chami 2024-12-25 11:05 - Reading : less than a minute
December 25, January 6, or January 7—why do Christians celebrate Christmas on different dates? Is it just a quirky calendar issue or something deeper? Let’s debunk the misconceptions about these festive traditions.
This is Beirut 2024-12-25 09:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday that it has reached a deal with Egyptian authorities allowing the country access to about $1.2 billion. The funding access is subject to executive board approval. "The Egyptian authorities have continued to implement key policies to preserve macroeconomic stability, despite ongoing regional tensions ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-25 09:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Ukraine USA Volodymyr Zelensky Washington
Russian missiles killed at least one person and damaged energy infrastructure across Ukraine, according to officials, who reported a massive Christmas attack. Air raid sirens rang out over Ukraine on Wednesday morning, while the air force reported Russian Kalibr cruise missiles had been launched from the Black Sea. Ukraine faces its toughest ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-25 09:10 - Reading : less than a minute
Christmas Merry christmas Holidays New year
Why do we say “Merry” more often than “Happy” when wishing someone a joyful holiday? What is the difference between the two words? How did “merry” emerge?
This is Beirut 2024-12-24 19:55 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Houthi Israel Middle East Benjamin Netanyahu Palestine USA
The Houthis claimed responsibility on Tuesday for launching a "ballistic missile" targeting central Israel, while the Israeli military earlier stated that it had intercepted a "projectile." The operation, carried out with a "hypersonic ballistic missile Palestine 2," targeted a "military enemy position in the ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-24 17:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Iran's top council responsible for safeguarding the internet voted Tuesday to lift a ban on the popular messaging application WhatsApp, which has been subject to restrictions for over two years, state media reported. "The ban on WhatsApp and Google Play was removed by unanimous vote of the members of the Supreme Council of ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-24 17:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
A few hundred worshippers gathered in and around the Church of the Nativity in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christianity, where Christmas celebrations are overshadowed for the second consecutive year by the war in the Gaza Strip. At the Vatican, Pope Francis is inaugurating the Catholic Church's "Holy Year" ...
This is Beirut 2024-12-24 15:01 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Syria's new authorities announced Tuesday that they had reached an agreement with the country's rebel groups on their dissolution and integration into the regular defense forces. Photos published by the state-run SANA news agency showed the country's new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, surrounded by the heads of several armed factions -- but ...