World

Trump Vows Not To Be Intimidated Ahead of Putin Summit

This is Beirut 14/08 18:55 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Donald Trump Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky Kyiv Putin

US President Donald Trump insisted Thursday he would not be intimidated by Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the eve of a high-stakes summit and said Ukraine would be involved in any deal on its fate. Putin flies to Alaska on Friday at the invitation of Trump in his first visit to a Western country since he ordered the 2022 invasion of Ukraine ...

Turkey Reports Mass Return by Syrians

This is Beirut 14/08 18:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Turkey United Nations Syria Refugees

More than 410,00 Syrians who fled to Turkey during the rule of Bashar al-Assad have returned home since he was overthrown in December, the government announced Thursday. Turkey's interior ministry said 411,649 Syrians had so far returned, the rate picking up in recent weeks, with the immigration service recording 140,000 returns since ...

Russia, Ukraine Exchange 84 Prisoners Each

This is Beirut 14/08 15:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky Russia prisoners

Russia and Ukraine exchanged 84 prisoners each on Thursday, both sides said, the latest in a series of swaps that has seen hundreds of POWs released so far this year. This latest one came on the eve of a high-level summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday. The Russian defense ministry ...

EU Working 'Non-Stop' to Support Wildfire-Affected Countries

This is Beirut 14/08 14:35 - Reading : less than a minute

European Union Fire Heatwave Weather

The EU said on Thursday it was working "non-stop" to support countries battling wildfires raging across European countries. Extreme summer heat, which scientists say human-driven climate change is exacerbating, has fuelled blazes across the region including Greece, Portugal, Spain and the Balkans. "We continue non-stop to work on the support of ...

Blast Kills Four in Northwest Syria: State Media

This is Beirut 14/08 13:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Syria explosion

A blast rocked Syria's northwestern province of Idlib on Thursday, state media said, reporting four dead and without identifying its cause. Residents told AFP they heard the sound of explosions in the western outskirts of the provincial capital. State news agency SANA reported "an explosion whose cause is unknown in the vicinity of the ...

Putin, Trump to Discuss Settling Ukraine Conflict in Talks: Kremlin

This is Beirut 14/08 13:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Donald Trump Ukraine USA Vladimir Putin Alaska Summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Donald Trump are to discuss ways to settle the Ukraine conflict during their landmark summit in Alaska on Friday, the Kremlin said. The meeting will be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since 2021, and comes as Trump seeks to broker an end to Russia's nearly three-and-a-half ...

Foreign NGOs Say New Israeli Rules Keep Them From Delivering Gaza Aid

This is Beirut 14/08 12:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Hamas Israel Palestine NGO

New Israeli legislation regulating foreign aid groups has been increasingly used to deny their requests to bring supplies into Gaza, according to a joint letter signed by more than 100 groups published Thursday. Ties between foreign-backed aid groups and the Israeli government have long been beset by tensions, with officials often complaining the ...

Forget Gelato, Try This Instead

This is Beirut 14/08 12:00 - Reading : less than a minute

grattachecca Italy summer vacation trip dessert

Beat the Roman heat with grattachecca, a colorful shaved ice treat loved for over a century. Affordable, refreshing, and a must-try on your trip to Rome!

UN Commission Finds Violence Against Syria Alawites Likely Included 'War Crimes'

This is Beirut 14/08 11:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Damascus United Nations Alawites War

A UN commission investigating sectarian bloodshed in Syria's Alawite heartland documented systematic violence at the hands of government forces and allied groups, warning Thursday that some of the acts could constitute war crimes. The violence in March unfolded along Syria's predominantly Alawite Mediterranean coast, where security personnel ...

Op-edIran’s Shadow in Beirut: Larijani’s Visit and Lebanon’s Tightrope Walk

Salam El Zaatari 14/08 11:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanon Iran Hezbollah Joseph Aoun

On August 13, 2025, Beirut became the stage for one of the most charged diplomatic performances in years. Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, arrived at Rafic Hariri International Airport to a reception that looked less like a state visit and more like a triumphant homecoming. Thousands of Hezbollah supporters ...

At Least 40 Dead in Sudan's Worst Cholera Outbreak in Years: MSF

This is Beirut 14/08 10:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United Nations Sudan Cholera

At least 40 people have died in Sudan's Darfur region in the country's worst cholera outbreak in years, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Thursday. The medical charity said the vast western region, which has been a major battleground over more than two years of fighting between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, had ...

Zelensky in London Meets PM Ahead of US-Russia Summit

This is Beirut 14/08 09:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Volodymyr Zelensky European Union UK

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with ally UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London on Thursday ahead of a key US-Russia summit in Alaska. Zelensky arrived at 9:30 am (0830 GMT) at Downing Street, after Starmer on Wednesday maintained there was now a "viable" chance for a Ukraine ceasefire. US President Donald Trump and ...