Source: Agence France Presse
Security & Justice
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
Watch: Israeli Army Blows Up Village Near the Border
The Israeli army is still blowing up entire villages or neighborhoods, especially those near the border.
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
Tuesday 9 July 2024 18:39:06
Labour Ministers in Government Seats as UK Parliament Returns
British lawmakers squeezed into parliament Tuesday with Labour ministers sitting on the government’s side of the chamber for the first time in 14 years following last week’s landslide election win.
Labour’s 400-plus MPs jostled for space on the ruling side of the House of Commons, with many having to stand, as parliament returned after being dissolved before Thursday’s vote.
New Prime Minister Keir Starmer addressed the house for the first time as Britain’s leader, vowing to “put an end to a politics that has too often seemed self-serving and self-obsessed.”
“We all have a duty to show that politics can be a force for good,” he added.
He also noted the new parliament was “the most diverse parliament by race and gender this country has ever seen.”
According to the House of Commons Library, a record 263 or 40 percent of the 650 MPs are women, up from 220 in 2019, while 90 are from minority ethnic backgrounds, an increase from 66 five years ago.
Rishi Sunak — Conservative prime minister until last week — made his first speech as leader of the opposition, and started by congratulating Starmer on his victory.
He described being an MP as the “greatest honor, privilege and responsibility,” in a congenial session that contrasted sharply with the usual arguing and shouting seen in the chamber.
The session started by re-electing Lindsay Hoyle as speaker of the house.
After the addresses by Starmer, Sunak, and other party leaders, parliament was to begin the lengthy process of swearing in all 650 MPs. Some 335 of them are new to parliament.
Labour won 411 seats, securing a majority of more than 170 as it returned to power for the first time since Gordon Brown was prime minister in 2010.
The Tories suffered their worst-ever electoral defeat, succumbing to just 121 MPs.
Sunak is due to stay in charge of the party until the Conservatives work out the timetable for his successor to be chosen.
The new parliamentary session will officially begin after Starmer’s government puts forward its priorities for the term in the King’s speech on Wednesday 17 July.
