World

Four Days Left to Square the Circle on Global Plastic Pollution Treaty

This is Beirut 11/08 09:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Countries remained at loggerheads Monday over how to tackle plastic pollution, with only four days left to craft a landmark global treaty on reining in the ever-growing scourge. While plastic has transformed modern life, plastic pollution poses an increasing threat to the environment and the human body -- and every day the garbage accumulates on ...

SpotlightThree-Quarters of UN Members Support Palestinian Statehood

This is Beirut 11/08 09:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United Nations European Union Palestine Australia

Three-quarters of UN members have already or soon plan to recognize Palestinian statehood, with Australia on Monday becoming the latest to promise it will at the UN General Assembly in September. The Israel-Hamas war, raging in Gaza since the Palestinian militant group's attack on October 7, 2023, has revived a global push for Palestinians to be ...

EU to Hold Urgent Ukraine Talks Before Trump-Putin Meeting

This is Beirut 11/08 09:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump Europe Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky European Union

EU foreign ministers will hold emergency talks on Monday to discuss their next steps before talks between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, as Europe fears any deal made without Ukraine could force unacceptable compromises. The two leaders will meet in the US state of Alaska on Friday to try to resolve the three-year war but the ...

AnalysisThe Institutionalized Impasses

Charles Chartouni 11/08 09:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon Gaza Israel Hezbollah

Eight months after the Presidential election and the formation of a new cabinet, Lebanon is still debating the decommissioning of Hezbollah and the restoration of the state’s sovereignty. The constitutional terms and the international mandates were not enough to sway the recalcitrance of the government, to dissuade Hezbollah and to stop the ...

Israel PM Says New Plan for Gaza 'Best Way to End The War'

This is Beirut 11/08 07:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Benjamin Netanyahu Gaza Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his plan to take control of Gaza City and target the remaining Hamas strongholds, saying Sunday it was "the best way to end the war", despite growing calls to stop the fighting. More than 22 months into the war, sparked by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel, the country is ...

Al Jazeera Says 5 Journalists Killed in Israeli Strike in Gaza

This is Beirut 11/08 05:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Gaza Palestine Israel

Al Jazeera said two of its correspondents, including a prominent reporter, and three cameramen were killed in an Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City on Sunday. The Israeli military admitted in a statement to targeting Anas al-Sharif, the reporter it labelled as a "terrorist" affiliated with Hamas. The attack was the latest to see ...

6.1-Magnitude Quake Hits Western Turkey

This is Beirut 10/08 21:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Turkey

A 6.1-magnitude quake struck Sindirgi in western Turkey on Sunday, the Turkish disaster management agency (AFAD) reported. The quake was felt across several cities in the west of the country, including Istanbul and the tourist hotspot of Izmir. No deaths were reported. About 10 buildings collapsed in Sindirgi, the epicentre of the earthquake, ...

Jordan Says to Host Syria-US Meeting on Reconstruction

This is Beirut 10/08 17:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Jordan United States Syria

Jordan will host a meeting between the United States and Syria to discuss the situation in the war-ravaged country and explore reconstruction efforts, Amman's foreign ministry said Sunday. The meeting on Tuesday, which will be attended by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and US special envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack, "will discuss the ...

Over 600 Pilgrims Hospitalized Due to Chlorine Gas Leak in Iraq

This is Beirut 10/08 15:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Iraq Gas pilgrims

More than 600 pilgrims in Iraq were briefly hospitalized with respiratory problems after inhaling chlorine as the result of a leak at a water treatment station, authorities said Sunday. The incident took place overnight on the route between the two Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, located in the center and south of Iraq, ...

Op-edThe Radical New Left Controls College Campuses

Pierre Nahas 10/08 10:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

United States Universities Left

Today’s radicalism on college campuses is all about censorship, disruption and destruction—acts that are, by nature, antithetical to academic progress and healthy intellectual exchange. American universities—and many institutions across the globe, it seems—are being transformed, not by argument, but by ideological capture by a New Left ...

European Leaders Urge More ‘Pressure’ on Russia Ahead of Trump-Putin Summit

This is Beirut 10/08 05:20 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Ukraine Russia European Union

European leaders urged more "pressure" on Russia overnight Saturday, after the announcement of a Trump-Putin summit to end the war in Ukraine raised concern that an agreement would require Kyiv to cede swathes of territory. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet in the US state of Alaska this Friday to try to resolve the ...

Kyiv Won't Give Up Land, Says Zelensky as US-Russia Summit Confirmed

This is Beirut 09/08 17:45 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Ukraine Russia Volodymyr Zelensky Vladimir Putin Donald Trump United States

Ukraine won't surrender land to Russia to buy peace, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Saturday, after Washington and Moscow agreed to hold a summit in a bid to end the war. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet in the US state of Alaska on August 15, to try to resolve the three-year conflict, despite warnings from Ukraine and ...