World

Syria Arrests General Linked to Infamous 'Checkpoint of Death'

This is Beirut 25/06 12:45 - Reading : less than a minute

Syria General Haidar Checkpoint Arrest War Crimes

Syrian authorities announced on Tuesday the arrest of General Mowafaq Nadhir Haidar, former commander of the Syrian regime’s 3rd Armored Division, notorious for his role at the infamous Qatifa checkpoint, known by locals as the “Checkpoint of Death.” The checkpoint, located along the Damascus-Homs highway near the division's headquarters, ...

Hamas says Gaza Ceasefire Talks 'Intensified in Recent Hours'

This is Beirut 25/06 12:40 - Reading : less than a minute

Ceasefire Hamas Israel Palestine

A senior Hamas official told AFP Wednesday that talks for a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group “intensified in recent hours” with mediator countries. “Our communications with the brother mediators in Egypt and Qatar have not stopped and have intensified in recent hours,” Taher al-Nunu said, ...

Israel Says 'Still Early' to Assess Damage to Iran Nuclear Sites

This is Beirut 25/06 12:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel Donald Trump Benjamin Netanyahu Tehran

Israel's military said on Wednesday it was “still early” to assess the damage caused to Iran's nuclear program after US intelligence services reportedly concluded that American strikes set it back by just a few months. “It is still early to assess the results of the operation,” Israeli military spokesman Brigadier ...

Iran Nuclear Talks: Trump Revives Diplomacy, Says Witkoff

This is Beirut 25/06 12:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Trump Iran Nuclear Diplomacy Witkoff Enrichment

In an interview with Fox News, Steve Witkoff, a close adviser to Donald Trump, revealed that talks have been launched between the United States and Iran aimed at reviving negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program. According to Witkoff, these exchanges, conducted both directly and through third-party channels, are “promising” and could pave ...

US Asked France to Speak to Iran Before Israel Truce

This is Beirut 25/06 12:15 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Israel Donald Trump US Secretary of State

France conveyed to Iran the terms of a US-proposed ceasefire with Israel at the request of Washington in the hours leading up to the truce, a French diplomatic source said Wednesday. On Monday night, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot to "inform him of the US wish for a ceasefire provided there ...

Iran-Israel War: Latest Developments

This is Beirut 25/06 11:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Israel Donald Trump Benjamin Netanyahu Tehran USA

Classified US intelligence suggests that American strikes on Iran set back its nuclear program by just a few months, contradicting President Donald Trump's claim of total destruction. Here are the latest developments as a truce between Iran and Israel appeared to be holding early Wednesday: 'Significant hit' The Israeli ...

Gaza Rescuers say Israeli Forces Kill 20 Including Six Aid Seekers

This is Beirut 25/06 10:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Palestine United Nations Hamas Israel

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli fire killed at least 20 people on Wednesday, including six who were waiting to collect food aid in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory. The latest in a string of deadly incidents near aid distribution sites came after the United Nations had condemned the "weaponization of food" in the Gaza Strip, where a ...

NATO Chief: US 'Totally Committed' to Collective Defense Pledge

This is Beirut 25/06 09:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

USA NATO Mark Rutte

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday that the United States was "totally committed" to the alliance's mutual defense clause, after President Donald Trump appeared to cast doubt on it. "For me, there is absolute clarity that the United States is totally committed to NATO, totally committed to Article Five," Rutte told reporters ...

US Judge Backs Using Copyrighted Books to Train AI

This is Beirut 25/06 09:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

USA AI Judge Book Copyright

A US federal judge has sided with Anthropic regarding training its artificial intelligence models on copyrighted books without authors' permission, a decision with the potential to set a major legal precedent in AI deployment. District Court Judge William Alsup ruled on Monday that the company's training of its Claude AI models with books bought ...

ExplainerWhat Does NATO's 5% Spending Deal Really Mean?

This is Beirut 25/06 09:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump USA NATO

NATO leaders are set to sign off Wednesday at their Hague summit on a defense spending pledge to satisfy US President Donald Trump's demand for a headline figure of five percent of GDP. Here are the details of what NATO is signing up to: Five percent? Not really Trump has insisted NATO countries hit the five-percent bar -- well beyond the ...

Israeli Army says Seven Soldiers Killed in Gaza

This is Beirut 25/06 09:05 - Reading : less than a minute

Hamas Israel Army Soldiers

The Israeli army on Wednesday said seven of its soldiers were killed in combat in Gaza, where the war with Palestinian militant group Hamas continued. The army's website listed the names of five soldiers and a platoon commander from the same battalion who "fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip". It added that a seventh soldier was also ...

Iran Hangs 3 Men Accused of Spying for Israel

This is Beirut 25/06 06:45 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Iran Israel

Iran said Wednesday that it executed three men accused of spying for Israel, the day after a truce between the two countries came into effect. "Idris Ali, Azad Shojai and Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul, who attempted to import equipment into the country to carry out assassinations, were arrested and tried for... cooperation favouring the Zionist ...