Judicial

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said Tuesday that America now has its eye on a new Islamic State leader, telling the Economic Club of New York that "we know where he is."Trump didn't mention the name of the new target, but he is likely referring to Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, the man who has been named to replace Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as head of the terror group. Al-Baghdadi took his own life last month as U.S. commandoes closed in on him in northern Syria.In a speech Tuesday, Trump said the U.S. got al-Baghdadi, then got "his second" and now, "we have our eye on his third. His third has got a lot of problems because we know where he is, too."Little is publicly known about al-Qurayshi, and the group typically identifies its leaders using pseudonyms that refer to their tribal aff...

GENEVA - The U.N. children's fund warns essential humanitarian programs for hundreds of thousands of children in Syria will have to be cut because it has run out of cash.With just eight weeks left until the end of the year, the U.N. children's fund reports only 53 percent has been met of its $295 million appeal for 2019. Unless this major funding shortfall is urgently closed, it reports many children will be denied the lifesaving assistance they need. UNICEF spokeswoman Marixie Mercado says these forced cuts come at a particularly difficult time of the year.With temperatures dropping quickly, UNICEF's aim is to provide 578,000 children zero to 14 years old in camps, collective shelters, host communities and areas of acute need with crucial winter clothing. At this point, we have funds f...

Former President, Emile Lahoud, received this Tuesday at his Yarzeh residence Cuba's Ambassador to Lebanon, Alexander Pellicer Moraga, with whom he discussed most recent developments on the local, regional and international arena.Source: National News Agency

Former President, Emile Lahoud, received this Tuesday at his Yarzeh residence Cuba's Ambassador to Lebanon, Alexander Pellicer Moraga, with whom he discussed most recent developments on the local, regional and international arena.Source: National News Agency

House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Tuesday received at his Ain Tineh residence British Ambassador to Lebanon, Chris Rampling, with whom he discussed most recent political developments.Source: National News Agency

Tripoli city is currently witnessing marching and motorbike protests, during which demonstrators chanted slogans demanding accountability for corrupt people and the recovery of looted state funds. Meanwhile, a scuffle erupted outside the Water Authority of North Lebanon among the employees and demonstrators who demanded the closure of the water department. Security forces tasked to protect public facilities intervened and settled the situation, but the water authority staff left their offices and the authority's doors were closed.Source: National News Agency

TAL TAMR, SYRIA / WASHINGTON - Intense clashes continue between Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Turkish-backed militants in the northeastern Syrian town of Tal Tamr, despite a U.S. push for cease-fire, local officials said Friday.Kurdish officials told VOA that firefights in the villages of Anek al-Hawa, Tal Muhammad, Khirbet Jammu and Mahmudiya continued as Syrian militia, supported by Turkey, attempted to enter Tal Tamr from seven kilometers outside town.'We will have victory'"Yesterday, we faced fierce attacks and there was a lot of resistance,"Benas Ziber, an SDF field commander, told VOA. "We lost some villages, but our comrades later repelled the attacks and made progress in some villages, such as Mahmudiya and Khirbet Jammu."Ziber said fighting later focused on Qasimiyah and Mahm...

Turkey and Russia have held their first round of joint patrols in Syria as part of a deal that forced Kurdish forces away from Turkey's border.The patrols began Friday near the border town of Derbasiyeh, where Kurdish fighters have already pulled out.The Turkish Defense Ministry said an initial patrol covered an area 87 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide and said, "The first joint patrol was completed as planned." The Russian Defense Ministry said the joint patrol included nine military vehicles, protected by an armored personnel carrier.The patrols follow an agreement that Russia and Turkey signed last week, which gave Kurdish forces 150 hours to withdraw from territory along Syria's border with Turkey.That deal halted a Turkish offensive against the Kurdish forces that followed U.S. ...

Turkey and Russia have held their first round of joint patrols in Syria as part of a deal that forced Kurdish forces away from Turkey's border.The patrols began Friday near the border town of Derbasiyeh, where Kurdish fighters have already pulled out.The Turkish Defense Ministry said an initial patrol covered an area 87 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide and said, "The first joint patrol was completed as planned." The Russian Defense Ministry said the joint patrol included nine military vehicles, protected by an armored personnel carrier.The patrols follow an agreement that Russia and Turkey signed last week, which gave Kurdish forces 150 hours to withdraw from territory along Syria's border with Turkey.That deal halted a Turkish offensive against the Kurdish forces that followed U.S. ...

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Thursday said his country is negotiating with Russia to return 18 people believed to be Syrian government troops.Akar said the soldiers were captured near the northern Syrian town of Ras al-Ayn, the epicenter of Turkey's October military offensive in northeastern Syria.Turkey has since ended its invasion of Syria through two cease-fires brokered by the U.S. and Russia.The pacts call on Kurdish fighters to pull 30 kilometers away from the Turkish border, where Syrian government forces would assume positions.The intent is to establish a safe zone where Turkey plans to repatriate some of the more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees Turkey is now hosting.U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, meanwhile, touted the negotiations Thursday that produced the...