By Elizabeth Pineau SARCELLES, France, June 2 (Reuters) - When Bassi Konate became mayor of Sarcelles this spring, the independent candidate backed by the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party ended three decades of municipal rule by the Socialists, the traditional powerhouse of
UN chief Antonio Guterres said Monday that peacekeepers will be needed in Lebanon after the mandate of the current mission expires at year-end -- an option likely to face opposition from the United States and Israel. Last August, the UN Security Council, under US pressure,
Farmer Issa al-Moussa walks among his damaged wheat crop in eastern Syria after the nearby Euphrates River flooded in recent days due to heavy rainfall and increased flows from Turkey. Syrian authorities have said the country was experiencing an "exceptional" rise in water
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government 'has lost control over Israeli sovereignty. Chaos is in every corner'
BEIRUT, June 1 (Reuters) - Lebanon's embassy in Washington said in a statement on Monday that Hezbollah had accepted a U.S. proposal for a mutual cessation of hostilities that would be extended to encompass all Lebanese territory. The statement, shared by the Lebanese
By Luc Cohen NEW YORK, June 1 (Reuters) - An alleged member of an Iran-backed militia pleaded not guilty on Monday to U.S. criminal charges he was involved in multiple attacks against American interests in Europe, proclaiming in a courtroom outburst, "I am not a criminal."
US President Donald Trump said Monday that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to stop fighting, adding that Iran talks were moving rapidly after seeming to falter over Israel's Lebanon offensive. Trump said he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and had a "very
The US president announced the ceasefire after Iran's IRGC threatened a major attack on northern Israel and warned it could close the Bab al-Mandeb strait if Israel followed through on plans to strike Beirut.
June 1 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Israel would send no troops to Beirut after a call he held with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "I had a very productive call with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel, and there will be no Troops
By Francois Murphy VIENNA, June 1 (Reuters) - A former Syrian intelligence chief in the city of Raqqa went on trial in Austria on charges of torture and sexual abuse on Monday over the mistreatment of opponents of then-leader Bashar al-Assad more than a decade ago. It is a
June 1 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he had not heard from Iranians that they were suspending talks with the Washington, but added that silence would be fine and he was willing to wait. "I think we've been talking too much if you want to know the
By Jonathan Saul and Renee Maltezou ATHENS, June 1 (Reuters) - Despite the current ceasefire between the United States and Iran, it remains too risky to move the thousands of sailors stuck in the Gulf, the head of the U.N.'s shipping agency said.
By Parisa Hafezi DUBAI, June 1 (Reuters) - Iran is pushing for a limited interim agreement with the United States in a bid to ease mounting economic pressure and stabilise the situation at home, while avoiding major concessions on its nuclear programme, according to sources and
Oil prices jumped and equities were mixed Monday as Middle East peace talks stumbled, while Lebanese authorities said Hezbollah had accepted a US proposal for a "mutual cessation of attacks." Crude futures shot around seven percent higher after an Iranian state news agency
The debate risks adding a new irritant to a fragile Turkey-Greece thaw that followed years of tensions.
By Angus McDowall and Benjamin Raab JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, June 1 (Reuters) - The medieval Beaufort Castle's stone ramparts tower so far above south Lebanon that Israel could hail their capture as a strategic victory, even as it evoked the miseries of a previous occupation. When
The arrest of Adnan al-Jumaili marks a second signification step against corruption by Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi’s government amid growing pressure from the Trump administration.
Iran’s Tasnim News Agency also said Tehran could "activate other fronts," including closure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The expansion of Ambassador Tom Barrack’s mandate to include Iraq along with his continued roles in Turkey and Syria will likely be welcomed in Ankara, where he has played a key role in advancing US-Turkish ties.
TEL AVIV, June 1 (Reuters) - Israel's Defence Ministry on Monday said France had banned Israeli government representatives from attending the Eurosatory defence exhibition in Paris this month. France has also banned Israeli weapons makers from exhibiting offensive systems and
'Beaufort is in our hands!' a government minister exulted, when Israel captured a Crusader fortress it once occupied for 18 years. For Joseph Cedar, who directed an Oscar-nominated film about the last days of the IDF outpost there, it is a cursed mountain – but for Netanyahu,
DUBAI, June 1 (Reuters) - Iran's Tasnim news agency said on Monday that Tehran's negotiating team is stopping exchanges of messages with the United States through mediators due to attacks on Lebanon, as diplomatic efforts to end the three-month-old Iran war continue. The agency
The two men had been due to address the SXSW London festival on June 4, with Piker scheduled to meet left-wing UK lawmakers and Uygur slated to address Oxford University students.
After the IDF issued an evacuation order for the residents of Beirut's Shi'ite-majority southern suburbs, the commander of Iran's central military command, Ali Abdollahi, said northern Israel's residents should also evacuate if Israel attacks the Lebanese capital
The U.S. President has announced that Israeli troops – who have been pushing deeper into Lebanon in recent days – would not reach Beirut and that Hezbollah had agreed to 'stop all shooting' following calls with Netanyahu and indirect contacts within Hezbollah
Israel said Monday it would once again target Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold mostly spared heavy attacks since April, as it stages its deepest incursion into Lebanon in two decades. The UN Security Council is expected to hold an emergency meeting later Monday
Israel said Monday it would once again target Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold mostly spared heavy attacks since April, as it stages its deepest incursion into Lebanon in two decades. The UN Security Council is expected to hold an emergency meeting later Monday
France said on Monday it had detained a Russia-linked oil tanker in the Atlantic, with the Kremlin comparing the latest seizure aimed at tackling Moscow's sanctions-busting shadow fleet to "international piracy". Since September, France has boarded three other ships believed to
Israeli forces are deep inside Lebanese territory as the southern suburbs of Beirut brace for airstrikes.
LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - Britain has blocked Cenk Uygur, a left-wing Turkish-American media personality, and his nephew, Hasan Piker, a U.S. left-wing commentator and influencer, from entering the country to speak at events, both said on Monday. Uygur, who co-hosts the
By Jonathan Saul and Renee Maltezou ATHENS, June 1 (Reuters) - Shipping executives meeting in Athens on Monday said that any peace deal worked out between the United States and Iran would need to offer clear rules allowing vessels to resume normal business via the Strait of
DUBAI, June 1 (Reuters) - Iran on Monday blamed the slow pace of efforts to end the U.S.-Iran conflict on a lack of trust, contradictory positions from Washington and continued Israeli attacks in the region. "Negotiations have started amid severe suspicion and mistrust, and the
An ex-Syrian general and a former senior Syrian police officer pleaded not guilty on Monday to torturing opponents of ousted president Bashar al-Assad as their trial started in Vienna. The two face charges including torture, aggravated coercion, sexual coercion and inflicting
An ex-Syrian general and a former senior Syrian police officer went on trial in Vienna on Monday, accused of torturing opponents of the now-deposed regime of Bashar al-Assad. The two are accused "of having, on numerous occasions, ordered or failed to oppose the mistreatment of
JEURSALEM, June 1 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement on Monday ordered the military to attack targets in the Lebanese capital Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh. (Reporting by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Sharon
JEURSALEM, June 1 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement on Monday ordered the military to attack targets in the Lebanese capital Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh. (Reporting by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Sharon