Middle East

Blinken in Paris to Discuss Mideast

This is Beirut 08/01 09:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Antony Blinken Donald Trump Emmanuel Macron US Secretary of State

Outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday began a visit to Paris in which he will receive France's highest honor and seek further coordination on the turbulent Middle East. The top US diplomat arrived early on Wednesday in Paris after stops in Japan and South Korea on what is expected to be his final trip before he is slated to ...

Iran Rejects Macron's Remarks on its Role in Region as 'Baseless'

This is Beirut 08/01 09:15 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Emmanuel Macron Donald Trump USA Middle East Tehran

Iran on Wednesday rejected as "baseless" French President Emmanuel Macron's claim that Tehran was the main strategic and security challenge in the Middle East. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei described the comments as "baseless, contradictory, and speculative," and called for France "to reconsider its non-constructive approaches to ...

Wildfire Sparks Panicked Evacuations in Los Angeles Suburb

This is Beirut 08/01 09:05 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Los Angeles Donald Trump United States USA

A ferocious wildfire in a Los Angeles suburb devoured buildings and sparked panicked evacuations Tuesday, as hurricane-force winds tore through the region. Frightened residents abandoned their cars on one of the only roads in and out of the upscale Pacific Palisades area, fleeing on foot from the almost 3,000-acre (1,200-hectare) blaze engulfing ...

ExplainerThe Caesar Act: A Long And Winding Road

Mario Chartouni 08/01 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Syria USA Sanctions

For over thirteen years, Syria has been at the heart of one of the bloodiest civil wars of the past half-century. While the fighting has subsided with the fall of Bashar al-Assad – overthrown on December 8, 2024, by a coalition of rebels led by the group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – the country remains mired in an unprecedented economic and ...

Freewheeling Trump Sets Out US Territorial Ambitions

This is Beirut 07/01 22:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Donald Trump Panama Canal Canada

Donald Trump threatened military action to secure the Panama Canal and economic force against neighboring Canada, in a meandering press conference Tuesday a day after Congress certified his election victory. The Republican president-elect had gathered reporters at his home in southern Florida to announce a $20 billion Emirati investment in US ...

US Sanctions Top Hungary Minister Over 'Corruption'

This is Beirut 07/01 19:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

United States Viktor Orban Hungary Sanctions

The United States announced sanctions against the head of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's cabinet on Tuesday for his alleged involvement in corruption. Antal Rogan, a minister who oversees the country's intelligence services and government communication, has "orchestrated schemes designed to control several strategic sectors ...

South Sudan to Resume Oil Production on January 8

This is Beirut 07/01 18:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

South Sudan Dar Petroleum Operating Company

South Sudan could resume oil production "as early as tomorrow" almost a year after fighting in neighbouring Sudan ruptured a key pipeline, the government said Tuesday. The landlocked and impoverished country's vital oil had been shipped to global markets from Port Sudan on the Red Sea, with Sudan taking a cut as a transit fee. But the pipeline ...

US Accuses Sudan's RSF of Committing 'Genocide', Sanctions Leader

This is Beirut 07/01 18:15 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Rapid Support Forces Sudan United States Antony Blinken Sanctions

The United States determined on Tuesday that members of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had "committed genocide" and imposed sanctions on the paramilitary group's leader. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the determination was based on information about the RSF's "systematic" murder of men and boys and the targeted rape of women and girls ...

Syria Rulers Plan 'Expanded' Committee to Prepare National Dialogue

This is Beirut 07/01 18:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Asaad al-Shaibani Syria

Syria's new authorities are to set up an inclusive committee to prepare for a "national dialogue conference" to discuss the future of the country, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said on Tuesday. Since toppling president Bashar al-Assad nearly a month ago, Syria's Islamist-led rulers have spoken of a "national dialogue conference" to map out ...

Iran Reportedly Executed at Least 901 People in 2024

This is Beirut 07/01 17:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Iran Volker Turk UN Human Rights IHR

Iranian authorities reportedly executed more than 900 people last year, including around 40 in a single week in December, the United Nations rights chief said on Tuesday. "It is deeply disturbing that yet again we see an increase in the number of people subjected to the death penalty in Iran year-on-year," Volker Turk said, adding that at least ...

Quake in China's Tibet Kills 126 With Tremors Felt in Nepal, India

This is Beirut 07/01 16:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

USA China

A devastating earthquake in China's remote Tibet region killed at least 126 people and destroyed "many buildings" on Tuesday, state media reported, with tremors also felt in neighboring Nepal's capital Kathmandu and parts of India. Videos published by China's state broadcaster CCTV showed houses destroyed with walls torn ...

Jordan Vows Security Cooperation During Syrian FM Visit

This is Beirut 07/01 16:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Jordan Ayman Safadi Asaad al-Shaibani

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said on Tuesday that the kingdom was ready to work with the new Syrian authorities to tackle drug and weapons smuggling across their shared border. Safadi welcomed his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shaibani and other top officials, who are on a regional trip with stops in other Arab capitals including in Saudi ...