Source: BBC
Security & Justice
State Action Signals Change in Tackling Longstanding Illegal Land Grabs in Jbeil District
For years, the serene villages of Jbeil's highlands have been far from peaceful. Ghabat, a Maronite village nestled between the predominantly Shiite towns of Afqa and Lassa, has become a focal point of growing tensions due to territorial disputes.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Mawlawi Ensures Strict Monitoring for Wanted Syrian Regime Figures at Beirut Airport
Caretaker Minister of Interior, Bassam Mawlawi, conducted an inspection tour of Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut to review the security arrangements and measures implemented by the Airport Security Apparatus ahead of the holiday season.
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Opinion
Lebanon After the Assads
The United States has important equities in Lebanon, including a desire for a generally friendly government’s economic and political stability; security cooperation; long-standing relations with the large Christian community in Lebanon and Lebanese diaspora in the United States; and ultimately peace between Israel and Lebanon within a broader regional settlement. Achieving these objectives will require navigating a tumultuous period in the country’s history following a war between Hezbollah and Israel that has devastated a large part of the country, exacerbating Lebanon’s already challenging economic conditions. But perhaps the most important dynamic will be how a likely Sunni-dominated state of uncertain composition in Syria will differ in its intentions toward Lebanon from the previous Alawite-led minoritarian Assad regime.
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Europe’s Syrian Dilemma
The news of the sudden and unexpected demise of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has met a mixed response in Europe. The jubilation that a murderous dictator and close ally of Russia and Iran has fallen is not just good for the Syrian people but serves as a morale booster for Eastern Europeans wondering whether Russia can be defeated
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Sports
Cristiano Ronaldo Unveils New Private Jet Worth $73 Million
Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the richest global athletes, has unveiled his upgraded private jet reportedly worth $73 million. With its top-notch design, exceptional speed and range of 7500 nautical miles, the Gulfstream G650 is among the fastest jets in the world.
Monday, December 16, 2024
Guardiola Accepts Man City May Need to Sign More Players to Cope with Schedule
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes he will need a bigger squad to handle soccer’s ever-expanding fixture schedule.
Saturday, December 14, 2024
Monday 27 December 2021 15:21:23
Spider-Man: No Way Home Becomes First Pandemic-Era Film to Top $1 Billion
The latest instalment of the Spider-Man franchise has become the first pandemic-era movie to make more than $1bn (£750m) at the global box office.
Spider-Man: No Way Home also took the title of highest-grossing film of 2021.
It beat out Chinese-made Korean War epic The Battle of Lake Changjin, which has grossed more than $905m worldwide.
The last movie to gross more than $1bn was 2019's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, according to media data analytics firm Comscore.
No other Hollywood production has come near to reaching that box office milestone since the pandemic began two years ago.
Over the weekend, global box office takings for the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe film reached $1.05bn.
The co-production between Sony and Disney hit its milestone less than two weeks after its premiere even as the Omicron variant of Covid-19 has spread rapidly around the world, raising fresh concerns about indoor events.
The film has not been released in China, which is currently the world's biggest cinema market.
Spider-Man: No Way Home sees Tom Holland return as the third iteration of Peter Parker alongside Zendaya's MJ and Benedict Cumberbatch as the sorcerer Doctor Strange.
The franchise's 2019 offering Spider-Man: Far From Home was the first Spider-Man film to break the $1bn mark at the box office and is currently the highest-grossing movie in the franchise with $1.132bn in global ticket sales, according to Comscore.
The latest film follows on from Far From Home, in which the villainous Mysterio unmasked Parker before dying.
The series is a collaboration between the Disney's Marvel Studios and Sony.
In 2015, Disney, Marvel Studios, and Sony agreed to share the film rights for Spider-Man, which led to a new iteration of the character being introduced and integrated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Before No Way Home, MGM's latest James Bond movie No Time to Die, which made $774m at the box office globally, was the highest-grossing Hollywood film of both 2021 and the pandemic.
