united states

Trump Slaps Allies Japan, South Korea with 25% Tariffs

US President Donald Trump said Monday he was slapping 25 percent tariffs on Japan and South Korea in his first letters to trading partners ahead of a deadline to reach a deal with Washington. Trump had said at the weekend that starting from Monday he would send a first batch of up to 15 letters to countries informing them that he would reimpose ...

US Revokes 'Foreign Terrorist Organization' Designation for Syria's HTS

The United States on Monday announced it was revoking its designation as a "foreign terrorist organization" of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a group once linked to Al-Qaeda that toppled Syria's government in December. "In consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, I hereby revoke the designation of ...

Netanyahu says Trump meeting could “advance” Gaza deal ahead of Doha talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet Monday US President Donald Trump, who expressed hope for a "deal this week" between Israel and Hamas that sees hostages released from the Gaza Strip. Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas began on Sunday evening in Doha, aiming to broker a ceasefire and reach an agreement on ...

Geagea Calls on Government to Lead Talks on Hezbollah’s Disarmament

The leader of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, has called on the government to take the lead in responding to a US roadmap aimed at helping Lebanon gradually resolve its border issue with Israel—which maintains a military presence at five points—and to tackle the issue of illegal weapons within its territory. In a statement released ...

US Tariffs to Take Effect August 1 Without Trade Deals, Says Treasury Secretary

US tariffs will kick in on August 1 if trading partners from Taiwan to the European Union do not strike deals with Washington, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday. The rates will "boomerang back" to the sometimes very high levels that President Donald Trump had announced on April 2, before he suspended the levies to allow for ...

Switzerland Reopens its Embassy in Tehran

Switzerland said on Sunday it was reopening its embassy in Tehran, which was closed last month amid an air war with Israel, and will resume representing US interests in the country. As of Sunday, the embassy is "again open, having temporarily been closed on June 20 owing to the instability of the situation in the country," the Swiss ...

Texas Flood Kills 50, Dozens of Children Still Missing After River Camp Disaster

Rescuers searched through the night early Sunday for 27 girls missing from a riverside summer camp in Texas after torrential rains caused devastating floods that killed at least 50 people in the US state. Multiple flash flood warnings remained in place across central Texas after water surged through communities, with the Guadalupe River rising by ...

Trump Signs His "Beautiful Bill" for US Independence Day

US President Donald Trump signed his flagship tax and spending bill into law Friday, capping a grandiose White House Independence Day ceremony featuring a stealth bomber fly-by. "America is winning, winning, winning like never before," Trump said before signing the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill" while flanked by Republican ...

Lebanon Risks Missing the Train

There was a time when the idea of Syria normalizing ties with Israel would’ve been laughed out of every Arab capital. Not anymore. Damascus is reportedly engaged in serious discussions to join the Abraham Accords. Once-controversial deals, the Accords now seem like the Middle East’s new baseline. That Syria, of all countries, is entertaining ...

Reuters: Hezbollah Weighs Partial Disarmament Amid Mounting Pressures

According to a detailed Reuters report published on July 4, Hezbollah has begun internal discussions over potentially scaling back its military role without fully disarming, a significant strategic reconsideration in the aftermath of its devastating war with Israel. Citing three sources familiar with the ongoing, unfinalized deliberations, the ...