USA

US Pushes for Strategic Shift in UNIFIL's Mandate as Tensions Rise over Its Renewal

As the deadline for renewing the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon's (UNIFIL) mandate approaches on August 31, 2025, significant tensions are emerging within the UN Security Council. A scheduled vote has been canceled, and diplomatic efforts are intensifying to address ongoing disagreements, particularly centered on the United States' ...

UN Security Council to Vote on Embattled Lebanon Peacekeepers

While some reports suggested that the UN Security Council would postpone the vote on a draft resolution to extend the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) until August 29, Agence France-Presse reported that the Council will in fact vote on the text today. The Council will vote on a French-drafted compromise that would ...

SpaceX Delays Starship Megarocket Launch in Latest Setback

SpaceX delayed a planned test flight for its Starship megarocket by 24 hours until Monday, saying it needed time to troubleshoot problems, in the latest setback for Elon Musk's behemoth after a series of explosive failures. The recent problems have led some observers to doubt whether the world's biggest and most powerful launch vehicle will be ...

Washington Makes Military Aid Overtures to Sahel Juntas

Under President Donald Trump the United States has reset relations with West Africa's military leaders on a mutual back-scratching basis, bartering help fighting jihadists for the Sahel region's mining riches, experts say. While Joe Biden was in office the US suspended most of the development and military aid it sent to Burkina Faso, Mali and ...

Row Breaks Out as US Diplomat Criticises France on Antisemitism

France's foreign ministry said Sunday it would summon the US ambassador after he criticized the government for what he said was its insufficient action against antisemitism in a letter to President Emmanuel Macron. The letter from Charles Kushner, dated August 25 but leaked to the media on Sunday, echoed Israel's criticism of France days earlier, ...

Syria Kurds Say Lawmaker Selection Process Undemocratic

Syria's Kurds on Sunday criticised the upcoming selection of members of a new transitional parliament as undemocratic, after authorities postponed the process for Kurdish-controlled areas in the north and northeast. After toppling longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, Syria's new authorities dissolved the parliament and adopted a temporary ...

Zaki: Weapons Control Measures Are in Line With League Resolutions

Deputy Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ambassador Hossam Zaki, said that his visit to Beirut comes within the framework of the Arab League's support for the Lebanese state's efforts to extend its sovereignty over all its territories and place all weapons under its control. During a special interview with a Cairo News correspondent in ...

Dollar Wavers, Global Economy on Edge

The dollar has reigned as the undisputed king of currencies since World War Two, but 2025 began with a sharp decline. In just six months, it lost more than 10% of its value, reaching its weakest level since 1973, according to Morningstar. Erratic trade policies under Donald Trump, coupled with mounting tensions with the Federal Reserve, have left ...

Russia Rejects Zelensky Meeting as Diplomatic Tension Simmers

Russia Friday ruled out an immediate meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, as diplomatic tension escalated with the Ukrainian president and US mediation efforts appeared to stumble. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said "no meeting" between Vladimir Putin and Zelensky was planned, as NATO chief Mark Rutte visited Kyiv, largely to discuss ...

Zelensky says Russia Trying to 'Wriggle Out' of Peace Talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow on Thursday of shirking a meeting between him and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, despite US-led attempts to arrange a summit to end the war. US President Donald Trump is trying to end Russia's three-and-a-half year invasion of Ukraine by bringing both Zelensky and Putin to the negotiating ...

SpaceX Launches Secretive US Military Spacecraft

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted into space on Thursday night carrying the US military's secretive X-37B drone. The rocket successfully launched at 11:50 pm (0350 GMT on Friday), according to SpaceX's livestream of the event. The Falcon 9 lit up the night sky over NASA's Kennedy Space Center, where it was launched from. The US Space Force has ...