President acknowledges Shinzo Abe’s close links to Tehran and says US ‘would like to talk’ Donald Trump has said he would support Shinzo Abe’s efforts to act as a mediator between the US and Iran, amid reports that the Japanese prime minister will visit Tehran next month for talks with ...

Brexit party humiliates Conservatives while remain voters desert Labour for Lib Dems   An insurgent Brexit party and reinvigorated Liberal Democrats have delivered a harrowing night for the Conservatives and Labour at the European elections, prompting profound soul-searching at the top of both major parties. Nigel Farage’s Brexit party humiliated ...

Minister of Information, Jamal Jarrah, indicated that the Cabinet will conclude the discussion of the 2019 state budget on Friday, in remarks made to reporters following a session for the government at the Grand Serail on Wednesday. “The discussion was calm, objective and bold; and there was no tension or ...

Hussein Dakroub| The Daily Star BEIRUT: The Cabinet will meet again Wednesday for a final reading of a draft austerity budget, two ministers said following Tuesday’s marathon session, the 17th in a series of meetings dedicated to examining the country’s 2019 fiscal plan. Wednesday’s session will be followed by a ...

Dispute likely to escalate after Nicosia said it would seek to arrest anyone caught drilling   Tensions over energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean have risen sharply after Turkey said it would “exercise its sovereign rights” to drill off Cyprus in flagrant defiance of warnings from western allies. As the ...

This is the speech delivered yesterday evening by the president of the Council of Ministers Saad Hariri during the iftar held by the Future movement at the Seaside Arena: Ramadan Kareem, from our beloved Beirut to our people in Akkar, Meniye, Denniye, Kalamun, Zgharta, Koura and Batroun. Ramadan Kareem to ...

U.S. President Donald Trump has told his top advisers he does not want to get the United States involved in a war with Iran, three U.S. officials said on Thursday. “He doesn’t want to go to war. It’s not who he is,” one official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. ...

Four commercial vessels were targeted by “sabotage operations” near the territorial waters of the United Arab Emirates without causing casualties, the foreign ministry said on Sunday, without giving details of the nature of the sabotage. The incident occurred near the UAE emirate of Fujairah, one of the world’s largest bunkering ...

Pentagon officials suggest Tehran preparing attack on American forces   The US is to install an air defence missile system in the Middle East to counter the “escalating” threat posed by Iran, the Pentagon has said. The Department of Defence confirmed it was sending the Patriot surface-to-air missile system to the region in ...

Iran announced Wednesday it was partially withdrawing from a landmark nuclear deal, marking a serious escalation in Tehran’s faceoff with the United States.President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech that Iran would reduce its “commitments” to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, but would not fully withdraw, ...