USA

Reevaluating the Era of Uncertainty in Syria: Balancing Optimism and Deep Concern

The Middle East stands at a crucial crossroads, where deep-rooted conflicts and power struggles continue reverberating through the region, impacting not only its immediate neighbors but also global security and stability. In light of ongoing developments in Syria, This is Beirut features the insights of renowned US foreign relations experts, ...

Iran, European Powers to Hold Nuclear Talks ahead of Trump Return

Iran is set to hold nuclear talks with France, Britain and Germany on Monday, just a week before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office. They are the second round of talks over Iran's nuclear programme in less than two months, following a discreet meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland, in November between Tehran and the three European powers, ...

Fueling the Los Angeles Fires: the Santa Ana Winds

Helping drive the wildfires in the US city of Los Angeles are the so-called Santa Ana winds, a weather phenomenon known to dry out "the hills and the nerves to flash point." The windstorms occur when cold air gathers in the neighboring states of Nevada and Utah. As it moves west and then rushes down California's mountains, it heats up -- and ...

California: Wildfire Victims Facing a Housing Crisis

Days after an inferno razed Pacific Palisades, Maya Lieberman is desperate to find somewhere to live. But unscrupulous landlords who are jacking up prices are making it hard. "The price gouging is going haywire, it's obscene," the 50-year-old stylist told AFP. "I can't find anywhere for us to go." Huge fires that have torn through Los Angeles ...

Fires in Los Angeles: the death toll rises to 16

The multiple fires that have been raging in Los Angeles for the past five days have claimed at least 16 lives, and spread to previously unscathed areas on Saturday. Besieged by flames since Tuesday, the American megalopolis continues to count its dead: the death toll, which had hitherto stood at 11, rose on Saturday evening Despite huge ...

US Special prosecutor Jack Smith ends his investigation into Trump

Jack Smith, the special counsel appointed to investigate Donald Trump for his alleged effort to overturn results of the 2020 election, has left the US Department of Justice, prosecutors said Saturday in a court filing. "The Special Counsel completed his work and submitted his final confidential report on January 7, 2025, and separated from the ...

Iran Expands Military Drills to Additional Nuclear Sites

Iran has expanded military drills to cover two additional nuclear facilities in the west and centre of the country, state media reported on Sunday. The drills -- dubbed Eqtedar, or "might" in Farsi -- began last week and are set to continue until mid-March. They involve the army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the ideological ...

President Aoun Invited to Riyadh by Saudi Crown Prince

The Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, called on Saturday President Joseph Aoun to congratulate him on becoming president and invited him to visit Saudi Arabia. Along with Qatar, Egypt, France and the United States, Saudi Arabia played an important role in resolving the presidential deadlock. Lebanon had been without a president since ...

Nicole Kidman reinvents herself in daring 'Babygirl' thriller

Nicole Kidman breaks away from her glamorous star image in Babygirl, an edgy new erotic thriller hitting theaters Wednesday. The film revives a genre long dismissed as outdated in the wake of feminist movements. At 57, the Eyes Wide Shut (1999) and Moulin Rouge! (2001) actress, who has never left the big screen, takes on one of her boldest roles ...

Turkey Raps France, Says US Only Counterpart in Northeast Syria

Turkey's top diplomat on Friday ruled out a role for French troops in Syria, saying it was only negotiating with the United States which has sought to head off Turkish military action against Kurdish fighters there. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan accused Paris of turning a blind eye to Turkey's security concerns, and called on France to take back ...

Local and International Reactions to Joseph Aoun’s Election

Local and international political leaders have warmly welcomed the election of Lebanon’s new president, ending a two-year vacancy in the country’s highest office. On Thursday, General Joseph Aoun, the Lebanese Army's Commander-in-Chief, triumphed in the second round of voting, garnering 99 votes in a parliamentary session attended ...

US President-Elect Trump to be Sentenced for Hush Money Conviction

Donald Trump will be sentenced Friday for covering up hush money payments to a porn star despite the US President-elect's last-ditch efforts to frustrate a process that would make him the first felon in the White House. The judge has indicated, however, that Trump will not face prison – even though the 34 counts of falsifying business records ...