World

SpotlightPasswords Under Threat as Tech Giants Seek Tougher Security

This is Beirut 13/08 09:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Cybercrime Wireless Telecommunication Password

Fingerprints, access keys and facial recognition are putting a new squeeze on passwords as the traditional computer security method -- but also running into public hesitancy. "The password era is ending," two senior figures at Microsoft wrote in a July blog post. The tech giant has been building "more secure" alternatives to log in for years -- ...

ReportRebuilding in Devastated Mariupol Under Russia's Thumb

This is Beirut 13/08 09:50 - Reading : 8 minute(s)

United Nations Russia Zhdanov Mariupol

Sun-seekers crowded onto the beach in Mariupol in Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine -- a devastated city which Moscow wants to turn into an improbable seaside resort. "Take a dip in the Sea of Azov!" said 52-year-old local Ivan, who like other beach goers lapped up the good weather and mild waters of a coastline that is now entirely ...

SpotlightTrump and Putin: A Strained Relationship

This is Beirut 13/08 09:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Donald Trump Vladimir Poutine Alaska

Donald Trump styles himself as a strongman. And that's exactly what he sees in Vladimir Putin. Their complicated relationship will be put to the test at a summit in Alaska on Friday, where the two leaders who claim to admire each other will seek to outmaneuver one another over how to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While the two were close to ...

Putin, North Korea’s Kim in Phone Call Ahead of Alaska Summit

This is Beirut 13/08 05:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Vladimir Putin Kim Jong-Un Russia North Korea

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un have vowed to strengthen cooperation, days ahead of Putin's summit in Alaska with Donald Trump, Pyongyang's state media reported Wednesday. Putin and Kim spoke by phone in a "warm comradely atmosphere" on Tuesday and confirmed "their will to ...

US Summit in Alaska a 'Personal Victory' for Putin and Zelensky

This is Beirut 12/08 22:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Ukraine Russia Volodymyr Zelensky Vladimir Putin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, had scored a "personal victory" by getting invited to talks with Donald Trump on US soil and that the meeting further delayed sanctions on Moscow. Zelensky also ruled out withdrawing troops from Ukraine's eastern Donbas region as part ...

Israel PM Netanyahu Says 'We Will Allow' Gazans to Leave

This is Beirut 12/08 20:55 - Reading : less than a minute

Gaza Hamas Israel Benjamin Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said Israel would let Palestinians leave the Gaza Strip as the military prepares a broader offensive in the territory. "Give them the opportunity to leave, first of all, to leave combat zones and generally to leave the territory, if they want," Netanyahu said in a televised interview. "We will allow ...

Op-ed‘Axis of Resistance’ Calculations Come Up Short

Johnny Kortbawi 12/08 20:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Free Patriotic Movement Hezbollah Lebanese Forces

The entire “Axis of Resistance” has a recurring problem with numbers and calculations – a game it has often played and lost, sometimes with almost absurd results. If Hezbollah’s closest ally before its recent distancing to gain favor ahead of the elections – the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) – cannot get the numbers right, what hope ...

Egypt Says Working with Qatar, US to Revive 60-day Gaza Truce Plan

This is Beirut 12/08 19:28 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Egypt Qatar Gaza Israel Hamas

Egypt said Tuesday it was working with fellow Gaza mediators Qatar and the United States to broker a 60-day ceasefire as part of a renewed push to end the Israel-Hamas war. Egypt, Qatar and the United States have played a key role in mediating talks between Israel and Hamas since the Palestinian militant group's October 7, 2023 attack ...

Tehran’s Unease About the Zanguezur Corridor

Mario Chartouni 12/08 18:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Tehran Banks Europe European Union Gulf

The peace agreement signed on August 8 between Armenia and Azerbaijan could mark a turning point for the South Caucasus. However, for Tehran, one of its most significant elements – the creation of the Zanguezur Corridor, linking Azerbaijan directly to its Nakhchivan exclave through southern Armenia – poses a serious strategic ...

PortraitSheila Jordan, the Voice of Jazz, Dies at 96

This is Beirut 12/08 18:35 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Sheila Jordan Jazz Singer Homage

The jazz world has lost one of its most singular voices. Sheila Jordan, singer, composer and educator known for her unique timbre and unmatched improvisational skill, died on August 11, 2025, in New York at the age of 96. The news was confirmed by her longtime bassist, Harvie S., on US public radio NPR, prompting a wave of tributes ...

Netanyahu’s Gaza Strategy: Ambiguity, Internal Divisions and Looming Chaos

Élie-Joe Kamel 12/08 18:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Benjamin Netanyahu Palestine Hamas Israel United Nations

As the war in Gaza enters its 22nd month, political and on the ground uncertainties continue to grow. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent statements highlight this growing strategic confusion. He says he wants to “take control of Gaza,” while specifying that Israel has “no intention of governing” the territory. This ...

How Long Will Impunity Prevail in Syria?

Moncef Ait-Kaci 12/08 18:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

UN Security Council Damascus Internal Security Forces United Nations

In Sweida, the worst escalation in years erupted on July 12 after reciprocal kidnappings between Druze groups and Bedouin tribes spiraled into rapidly escalating armed clashes. The Syrian Army intervened but, according to the UN and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the fighting left more than 1,400 dead, mostly Druze civilians, and ...