US Congress

Energy Crisis: Lebanon Between Regional Opportunities and Internal Blockages

Arab support for the revival of Lebanon’s energy sector is back in the spotlight. On the sidelines of the Arab Summit in Amman, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam reopened this crucial file with his Jordanian counterpart. Shortly after, Lebanese Finance Minister Yassine Jaber and Energy and Water Minister Joe Saddi discussed the main points of energy ...

President Aoun Urges UN Aid Shift to Syria, Tackles Arms in Palestinian Camps

President Joseph Aoun called on the international community to reconsider its approach to the Syrian refugee crisis, urging the United Nations to focus aid efforts inside Syria rather than in Lebanon. “The United Nations should deliver assistance to displaced persons within their own country, not in Lebanon,” Aoun stated during a meeting on ...

Republicans Eye Thursday Vote On Trump's Tax Cut Mega-Bill

Republicans announced Wednesday they will vote early Thursday on US President Donald Trump's sprawling domestic policy mega-bill pairing tax relief with spending cuts that critics say would decimate health care while ballooning the debt. The "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act" would usher into law Trump's vision for a new "Golden Age," achieved through ...

Trump Says “I Don’t Know” if He Must Uphold the U.S. Constitution

US President Donald Trump said in a television interview airing Sunday that he does not know whether he must uphold the US Constitution. He also said he is not seriously considering running for a third White House term, after musing publicly over an idea clearly barred by the nation's founding legal document. "I don't know," Trump responded when ...

At Least 24 Killed in Kashmir Attack on Tourists, Police Say

At least 24 people were killed in Indian-administered Kashmir when gunmen opened fire on tourists on Tuesday, a senior police officer told AFP, with authorities calling it the worst attack on civilians in years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi decried the "heinous act" in the summer retreat of Pahalgam, pledging the attackers "will be ...

'Just more powerful': Trump pushes presidential limits in first 100 days

With Donald Trump back in the White House you never know what you're going to get. Will he berate a foreign leader? Rock the global markets? Take vengeance against his foes? But there has been one constant behind the chaos of his first 100 days -- Trump is pushing US presidential power to almost imperial limits. "I think the second term is just ...

Author of Explosive Meta Memoir Stars at US Senate Hearing

The former Facebook employee behind a scathing book about parent company Meta on Wednesday alleged that the social networking giant collaborated with the Chinese government on artificial intelligence, censorship and more, then lied to Congress about what it was doing. Former global policy director Sarah Wynn-Williams, who worked at the company ...

Senate Republicans Move Forward with Trump Tax Cuts

US senators on Saturday approved a budget blueprint unlocking trillions of dollars for sweeping tax cuts promised by President Donald Trump, despite bitter infighting among the majority Republicans over the savings that will be needed to fund them. Working deep into the night, lawmakers voted 51-48, mostly along party lines, to approve the ...

Trump Says ‘Not Joking’ About Possible Third Term as Us President

Donald Trump on Sunday repeated his suggestion that he might seek a third term as US president, NBC News reported, which would defy the two-term limit stipulated in the US constitution. In a Sunday-morning phone call with NBC News, Trump said "I'm not joking," when asked to clarify a remark on seeking another term, adding: "There are methods ...

March 14: 20 Years Later, Revisiting a Defining Moment

On March 14, 2005, a human tidal wave flooded Martyrs' Square. Lebanese people of all faiths gathered around a single cause: rising up against the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, one month after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. It was a first in the history of independent Lebanon. Today, the 20th commemoration has a new ...

Asian Stocks, Bitcoin Down as Trade Uncertainty Roils Markets

Asian stocks tumbled at the open Friday following a tough day on Wall Street as uncertainty over US President Donald Trump's trade policies roiled markets and traders awaited key US jobs data. Bitcoin plunged 5.7 percent after Trump signed an executive order to establish a "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve" without planning any public purchases of the ...

China Eyes 5 Percent Growth Despite Trade War

China on Wednesday set an annual growth target of around five percent, vowing to make domestic demand its main economic driver as an escalating trade war with the United States hit Beijing's exports. Beijing also announced a rare hike in fiscal funding, allowing its budget deficit to reach four percent this year as it battles stuttering ...