This is Beirut 20/02 09:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Top diplomats from the Group of 20 major economies will convene in South Africa on Thursday for a meeting dominated by a packed global agenda but overshadowed by a snub by the top US envoy. As a curtain-raiser to the G20 summit in November, the foreign ministers will gather for talks over two days, held for the first time in Africa. South ...
Salam El Zaatari 20/02 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Ukraine Donald Trump USA Russia
If you think diplomacy is about treaties and handshakes, you haven’t been paying attention. In the world of Donald J. Trump, geopolitics is just another business deal. And in his latest playbook for Ukraine, he’s offering a trade deal that sounds more like a corporate takeover than a peace agreement. Here’s the pitch: Ukraine, battered by ...
This is Beirut 20/02 05:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
United States New York Justice Corruption Politics
A US federal judge peppered a top member of Donald Trump's Justice Department with questions Wednesday during a hearing over the office's extraordinary move to drop corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams. The department's request prompted a wave of protest resignations within the Justice Department and at the mayor's ...
This is Beirut 19/02 21:40 - Reading : less than a minute
Donald Trump Emmanuel Macron United States France
French President Emmanuel Macron is set to meet Donald Trump at the White House next week, a US official said Wednesday, as Europe scrambles to respond to the US president's shift on the war in Ukraine. "President Macron is expected at the White House early next week," a White House official told AFP on condition of anonymity. With AFPe
This is Beirut 19/02 21:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Hamas Israel Gaza Truce Phase Two
Hamas signalled on Wednesday that it was willing to free all remaining hostages held in Gaza in a single swap during the next phase of the ongoing ceasefire agreement. Israel and Hamas are currently in the process of implementing phase one of the fragile Gaza truce, which has held since taking effect on January 19 despite accusations of ...
This is Beirut 19/02 18:45 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump called Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator" Wednesday, widening a personal rift with major implications for efforts to end the conflict triggered by Russia's invasion three years ago. The United States had provided funding and arms to Ukraine but, in an abrupt policy shift since coming to power, Trump has ...
This is Beirut 19/02 18:04 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Emmanuel Macron France Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday held a new meeting on Ukraine in a bid to coordinate a European response to what he called an "existential threat" from Russia after a shock policy shift in Washington. Macron was speaking to leaders of 19 countries including Canada, with most taking part by video link, according to the ...
This is Beirut 19/02 17:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Donald Trump Banks Europe New York Stocks
Global stock markets mostly fell Wednesday after US President Donald Trump broadened his tariff threats, stoking wider trade war fears. Trump warned the previous day that he would impose tariffs "in the neighbourhood of 25 percent" on auto imports and a similar amount or higher on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. "Understandably this has ...
This is Beirut 19/02 17:15 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Islamic State Austria Terrorism
Austria has arrested a 14-year-old alleged Islamic State group sympathiser suspected of plotting to carry out a terror attack at one of Vienna's main train stations, the interior ministry said on Wednesday. The announcement comes just days after a Syrian refugee killed a teenager and injured five other people in southern Austria in what ...
This is Beirut 19/02 15:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Volodymyr Zelensky Donald Trump USA Kyiv Russia War
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday accused Donald Trump of succumbing to Russian "disinformation", deepening a rift between Kyiv and the new US administration. Speaking to reporters at a press conference on Tuesday, Trump echoed many of Russia's talking points on the three-year war in Ukraine, blaming Kyiv for having "started" ...
This is Beirut 19/02 12:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
United Arab Emirates Rubio Gaza
United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan told visiting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday that Abu Dhabi opposes the displacement of Palestinians, official media reported. Sheikh Mohammed "affirmed the UAE's firm position rejecting any attempts aimed at displacing the Palestinian people from their land", the Gulf ...
This is Beirut 19/02 10:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Pope Francis's heart is holding up very well despite his pneumonia, a Vatican source said Wednesday, amid growing concerns over the hospitalised 88-year-old's condition. The pontiff was admitted to a Rome hospital with bronchitis last week after suffering breathing difficulties, but the Holy See revealed on Tuesday evening that he had ...