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Hezbollah Challenges Security Council Visit, Army Acts on UNIFIL Attack

The 15 UN Security Council ambassadors visiting Lebanon received reactions to Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem’s recent speech. In it, he opposed the appointment of Simon Karam as head of Lebanon’s negotiating delegation with Israel and reiterated the group’s refusal to disarm, saying that any impact would be limited to the ...

Hezbollah: Is the Company Joud Licensed by the Lebanese State?

Hezbollah’s newly established company, Joud, linked to its financial arm Al Qard al Hassan, has reportedly obtained official Lebanese licensing despite several of its leaders being under U.S. sanctions, according to an investigation by Saudi channel al-Hadath. As part of a strategy aimed at circumventing both Lebanese laws and international ...

Israel Says Killed 40 Fighters over Past Week in Gaza Tunnels Operation

The Israeli army said Sunday that it had killed more than 40 Palestinian militants over the past week in operations targeting tunnels near Rafah in the Gaza Strip. Earlier in the day, the army announced it had killed four militants emerging from underground in the territory's southernmost city overnight. Dozens of Hamas fighters are holed up in ...

Al-Qard al-Hassan’s Gold: Hezbollah’s New Financial Scheme

After introducing ATMs, easy-access loans, and clandestine counters scattered throughout the alleys of Beirut’s southern suburbs, al-Qard al-Hassan (AQAH), Hezbollah’s financial arm, has taken its operations a step further: direct gold trading. Gold bars, coins, and jewelry are reportedly now being offered to the Shiite community, turning gold ...

Pope Leo’s Speech at the Sanctuary of Saint Charbel

“Dear brothers and sisters, I thank the Superior General for his words and for the welcome in this beautiful monastery of Annaya. The nature surrounding this house of prayer draws us in with its austere beauty. I give thanks to God for allowing me to come on pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Charbel. My predecessors—especially Saint ...

Rajji: Lebanon to Complete Disarmament by End of 2026

Speaking at the Lebanon–European Union Partnership Council meeting in Brussels on Monday, Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji said the full implementation of the decision to restrict the bearing of arms in Lebanon exclusively to the state should be completed by the end of 2026, with the first phase expected to be completed by the end of this ...

Houthis Detain 10 More Yemeni UN Staffers

Several Israelis entered the Gaza Strip on Thursday in defiance of army orders and held a symbolic flag-raising ceremony to call for the reoccupation and resettlement of the Palestinian territory. The army acknowledged the breach in a statement, saying the group had been under constant observation and reiterating that entry into the area is ...

Trump Warns Israel Not to ‘Interfere’ in Syria

US President Donald Trump told Israel on Monday to avoid destabilizing Syria and its new leadership, days after a deadly operation by Israeli forces killed 13 people. Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and invited him for another White House visit, Netanyahu's office said shortly after Trump issued the warning. "It ...

Pope Leo XIV Arrives in Turkey on First Foreign Mission of His Papacy

Pope Leo XIV arrived in Turkey on Thursday for a four-day visit, where he will hold talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and meet Christian leaders on the first overseas trip of his papacy. The trip, which includes a second leg to Lebanon, begins in the Turkish capital, Ankara, where the first American pope landed shortly after ...

Zeitz MOCAA: Africa Tells Its Story in a Silo Cathedral

The offshore winds of Cape Town still carry the memory of the port, the muted echoes of colonial trade, and the vertical dream of a continent gazing toward the horizon. At the far end of the Waterfront in the Silo District, a silent concrete giant, abandoned for decades, has come to life as the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa. Entering ...

Israel Police Say Received Presumed Remains of One of Last Two Gaza Hostages

Israeli police said Tuesday they had received the presumed remains of one of the last two deceased hostages in the Gaza Strip and were transporting them to the morgue for identification. In a brief statement, the police said they were "currently escorting, with reverence, the coffin of the fallen hostage to the National Centre of Forensic ...

Iran Designates Royal Canadian Navy a Terrorist Organisation

The Iranian foreign ministry designated the Royal Canadian Navy a terrorist organisation on Tuesday in what it said was retaliation for Canada's 2024 blacklisting of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. In a statement, the ministry said that the move was in reaction to Ottawa declaring the Guards, the ideological arm of Iran's military, a terror group ...

Egyptian PM Pledges Full Support to Lebanon

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Friday, reaffirming Egypt’s steadfast support for Lebanon and stressing the need for stability, sovereignty, and full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. In his remarks, Madbouly said the visit aimed to “convey Egypt’s full support to ...

Syria Imposes Night Curfew on Port City After Sectarian Violence

Syrian authorities imposed an overnight curfew in the port city of Latakia on Tuesday after attacks in predominantly Alawite neighbourhoods a day prior. The interior ministry announced a "curfew in Latakia city, effective from 5:00 pm (1400 GMT) on Tuesday, December 30, 2025, until 6:00 am (0300 GMT) on Wednesday, December 31, 2025". Individuals ...

Israel Strikes Hezbollah Targets in Southern Lebanon and Bekaa Valley

Israel carried out an air strike late Wednesday on a vehicle in the town of Jannata, in the southern city of Tyre, saying it targeted a Hezbollah operative. The strike injured one passerby, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency. Then Thursday morning, an Israeli drone carried out a raid targeting a minibus on the Hosh ...

Hezbollah 'Dissatisfied' with Iran Funding, Demands $2 Billion for Reconstruction

Hezbollah has reportedly requested $2 billion from Iran for reconstruction efforts, double the amount Tehran had initially planned to provide, citing a shortage of funds, according to The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation. The report noted that “despite Hezbollah continuing to purchase weapons, and despite the economic situation not affecting ...

Beyoncé Becomes a Billionaire: Queen B Joins Music’s Elite Club

US singer Beyonce is now a billionaire, Forbes magazine said Monday, becoming only the fifth musician to achieve such a milestone. The 44-year-old entertainer joins a select club that includes her husband, rapper Jay-Z, as well as Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, and Rihanna, according to the publication, known for its rankings of the world's ...

Iranian Filmmaker Jafar Panahi Sentenced in Absentia Amid Cannes Triumph

Iran has sentenced Palme d'Or-winning filmmaker Jafar Panahi in absentia to one year in prison and a travel ban over "propaganda activities" against the country, his lawyer told AFP on Monday. The sentence includes a two-year travel ban and prohibition of Panahi from membership in any political or social groups, lawyer Mostafa Nili told AFP, ...

Pope Urges Turkey to Embrace Mediator Role on First Overseas Trip

Pope Leo XIV began a four-day visit to Turkey on Thursday, urging Ankara to embrace its role as a mediator in a world gripped by conflict, he said after talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "Mr President, may Turkey be a source of stability and rapprochement between peoples, in service of a just and lasting peace," he said in the capital as ...

“Advent:” Another Kind of Waiting

Just ten days to go before Christmas! December seems to accelerate: candles are lit, calendars are opened, and houses fill with quiet rituals marking the slow march toward the holiday. This stretch of days, with its familiar traditions and its particular rhythm, bears a name rooted in centuries of language and custom: Advent. A word that carries ...

From Tea to Tango: Liverpool Seniors Dance Away Loneliness

All gloom was left outside as pensioners bustled into a room in Liverpool's centuries-old town hall for a tea dance, a lively antidote to getting older in Britain. "Come to tea dances and avoid the NHS!" joked Davina Woods, 71, referring to the country's creaking health system and the awareness the retirees have that as they age, they will likely ...

Hamas Proposes Weapons 'Freeze' in Return for Long-Term Truce

A top Hamas leader told Qatari news channel Al Jazeera on Wednesday that the militant group is open to a weapons "freeze" but rejects the demand for disarmament put forward in the US-sponsored peace plan for Gaza. "The idea of total disarmament is unacceptable to the resistance (Hamas). What is being proposed is a freeze, or ...

Yassine Jaber: Your Own Words Confirm the Crisis Is Systemic!

Finance Minister Yassine Jaber’s recent statements stand out for his comparison of the Lebanese financial crisis with those in countries such as Greece, Cyprus, and Portugal. In this comparison, he is once again off the mark. In fact, Cyprus experienced only a conventional banking crisis, while Greece and Portugal faced financial crises ...

“Pontiff”: from Bridge Keeper to Head of the Church

Pope Leo XIV’s arrival to Beirut for a three-day apostolic visit offers the perfect opportunity to revisit a word that spans the religious and political history of the West: pontiff. Now reserved for the head of the Catholic Church, it is inherited from a far older – and originally non-Christian – function. Roman Origins: The Pontifex The ...

The Brain: Forever an Adolescent Until 32

“Our brain does not age, it evolves,” noted neurologist Yves Agid. But how far does this evolution go? For decades, scientists have tried to map the mysterious changes that shape our minds from early childhood through old age. A British team led by Duncan Astle at the University of Cambridge has now taken a major step forward. By analyzing ...

U.S. and Syrian Soldiers Wounded as Shots Fired at Delegation

Two American troops and an interpreter were killed in central Syria on Saturday after an alleged member of the Islamic State group opened fire on a joint US-Syrian patrol, officials said. US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the deaths on X after Syria's state media earlier reported that an attack in the city of Palmyra had wounded American ...

Israel's Netanyahu Picks Military Secretary as New Mossad Chief

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday picked his military secretary, a general with no background in intelligence, as the next head of the country's foreign intelligence agency Mossad. In a statement, Netanyahu's office announced the decision to appoint Major General Roman Gofman as head of the spy agency, saying he would ...

Depositors Rally Against Government’s Proposed Financial Gap Plan

A protest organized by the Depositors’ Associations Gathering and the Association of Expatriate Depositors was held on Thursday, bringing together representatives of depositor groups and unions in a unified show of opposition to the government’s proposed financial gap draft law. Demonstrators said the proposed legislation unfairly shifts the ...