Politics
Lebanon’s cabinet has told the army to draw up a plan to establish a state monopoly on arms in a challenge to the Iran-backed Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah, which rejects calls to disarm. WHY IS THERE A PUSH TO DISARM HEZBOLLAH NOW? Israel pummelled Hezbollah last year in a
Live News
France’s biggest wildfire in years was spreading quickly Wednesday in a Mediterranean region near Spain after leaving one person dead and several injured, authorities said. The fire burned an area larger than Paris, and the military was called in to help. French Prime Minister François Bayrou deplored a “disaster
Politics
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered an additional 25 percent tariff on Indian goods over New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil, a key revenue source for Moscow’s war in Ukraine. The tariff, set to take effect in three weeks, comes on top of a separate 25
Live News
Lebanese troops killed on Wednesday three “prominent” drug traffickers in a car chase in the country’s northeast, the army said. A military statement said that troops were “pursuing a car carrying the wanted individuals” in Al-Sharawneh, in Baalbek district, describing the three suspects as “among the most prominent and
Politics
Judges have requested permission from Italy’s parliament to bring proceedings against two government ministers over the release of a Libyan wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), reports said Wednesday. Justice Minister Carlo Nordio is accused of failing to perform his official duties and also, alongside Interior Minister Matteo
News
Britain’s charity regulator said it had found no evidence of bullying at a charity set up by Prince Harry, but criticized all parties for allowing a dispute to become public. Harry, the younger son of King Charles, co-founded the charity Sentebale in 2006 to help young people with HIV
News
Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff were “useful and constructive,” Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said on Wednesday. Witkoff held around three hours of talks with Putin in the Kremlin, two days before the expiry of a deadline set by President Donald Trump
Middle East
Lebanon has decided to rebaptise a thoroughfare named after former Syrian president Hafez Assad in favor of late Lebanese musician and playwright Ziad Rahbani, a move many welcomed on Wednesday. The decision marks the end of an era and a rupture with the authoritarian rule of former Syrian leaders Hafez
News
Iran executed two men in separate cases Wednesday, accusing one of spying for Israel and another of being a member of the Daesh group, state media reported. A report by the judiciary news website Mizanonline identified the alleged spy as Rouzbeh Vadi, who was accused of relaying classified information to
Politics
Hezbollah said on Wednesday the Lebanese government was committing a “grave sin” by tasking the army with establishing a state monopoly on arms, sharpening a national divide over calls for the Shiite Muslim group to disarm. The cabinet on Tuesday authorized the Lebanese army to draw up a plan to
History And Heritage
Egypt said on Wednesday that its much-anticipated new $1-billion archaeological museum near the Pyramids of Giza will officially open on November 1 after several delays. Authorities hope that the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), which boasts the treasures of Tutankhamun among its collection of more than 100,000 ancient Egyptian artefacts,
Live News
A man accused of passing Russian satellite secrets to the United States has been arrested for suspected treason and placed in pre-trial detention, a court in the Russian city of Kaliningrad said on Wednesday. The court, in a statement on Telegram, identified the suspect only as “O” and said he
Live News
Monsoon floods in a rebel-held Myanmar town on the country’s mountainous border with China have killed six people, a spokesman for the armed group controlling the area said Wednesday. The northern town of Laiza bordering China’s Yunnan province has reported flash flooding since early Monday, when muddy waist-high
Live News
The Israeli army said Wednesday that it killed a Hezbollah operative in the Bekaa region of east Lebanon who it said was directing militant cells in Syria. “Yesterday evening (Tuesday), the (Israeli air force)... struck the terrorist Hossam Qasem Ghorab, a Hezbollah terrorist who operated from Lebanese territory to direct
Live News
A Russian attack on Wednesday that set ablaze a holiday camp in central Ukraine killed two people and wounded another dozen, local authorities said. The central Zaporizhzhia region, which the Kremlin claims is part of Russia and is cut through by the front line, has been targeted in increasingly frequent
Health
Vietnam has been hit by an increasing number of outbreaks of African swine fever, with the number of infected pigs more than tripling in just two weeks, state media said on Tuesday. The country has detected 972 African swine fever outbreaks so far this year, up from 514 reported in