This is Beirut 14:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Syria's army said Saturday that its forces had taken control of swathes of the region east of Aleppo city after Kurdish forces agreed to withdraw following recent clashes. The advance comes a day after President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree declaring Kurdish a "national language" and granting the minority official recognition in ...
This is Beirut 14:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Donald Trump Palestine Turkey USA
U.S. President Donald Trump has invited Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to join the so-called Board of Peace that will oversee post-war Gaza, Turkey said Saturday. Erdogan received the proposal in a letter sent Friday by Trump inviting him to "become a founding member" of the board, Turkish presidential communications director ...
This is Beirut 16/01 23:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Gaza Palestine Israel Hamas Fatah
The Palestinian committee set to govern post-war Gaza has begun its work in Cairo, a member told AFP on Friday. Formed on Wednesday as the second phase of the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire deal came into effect, the committee is made up of 15 technocrats charged with administering the Palestinian territory after the Hamas-Israel war. The ...
This is Beirut 16/01 22:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Donald Trump Iran United States Protests
Speaking to the press on Friday, President Trump stated that his decision not to attack Iran was not influenced by Arab and Israeli officials, but rather due to Iran cancelling the mass-execution of 800 protesters. When asked why he made this decision, he stressed that “nobody convinced me, I convinced myself. [Iran] had yesterday scheduled ...
This is Beirut 16/01 21:40 - Reading : less than a minute
Syria's army issued warnings on Friday ahead of strikes on Deir Hafer, east of Aleppo, saying it will target the positions of Kurdish forces and urging civilians to stay away. In several warnings, the Syrian military announced it will target specified areas of Deir Hafer, which it said Kurdish forces were using "as a launching point for their ...
This is Beirut 16/01 21:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree on Friday declaring Kurdish a "national language", in an apparent gesture of good will towards the minority following clashes in past days. The move came as the Syrian army warned of new strikes east of Aleppo, despite a meeting between the US-led coalition and Kurdish forces seeking to ...
This is Beirut 16/01 19:55 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Syrian national Ahmad Dunya, who was collaborating with former affiliates of the Bashar Al-Assad regime plotting to destabilize the new Ahmad al-Sharaa regime, was arrested in Lebanon on Friday. Since December 2025, Syrian and Lebanese officials have engaged in discussion over the status of over 200 exiled members of the Assad regime who fled to ...
Claudia Groeling 16/01 19:29 - Reading : 9 minute(s)
Lebanon Shia Opposition Hezbollah Amal Disarmament Israel
Lebanon’s upcoming parliamentary elections, coming on the heels of the 2024 Hezbollah–Israel war that devastated the organization and its core constituencies, have reopened the question of Shia political representation. For decades, Lebanese political discourse has treated the Shia community as a unified political bloc, electorally ...
This is Beirut 16/01 16:30 - Reading : less than a minute
The Palestinian committee set to govern post-war Gaza held its first meeting in Cairo on Friday, Egyptian state-linked channel Al-Qahera News reported. Formed on Wednesday as the second phase of the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire deal came into effect, the committee is made up of 15 technocrats charged with administering the Palestinian territory ...
This is Beirut 16/01 16:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Donald Trump United States USA Sanctions Tehran Iran Protests Treasury
The U.S. on Thursday unveiled a new round of sanctions targeting Iranian officials accused of involvement in the violent suppression of nationwide anti-regime protests that have swept across Iran and directly challenge the country’s theocratic leadership. Among those sanctioned is the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, ...
This is Beirut 16/01 14:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
UnitedStates USPolicy Iran IranNuclear
Speaking Thursday night at the Israeli-American Council conference in Florida, Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy for Middle East diplomacy, was asked during an onstage interview whether he believes a U.S. military strike against Iran is likely. He signaled a renewed preference for diplomacy with Iran while pointedly warning that failure to ...
This is Beirut 16/01 14:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Iran HumanRights United States Donald Trump protests manifestations
The protest movement in Iran has subsided after a crackdown that has killed thousands under an internet blackout, monitors said Friday, one week after the start of the biggest protests in years challenging the Islamic republic's theocratic system. The threat of new military action by the United States against Iran has also appeared to have ...