Middle East

Turkey and Syria Highlight Security Concerns and Gaza Talks

This is Beirut 2025-10-08 18:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Turkey Syrian Democratic Forces Syria Hakan Fidan Gaza Asaad al-Shaibani

In a joint press conference on Wednesday, the foreign ministers of Turkey and Syria addressed a wide range of issues, from ongoing negotiations in Gaza to developments in southern Syria and the future of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned that Israel’s military operations in southern Syria pose a ...

Insurrection Act: Trump’s Ultimate Card

Moncef Ait-Kaci 2025-10-08 18:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump Los Angeles New York United States US Supreme Court Insurrection Act

Enacted in 1807 during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, the Insurrection Act allows the president to call on the armed forces to restore order when a state is overwhelmed or when federal laws can no longer be enforced through normal means. But its roots go back even further. The first similar laws date from 1792, following uprisings in the ...

Iran Releases Franco-German Accused of Spying

This is Beirut 2025-10-08 18:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Iran France Jean-Noel Barrot Lennart Monterlos

Iran has released a 19-year-old Franco-German national days after throwing out spying charges against him, the French foreign minister told AFP on Wednesday. "Lennart Monterlos is free," said Jean-Noel Barrot, with sources close to the case saying the young man would travel to France on Thursday. "We are relieved that our son will return to us," ...

Gaza: Turkey Takes the Lead, Leveraging Its Ties with Hamas

This is Beirut 2025-10-08 17:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Gaza Hamas Turkey Qatar Egypt

By backing the ongoing indirect negotiations in Egypt between Israel and Hamas, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey is drawing on its long-standing ties with the Palestinian Islamist movement. Erdogan said Wednesday that he had been “explicitly” asked by Donald Trump to convince Hamas to engage in peace talks with Israel. The ...

SpotlightSyria Votes Again: Is Real Change Finally Possible?

Maroun Chahine 2025-10-08 16:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Damascus Syria

On Sunday, October 5, between 6,000 and 7,000 delegates cast votes at 62 polling stations across 11 governorates to elect Syria’s new legislative assembly. The People’s Assembly will have 210 seats, 119 of which have been filled so far, 40 fewer than under the Assad regime. Candidates must meet strict requirements, including age and ...

Hamas Says 'Optimism Prevails' in Gaza Talks With Israel

This is Beirut 2025-10-08 15:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Hamas Palestine Gaza truce

Hamas said Wednesday that "optimism" was prevailing in indirect talks with Israel aimed at ending the Gaza war, with the militant group submitting a list of prisoners it wants released in exchange for freeing Israeli hostages under a deal. The talks aim to thrash out a plan to implement a 20-point peace proposal put forward last month by US ...

Trio Wins Chemistry Nobel for New Form of Molecular Architecture

This is Beirut 2025-10-08 14:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nobel prize Chemistry Susumu Kitagawa Richard Robson Omar Yaghi

Three scientists on Wednesday won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) that can be used to capture carbon dioxide and harvest water from desert air, among other things. Japan's Susumu Kitagawa, UK-born Richard Robson, and American-Jordanian Omar Yaghi were honored for their groundbreaking discoveries ...

Erdogan Urges Syria's Kurds to Integrate With New Government

This is Beirut 2025-10-08 14:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Turkey Kurds Recep Tayyip Erdogan Syria

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Syrian Kurds to "complete their integration" with Syria's new government after the announcement of a comprehensive ceasefire, in a transcript shared by his office Wednesday. "The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) must keep their word. They must complete their integration with Syria," Erdogan told Turkish ...

Israeli Far-Right Minister Visits Al-Aqsa Compound in Jerusalem

This is Beirut 2025-10-08 14:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Hamas Palestine Ben Gvir Al-Aqsa Jerusalem

Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, visited the Al-Aqsa compound on Wednesday, his spokesperson told AFP, as indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas were being held in Egypt on ending the Gaza war. The visit is Ben Gvir's eleventh as minister to the disputed area, located in occupied East Jerusalem, which ...

Russia Says Momentum from Putin-Trump meeting 'gone'

This is Beirut 2025-10-08 13:15 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Donald Trump Ukraine Russia Vladimir Putin War

Russia said Wednesday that momentum towards reaching a peace deal in Ukraine following Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump's presidential summit in Alaska had largely "gone". The two leaders met at an air base in the Alaskan city of Anchorage in August, but failed to reach any kind of agreement on ending the three-and-a-half year war. Diplomatic ...

Erdogan Says Trump Asked Turkey to 'Persuade Hamas' on Gaza Peace

This is Beirut 2025-10-08 11:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Donald Trump Palestine Hamas Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan Peace deal

US President Donald Trump asked Turkey to "persuade" Hamas to accept his plan for ending the Gaza war, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a transcript shared by his office Wednesday. His remarks came as negotiators from Israel and Hamas were due to hold a third day of indirect negotiations in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh aimed ...

Iran Summons EU Envoys Over Bloc's 'Interventionist' Stance

This is Beirut 2025-10-08 11:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam European Union Middle East Iran Nuclear

Iran summoned envoys from European Union member states to protest the bloc's "interventionist" statements on contested islands in the Strait of Hormuz as well as the Islamic republic's nuclear program, local media reported Wednesday. Iran considers the islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa, all near the strategic Strait of Hormuz in ...