World

US Says in Contact With New Syria Rulers

This is Beirut 14/12 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 ...

Turkey Reopens Embassy in Syria as Diplomats Gather for Talks

This is Beirut 14/12 17:50 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Turkey Syria Damascus HTS

Turkey reopened its embassy in Damascus on Saturday, nearly a week after president Bashar al-Assad was toppled by forces backed by Ankara, and 12 years after the diplomatic outpost was shuttered early in Syria's civil war. The move came as Middle Eastern and Western diplomats were meeting in Jordan for high-level talks on Syria, and a day after ...

RFK Jr. Revives JFK Conspiracy Debates in the Trump Era

This is Beirut 14/12 17:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

JFK CIA White House Donald Trump RFK

More than 60 years later, the assassination of U.S. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy continues to fuel conspiracy theories. The arrival of his nephew, Robert Kennedy Jr, as a minister under Donald Trump could now bring these theories as far as the White House. For a time, he was a candidate in November’s presidential election, but “RFK ...

Arab FMs Urge Support for Inclusive, 'Peaceful' Syria Transition

This is Beirut 14/12 16:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Jordan Anthony Blinken HTS ISIS

Top diplomats from eight Arab countries, meeting in Jordan on Saturday, called for a peaceful transition in Syria with UN and Arab League support following Bashar al-Assad's ouster. In a final statement after the talks in the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba, foreign ministers from Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, the United Arab ...

Russian Forces Begin Withdrawal From Bases in Syria

This is Beirut 14/12 14:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Syria Russian armed forces

Russian forces in Syria are reportedly preparing to evacuate their bases, according to satellite images obtained Friday by AFP from Maxar Technologies, following the ousting of former president and Kremlin ally Bashar al-Assad by Syrian rebels last week. Russia, which has been militarily involved in the Syrian conflict since 2015, maintains a ...

'Maximum Pressure 2.0' on Iran: The First Step Toward the Regime's Collapse?

Sana Richa Choucair 14/12 13:25 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Donald Trump Hamas Hezbollah Benjamin Netanyahu Iran

For several months now, international political discourse has largely centered around one key issue: Iran. More specifically, the repeated statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President-elect Donald Trump suggest that the main focus of the two allies is to apply maximum pressure on the Iranian regime. On one side, Trump ...

Iran Confirms Increase in IAEA Nuclear Inspections

This is Beirut 14/12 12:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Tehran UN Security Council United Nations USA IAEA

Iran confirmed Saturday that it has allowed watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to increase the number of inspections it carries out into Tehran's nuclear programme, state media reported. "We have increased capacity -- it is natural that the number of inspections should also increase," the official IRNA news agency quoted the ...

UN Envoy Warns Against Syria Collapse at Crisis Talks

This is Beirut 14/12 11:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

European Union Turkey United Nations USA Syria

A UN envoy on Saturday urged foreign powers to work to avoid a collapse of vital Syrian institutions following the downfall of Bashar al-Assad, as diplomats gathered in Jordan for a conference on the crisis. Geir Pedersen, the UN's special envoy for Syria, also backed a "credible and inclusive" political process to form the next government as he ...

The Caesar Act: Implications for Syria and Lebanon’s Economy After Assad

Antoine Saadé 14/12 11:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

US Congress

Recently, social media has been flooded with images and videos exposing the extent of the suffering endured by detainees in Syrian prisons, particularly in the notorious Saydnaya prison, dubbed the “human slaughterhouse.” Some detainees were released in a state of unconsciousness or memory loss, while others were disoriented and unaware of ...

SOHR Reports Israeli Strikes on Former Syrian Arab Army's Military Sites

This is Beirut 14/12 10:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Syria Israel Damascus

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) war monitor said Israel launched strikes early Saturday targeting military sites in Damascus and its countryside, in the latest such raids since rebels brought down Bashar al-Assad almost a week ago. "Israeli strikes destroyed a scientific institute" and other related military facilities in Barzeh, ...

South Korean Lawmakers Impeach President Yoon Over Martial Law Bid

This is Beirut 14/12 10:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

south korea

South Korean lawmakers on Saturday voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law bid, with the opposition declaring a "victory of the people". The vote took place as hundreds of thousands took to the streets of Seoul in rival rallies for and against Yoon, who launched a failed attempt to impose martial law on ...

Jordan to Host Syria Talks After Damascus Erupts in Celebration

This is Beirut 14/12 09:55 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Antony Blinken European Union Gulf Israel Turkey USA

Jordan will host US, EU, Turkish and Arab diplomats on Saturday for high-level talks on Syria, a day after celebrations in Damascus and nationwide rejoicing at the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad. Syrians celebrated the day they called the "Friday of victory" with fireworks heralding the fall of the Assad dynasty. More than half a century of ...