Donald Trump spoke directly to the Turkish president, Tayyip Erdoğan, on Monday to demand an immediate ceasefire in Syria while announcing a series of punishments for Ankara that critics saw as an attempt to save face. The US president’s conversation with Erdoğan was revealed by the vice-president, Mike Pence, who ... Read More »
Firefighters Battle Wildfires Raging in Chouf
A wildfire was raging in the Chouf district of Meshref with reports saying it could engulf nearby houses and educational facilities if not contained. Civil Defense firefighters and Lebanese army teams battled the large blaze, as the weather recorded above the average temperature level for October. The fire has reportedly ... Read More »
The climate crisis in 2050: what happens if cities act but nations don’t?
It is cities, not national governments, that are most aggressively fighting the climate crisis – and in 30 years they could look radically different by John Vidal She has barely ever been in a car, and never eaten meat or flown. Now 31, she lives on the 15th floor ... Read More »
Brexit talks fail to yield breakthrough with timely deal feared ‘impossible’
Barnier warns negotiations may have to continue as UK’s Irish border plans are an ‘untested’ risk A breakthrough in the Brexit talks has failed to materialise after a weekend of intensive negotiations, with European Union capitals concluding that it may now be impossible for the UK to leave the ... Read More »
Kurds reach deal with Damascus in face of Turkish offensive
Agreement to hand over border towns comes after more than 700 Isis affiliates escape camp Kurdish-led forces in control of north-east Syria have reached a deal with the Assad regime to stave off a bloody five-day-old Turkish assault, as more than 700 people with links to Islamic State have ... Read More »
Iranian oil tanker on fire after blast near Saudi port city – report
An Iranian oil tanker has reportedly caught fire after an explosion near Jeddah An explosion has set an Iranian oil tanker on fire near the Saudi port city of Jeddah, according to the semi-official Iranian news agency Isna. The blast set the vessel, which belongs to National Iranian Oil Company, ... Read More »
Erdogan threatens to flood Europe with 3.6 million refugees as Syria offensive forces tens of thousands to flee
Turkey’s president has threatened to send millions of Syrian refugees to Europe in retaliation for stinging world criticism of his military operation in northern Syria that has left 17 civilians dead, including several children. Lashing out at the European Union and others that joined a global chorus of condemnation, President ... Read More »
‘He threw them under a bus’: US allies in Middle East fear abandonment after Trump’s betrayal of Kurds
The shock waves from Donald Trump’s surprise announcement that US troops in northern Syria would step aside and allow a Turkish offensive to obliterate its long-term Kurdish partners rippled out of Washington and shook America’s allies across the region. From Israel to the Gulf, officials, diplomats and commentators expressed fears – in private and ... Read More »
Erdoğan’s Syrian incursion could be his biggest gamble yet
Turkey’s president faces some difficult choices after being given green light by the US For Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, it’s a case of be careful what you wish for. By most accounts, Turkey’s president bamboozled Donald Trump into giving a green light for an invasion of north-east Syria. Yet now, ... Read More »
Taiwan leader rejects China’s ‘one country, two systems’ offer
Taiwan’s president rejected on Thursday a “one country, two systems” formula that Beijing has suggested could be used to unify the island and the mainland, saying such an arrangement had set Hong Kong “on the edge of disorder”. President Tsai Ing-wen also vowed in a National Day speech to defend ... Read More »