After going viral, the bride from Beirut tells her story
August 8th, 20200 BEIRUT — Aug. 4, 2020 was meant to be the happiest day of Israa Al Seblani’s life, but it quickly turned to be the most terrifying. Al Seblani is the bride from the now viral video shoot taken during the explosion in Beirut that has killed more than 150 people and injured more than 5,000 more. “The first thought that...
“Possibility of external interference”: Lebanon’s president expands blast probe
August 7th, 20200 BEIRUT (REUTERS) — Lebanon’s president said on Friday an investigation into the biggest blast in Beirut’s history would examine whether it was caused by a bomb or other external interference, as residents tried to rebuild their shattered lives after the explosion. The search for those missing has intensified, as rescuers sifted...
Beirut reels from huge blast as death toll climbs to at least 135
August 5th, 20200 BEIRUT — On Wednesday, Lebanese rescue teams pulled out bodies and hunted for missing people in the wreckage caused by a massive warehouse explosion that sent a devastating blast wave across Beirut, killing at least 135. Prime Minister Hassan Diab declared three days of mourning from Thursday as early investigations blamed...
Breaking: Huge explosion rocks Beirut, dozens dead, thousands injured
August 4th, 20200 BEIRUT — A huge explosion in Beirut has caused at least 78 deaths and 4,000 injuries. The explosion sent a shockwave across the Lebanese capital, creating massive destruction, shattering windows and collapsing apartment balconies. Social media became flooded with videos and photos from eyewitnesses on the ground soon after the...
Lebanese foreign minister quits over slow reforms, Aoun adviser takes over
August 3rd, 20200 BEIRUT (REUTERS) — Lebanon named the president’s diplomatic adviser as new foreign minister on Monday after Nassif Hitti quit the post, blaming a lack of political will to enact reforms to halt a financial meltdown, which he warned could turn Lebanon into a failed state. Foreign donors have...
Lebanon reimposes COVID-19 restrictions as infections spike
July 27th, 20200 BEIRUT (Reuters) — Lebanon reimposed severe COVID-19 restrictions on Monday for the next two weeks, shutting places of worship, cinemas, bars, nightclubs, sports events and popular markets, after a sharp rise in infections. Shops, private companies, banks and educational institutions would be permitted to open, but only on Tuesdays...
Record numbers of coronavirus cases in every global region: Reuters tally
July 26th, 20200 (REUTERS) — Almost 40 countries have reported record single-day increases in coronavirus infections over the past week, around double the number that did so the previous week, according to a Reuters tally showing a pick-up in the pandemic in every region of the world. The rate of cases has been increasing not only in...
Why Palestinian-Israeli prisoners exchange deal could happen soon
July 22nd, 20200 For the first time since the Israeli war on Gaza in 2014, the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is signaling its willingness to engage in negotiations regarding the release of the bodies of two Israeli soldiers believed to be held by resistance groups in Gaza. But will another prisoner exchange similar to that of...
Lebanon’s advisers to work on compromise on financial plan, sources say
July 17th, 20200 BEIRUT - Lebanon’s financial adviser Lazard will see if a government financial rescue plan can be adjusted to reach a compromise workable for the International Monetary Fund, two sources said on Friday, after the plan hit resistance from politicians, banks and the central bank. The plan, which...
TED launches TEDinArabic in partnership with the Qatar Foundation
July 14th, 20200 DOHA — TED and the Qatar Foundation launched TEDinArabic this week. The project is a joint two-year initiative that will provide TED’s signature platform to thinkers, researchers and artists across the Arabic-speaking world to share their ideas with a global audience. TEDinArabic is TED's first initiative to focus on sharing...
Iran’s coronavirus death toll exceeds 12,000 as lockdown curbs ease
July 8th, 20200 TEHRAN (REUTERS) — Iran’s coronavirus death toll exceeded 12,000 on Wednesday, the health ministry said, with 153 deaths in the past 24 hours, amid a sharp rise in the number of daily infections and deaths in the past week as lockdown measures have eased. The total number of infections has reached 248,379, with 209,463 people...
Brazil’s President Bolsonaro tests positive for coronavirus
July 7th, 20200 SAO PAULO (REUTERS) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Tuesday he tested positive for the novel coronavirus, adding in a television interview that he was in good health despite running a fever. The right-wing populist, who has played down the severity of the virus, which he has called a “little flu”, took the test on...
Vatican summons U.S., Israeli envoys over West Bank annexation moves
July 4th, 20200 ROME/LONDON/PARIS – The Vatican, in a highly unusual move, summoned both the U.S. and Israeli ambassadors to express the Holy See’s concern about Israel’s moves to extend its sovereignty to Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank. A Vatican statement on Wednesday said meetings with Cardinal Pietro...
Coronavirus cases are rising in 40 of 50 U.S. states
July 3rd, 20200 FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA – The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. climbed to an all-time high of more than 50,000 per day on Thursday, with the infection curve rising in 40 out of 50 states in a reversal that has largely spared only the Northeast. In yet another alarming indicator, 36 states are seeing a rise in the...
Tearing down the idols of colonialism: Why Tunisia, Africa must demand French apology
July 1st, 20200 The visit by newly-elected Tunisian President Kais Saied to France on June 22 was intended to discuss bilateral relations, trade, etc. But it was also a missed opportunity, where Tunisia could have formally demanded an apology from France for the decades of French colonialism, which has shattered the social and political fabric of this......
Tlaib, Ocasio-Cortez and others sign letter amid calls on Israel to cease annexation of West Bank
June 29th, 20203 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and eleven others have signed on to a letter expressing deep concerns over the Israeli government’s plans to annex occupied Palestinian territory. Former presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has also signed on to the...
PA political circus: Why Abbas must hand the keys over to the PLO
June 29th, 20200 The painful truth is that the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas has already ceased to exist as a political body that holds much sway or relevance, either to the Palestinian people or to Abbas’ former benefactors, namely the Israeli and the American governments. So, when the Palestinian Authority prime minister,......
Lebanon’s president sees ‘civil war’ climate as critics boycott meeting
June 28th, 20200 BEIRUT — President Michel Aoun warned on Thursday of an “atmosphere of civil war” during recent unrest in Lebanon and what he described as attempts to stir up sectarian tensions as a financial crisis sweeps the country. Aoun, a Maronite Christian, was speaking at a meeting that he said was called to protect civil peace, but...
U.N. chief, European and U.S. lawmakers call on Israel to ditch West Bank annexation plan
June 28th, 20200 NEW YORK — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel on Wednesday to abandon plans to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank, warning this threatened prospects for peace with the Palestinians. “If implemented, annexation would constitute a most serious violation of international law, grievously harm the...
China to run human coronavirus vaccine trial in UAE
June 23rd, 20200 BEIJING (REUTERS) — The China National Biotec Group (CNBG) has won approval to run a large-scale “Phase Three” clinical trial of its novel coronavirus vaccine candidate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the company said on Tuesday. China is seeking to trial potential vaccines overseas because of a lack of new patients at...
Lebanon adviser in IMF talks quits, citing ‘no genuine will’ for reforms
June 19th, 20200 BEIRUT — A financial adviser working with Lebanon’s government in talks with the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that he had resigned, citing “no genuine will” to reform and attempts to dismiss the size of losses in the financial system. Lebanon began IMF talks in May, aiming to secure aid to steer its way out of......
U.S. hits Syria with toughest sanctions yet to push Assad to end war
June 17th, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. imposed its toughest sanctions ever on Wednesday, targeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to choke off revenue for his government in a bid to force it back to U.N.-led negotiations and broker an end to the country’s nearly decade-long war. The fresh round of...
Saudi-led coalition no longer on U.N. blacklist for killing children in Yemen
June 15th, 20200 NEW YORK — On Monday U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres removed a Saudi Arabia-led military coalition from a U.N. blacklist. The coalition was condemned and was on the list for several years for killing and injuring children in Yemen. Reuters reports that Guterres wrote in his annual report to the U.N. Security Council on......
WHO: Coronavirus patients most infectious when they first feel unwell
June 9th, 20200 GENEVA (Reuters) — Studies show people with the coronavirus are most infectious just at the point when they first begin to feel unwell, World Health Organization (WHO) experts said on Tuesday. This feature has made it so hard to control the spread of the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease,...
‘Wolf warrior diplomacy’: Israel’s China strategy in peril
June 6th, 20200 Israel’s balancing act that allowed it to reap America’s unconditional and, often, blind support, while slowly benefiting from China’s growing economic influence and political prestige, is already floundering. Thanks to the heated cold war between the U.S. and Chinese economic superpowers, the Israeli strategy of playing both......
