This is Beirut

Syria Foils Two Islamic State Plots to Assassinate Sharaa

This is Beirut, 2025-11-10 15:35 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Donald Trump Middle East Washington White House Syria Ahmad al-Sharaa

According to Reuters, Syrian authorities have thwarted two separate Islamic State (IS) plots to assassinate President Ahmed al-Sharaa in recent months, in what officials described as a direct threat to the leader as he prepares to join a U.S.-led coalition against the militant group. Two senior officials, one Syrian and one from the broader ...

Syrian President Arrives in US for Landmark Visit

This is Beirut, 2025-11-09 14:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Syria Ahmad al-Sharaa United States Donald Trump

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in the United States on Saturday for a landmark official visit, his country's state news agency reported, a day after Washington removed him from a terrorism blacklist. Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, is due to meet US President Donald Trump at the ...

Switzerland Has Crossed the Mountains

Marc Saikali, 2025-11-09 09:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Lebanon Damascus Hezbollah Tehran Syria

Sometimes symbolism says it all. On Monday, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa will walk through the doors of the White House, a sight that would have seemed unthinkable a year ago. The world, it seems, has a soft spot for spectacular reinventions. Yesterday’s pariah has become today’s partner. Al-Sharaa, once a wanted man with a price on his ...

United States Lifts Sanctions on Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa

This is Beirut, 2025-11-07 21:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

United Nations United States Sanctions syria

The United States on Friday lifted sanctions imposed on Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a day after the United Nations Security Council made a similar decision, ahead of his scheduled meeting next week with U.S. President Donald Trump. According to a notice published on the U.S. Treasury Department’s website, Washington removed the ...

Former Jihadist Syrian Leader Makes Unprecedented White House Visit

This is Beirut, 2025-11-07 14:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam White House Donald Trump United Nations Syria Ahmad al-Sharaa

President Ahmed al-Sharaa will become Syria's first leader to pay an official visit to the White House on Monday, a crowning achievement for the ex-jihadist who, since taking power, has ended his country's isolation. Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, will meet President Donald Trump during the ...

UN Lifts Sanctions on Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa Ahead of Historic White House Visit

This is Beirut, 2025-11-06 22:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Sanctions United Nations United States

The United Nations Security Council voted in favor of a US resolution on Thursday to lift sanctions on Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa ahead of his White House visit next week. "(The Council) decides that Ahmed al-Sharaa...and (Interior Minister) Anas Hasan Khattab are delisted from the ISIL and Al-Qaida Sanctions List," said the ...

The U.S. Urges the UN to Lift Sanctions on Syria’s President

Paul Guillot, 2025-11-06 16:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam United Nations Donald Trump Damascus Syria Ahmad al-Sharaa

According to a draft obtained by The Associated Press, the U.S. is asking the Security Council to remove a set of sanctions imposed on Ahmad al-Sharaa and his Interior Minister Anas Hasan Khattab. The resolution could be put to a vote as early as Thursday. To pass, it must secure at least nine votes and avoid a veto from any of the five permanent ...

Lebanon Pressed Again to Hunt Down Assad Officials

Natasha Metni Torbey, 2025-11-05 14:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Lebanon Syria France Jamil Hassan Ali Mamlouk Abdel Salam Mahmoud Bashar Assad

Lebanon has once again found itself at the center of a sensitive international investigation tied to the post-Assad era. One year after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8, 2024, Beirut is being asked to cooperate with international judicial authorities to locate senior Syrian security officials accused of war crimes and crimes ...

Football – West Asia U17: Lebanon into the Final, Syria Knocked out on Penalties

Makram Haddad, 2025-11-03 12:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Football Syria

Mission accomplished. In the heat of Aqaba, the Lebanon U17 national team kept their nerves to clinch their ticket to the final of the 12th West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) edition. A cup-tie script: early opener from Youssef Badran (12'), Syrian equalizer, then a knife-edge shootout where the young Cedars kept a steady hand (4–3). ...

Syrian Leader to Discuss Sanctions, Reconstruction in US Visit

This is Beirut, 2025-11-02 12:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Syria United States Donald Trump

Syria's president will discuss issues including lifting remaining sanctions, reconstruction, and counter-terrorism when he becomes the country's first leader to pay an official visit to Washington later this month, the foreign minister said Sunday. Ahmed al-Sharaa is expected in the US capital in early November, Syria's top diplomat Asaad ...

German FM Raises Return of Refugees During Syria Visit

This is Beirut, 2025-10-30 19:27 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Germany Syria Ahmad al-Sharaa Johann Wadephul

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul discussed the possible return of Syrian refugees with President Ahmed al-Sharaa during a visit to Damascus on Thursday. Germany has a large Syrian community, with hundreds of thousands having settled there after fleeing the civil war. Wadephul said it was "in the understandable interest of the Syrian ...

Syria Attracted $28 Bn in Investment Since Assad's Fall

This is Beirut, 2025-10-29 17:12 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Syria Ahmad al-Sharaa Future Investment Initiative Saudi Arabia

Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Wednesday his country had managed to secure $28 billion worth of investments in the past 10 months following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's government last year. The president cited the figure while speaking in Riyadh at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, where he ...

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