This is Beirut, 2024-12-18 14:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Damascus United Nations United States USA
United Nations special envoy Geir Pedersen called Wednesday for "free and fair elections" in Syria and urged humanitarian assistance to the war-torn country after Bashar al-Assad's ouster this month. Addressing reporters in Damascus, Pedersen said, "There is a lot of hope that we can now see the beginning of a new Syria," which he expressed hope ...
This is Beirut, 2024-12-17 17:55 - Reading : less than a minute
Federal Reserve United States Financial Markets
Wall Street stocks pulled back early Tuesday ahead of a Federal Reserve decision on interest rates, as markets digested stronger than expected US retail sales. US retail sales rose 0.7 percent in November from a month earlier, up from a revised 0.5 percent in October and above analysts forecasts. The data came ahead of a two-day Federal Reserve ...
This is Beirut, 2024-12-17 15:30 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Damascus European Union United Nations United States Syria Iran
The United Nations humanitarian chief said Tuesday that he was "encouraged" after meetings in Damascus with Syria's new leaders, saying there was a "basis for ambitious scaling-up of vital humanitarian support", as Western diplomatic missions prepare to return to Damascus. "Moment of cautious hope in Syria," Tom ...
This is Beirut, 2024-12-17 01:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
A 15-year-old female student was identified by police as the assailant who opened fire Monday at a school in the US state of Wisconsin, where a fellow student and teacher were killed and the suspected shooter was found dead. Shon Barnes, police chief in the state capital Madison, told a press briefing that three people had died and seven others ...
This is Beirut, 2024-12-14 20:35 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
United States Anthony Blinken Syria HTS Ahmed al-Sharaa
The United States has made contact with Syria's victorious Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday, despite previously designating the group as terrorists. Blinken's comments, after talks on Syria in Jordan, came as Turkey reopened its embassy in Damascus, nearly a week after the Islamist-led rebels toppled ...
This is Beirut, 2024-12-13 17:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Antony Blinken United States Iraq ISIS syria
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised Friday to work with Iraq to ensure no resurgence of the Islamic State group after Bashar al-Assad's overthrow in neighboring Syria. On a regional tour devoted to a suddenly-changed Syria, the top US diplomat flew to Baghdad from the Turkish capital Ankara and headed into talks with Iraqi Prime ...
This is Beirut, 2024-12-13 12:45 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
The leader of the Islamist-dominated armed coalition that seized power in Syria on Friday called on residents to take to the streets en masse to celebrate the "victory of the revolution." In a video, Abou Mohammad al-Jolani, now using his real name, Ahmad al-Chareh, "congratulated the Syrian people on the revolution’s victory" and urged the ...
This is Beirut, 2024-12-12 17:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Europe Ukraine United States Nato Russia
NATO chief Mark Rutte issued a stark warning Thursday to "turbo-charge" defense spending, saying European nations were not prepared for the threat of future war with Russia. "We are not ready for what is coming our way in four to five years," Rutte said in a keynote address in Brussels, his first major speech since taking office as NATO ...
This is Beirut, 2024-12-11 10:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Houthi Palestine United States
Two American destroyers defeated a drone and missile attack by the Houthis while escorting three merchant vessels through the Gulf of Aden, the US military said Tuesday, confirming a claim from the Houthis. The Houthis began striking ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in November 2023, part of the region-wide fallout from Israel's devastating ...
This is Beirut, 2024-12-11 09:35 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Hamas Israel Palestine UN Security Council United States
The UN General Assembly will vote Wednesday on a draft resolution that seeks an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, a symbolic gesture after the US previously vetoed a similar action in the UN Security Council. In addition to calling for "an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire," the draft resolution seeks "the immediate and unconditional ...
This is Beirut, 2024-12-11 09:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
United States Donald Trump Syria HTS war
For more than a decade, the United States has sought to keep out of Syria's political debacle, seeing no viable partner. Islamist rebels' toppling of strongman Bashar al-Assad has forced a change of tune and a debate over just what US interests are. Donald Trump, who returns to the White House in little more than a month, on the eve of Assad's ...
This is Beirut, 2024-12-10 13:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
United States isis syria fights
The United States is committed to continuing its mission against ISIS in Syria. During a Monday press briefing, Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh explained that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin informed his Turkish counterpart that the US is closely monitoring opposition groups in Syria. Singh said, “And just yesterday, US Central ...