Middle East

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby Faces Final Day in Role

This is Beirut 2025-01-06 13:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will officially step down on Monday as leader of the world's Anglicans, nearly two months after resigning over failures in the Church of England's handling of a serial abuse case. Welby, 69, will be replaced on a temporary basis by outgoing Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, currently the second most senior ...

Gaza: List of Hostages Set for Release; Blinken Expresses Confidence in Future Ceasefire Agreement

This is Beirut 2025-01-06 12:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Palestine Ceasefire Antony Blinken Donald Trump

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced confidence Monday that a ceasefire deal in Gaza would come together, but possibly after President Joe Biden leaves office on January 20. Blinken, who tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully last year to broker a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, said that the Biden administration "will work every ...

Israel Medics, Army say 3 Killed in West Bank Shooting on Vehicles

This is Beirut 2025-01-06 11:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Palestine West Bank

Gunmen opened fire on vehicles, including a bus, on Monday near a village in the occupied West Bank, killing three people and wounding seven, the Israeli military and emergency services said. "Paramedics have confirmed the deaths of three victims, including two women and a man," emergency service provider Magen David Adom said, while the military ...

Blinken to Meet Europeans on Syria Pathway

This is Beirut 2025-01-06 10:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Antony Blinken Barbara Leaf US Secretary of State Damascus

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet his European counterparts Thursday in Rome on Syria, as the West looks to engage the new Islamist-led leadership. Blinken will "meet with European counterparts to advocate for a peaceful, inclusive, Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political transition", a State Department statement said as he visited ...

New Syria Foreign Minister Begins First Visit to UAE

This is Beirut 2025-01-06 10:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

United Arab Emirates Damascus Saudi Arabia

Syria's new foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani landed in the United Arab Emirates Monday on his first visit to the country since rebels toppled president Bashar al-Assad last month, official news agency SANA said. "Shibani, accompanied by defense minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and intelligence chief Anas Khattab, has arrived in the United Arab ...

Blinken Says Ukraine Position in Kursk 'Important' for Negotiations

This is Beirut 2025-01-06 09:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Antony Blinken Ukraine Donald Trump US Secretary of State Kyiv

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Ukraine's position in Russia's Kursk was critical to any future negotiations, as Moscow said Kyiv launched a counterattack in the border region. Blinken said that the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden, which has given Kyiv billions of dollars in security assistance since Russia's ...

North Korea Fires Missile as Blinken Warns of Russia Cooperation

This is Beirut 2025-01-06 09:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Antony Blinken Donald Trump United Nations Korea

North Korea on Monday fired a missile as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited South Korea, where he warned Pyongyang was working ever closer with Russia on advanced space technology. Blinken visited as investigators were trying to arrest conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has entrenched himself in his residence after being ...

US Lawmakers to Certify Trump Win, Four Years After Capitol Riot

This is Beirut 2025-01-06 09:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Donald Trump New York Republicans US Congress Capitol

Exactly four years after Donald Trump's supporters stormed the US Capitol, seeking to overturn his election loss, lawmakers meet Monday to certify his 2024 win, cementing the Republican's comeback from political ignominy. Heightening the drama around the January 6 joint session of Congress, a powerful storm was forecast to blanket Washington in ...

AnalysisEquivocations

Charles Chartouni 2025-01-06 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Lebanon Syria Hezbollah Iran USA

The situation in both Lebanon and Syria is still shrouded in ambiguities, deliberate equivocations, and malevolence. Nothing seems clear, and actors continue to operate in grey zones, let alone in the dark alleys that persist throughout.. The chances of negotiations and constructive engagement are quite narrow and are not part of the political ...

Hamas Announces Readiness to Free 34 Hostages in 'First Phase' of Potential Deal

This is Beirut 2025-01-05 22:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Hamas Gaza

A senior Hamas official told AFP on Sunday that the Palestinian militant group was ready to release 34 Israeli hostages in the "first phase" of a potential prisoner exchange deal. "Hamas has agreed to release 34 Israeli prisoners from a list presented by Israel as part of the first phase of a prisoner exchange deal," the official said. The ...

France Stresses Importance of Protecting Syria from Foreign Exploitation

This is Beirut 2025-01-05 20:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

France Syria Jean-Noël Barrot

The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, stated on Sunday that it is "essential that no foreign power" takes advantage of the regime change in Damascus to weaken Syria, while his Syrian counterpart began an official visit to Qatar. "Syria will obviously need help, but it is essential that no foreign power, as Russia and Iran ...

Syria Monitor Reports Blasts at Arms Depots Near Damascus

This is Beirut 2025-01-05 18:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

SOHR Syria Damascus

A Syria war monitor said explosions on Sunday rocked an area near Damascus housing weapons depots used by the toppled government of Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said the blasts in Kisweh, south of the Syrian capital, may be the result of an Israeli airstrike. The Israeli military, which has struck many ...