Source: Al Arabiya & The Associated Press
Security & Justice
Captured Hezbollah Operative May Have Been Israeli Double Agent, Report Suggests
The alleged senior Hezbollah operative abducted by Israeli special forces last week in Batroun may have been operating as a double agent, according to a report by The Telegraph.
Monday, November 4, 2024
Lebanon’s Probe into Israeli Raid Expected to Take Days as Security Officials Weigh Theories
Lebanese authorities are ramping up investigations into an Israeli commando raid last week in the northern coastal city of Batroun, during which Imad Amhaz, a Hezbollah official, was snatched.
Monday, November 4, 2024
Opinion
The Emptying of Baalbek Is a Moment to Take Stock
“Large numbers of people continue to flee their homes every day, as Israel’s military operations in Lebanon have been going on unabated.” These disturbing words could be from almost any news report about Israel’s invasion of its northern neighbour over the past month. However, they can be found in a report by the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre issued on July 27, 2006.
Saturday, November 2, 2024
A Future Without Hezbollah
At the end of September, when Israel’s campaign to destroy Hezbollah was reaching its height, I met one of the group’s supporters in a seaside café in western Beirut. He was a middle-aged man with a thin white beard and the spent look of someone who had not slept for days. He was an academic of sorts, not a fighter, but his ties to Hezbollah were deep and long-standing.
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Sports
Tottenham Forward Son Heung-min Crowned Asia’s International Player of the Year
Tottenham forward Son Heung-min was crowned as Asia’s International Player of the Year for the fourth time by the Asian Football Confederation at its annual awards ceremony Tuesday.
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Real Madrid Launch Investigation into Racist Insults After El Clasico Defeat
Real Madrid has launched an investigation into racist insults directed at players during Saturday’s 4-0 home loss to Barcelona in LaLiga, it said on Sunday.
Monday, October 28, 2024
Wednesday 11 September 2024 15:03:10
France Says Foiled Three Attack Plots Targeting Paris Olympics
French authorities foiled three plots to attack the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris and other cities that hosted the summer events, the national counterterrorism prosecutor said on Wednesday.
Olivier Christen said the plots included plans to attack “ Israeli institutions or representatives of Israel in Paris” during the July 26 to Aug. 11 Olympic competition.
The prosecutor told broadcaster France Info that “the Israeli team itself was not specifically targeted.” He did not give further details.
In all, five people, including a minor, were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the three foiled plots against the Summer Games, which were held against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The suspects are facing various terrorism-related charges while they remain in pre-trial detention, the prosecutor said.
France was on its highest security alert in the months ahead of the Olympics and Paralympics, which wrapped up last week. During preparations for the Games, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin repeatedly warned that security threats included those from extremist groups, violent environmental activists, far-right groups and cyberattacks from Russia or other adversaries.
In May, members of the General Directorate of Internal Security arrested an 18-year-old man from Chechnya on suspicion of being behind a plan to attack Olympic soccer events that were held in the southern city of Saint-Etienne.
The planned attack was to target “bar-type establishments around the Geoffroy stadium,” the prosecutor said. The suspect is accused of planning “a violent action” on behalf of the ISIS group’s extremist ideology.
Terrorist threats dominated the foiled plots and 80 percent of legal proceedings against suspects include the extremist ideology that still influences France’s youth, the prosecutor said. ISIS continues to “spread propaganda,” he added.
Preventive measures included increased house searches and house arrests before the start of the Olympics, the prosecutor said, adding that police and other security personnel conducted 936 house searches so far in 2024, compared to 153 last year.
