Source: Reuters
Security & Justice
Southern Lebanon Endures Massive Damage: 40,000 Homes Leveled Across 37 Towns
Israeli forces have systematically destroyed entire neighborhoods in southern Lebanon, leveling more than 37 towns and wiping out over 40,000 residential units, according to Lebanon's National News Agency.
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Gaps in Coastal Radar Enabled Israeli Raid in Batroun, Army Commander Says
Lebanon’s army chief, General Joseph Aoun, detailed to Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati how Israeli forces likely exploited gaps in the country's coastal radar system during the recent raid carried out in Batroun. The briefing comes as Lebanese officials seek answers on how Israel’s elite Shayetet 13 unit carried out the landing undetected.
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
Monday 19 August 2024 11:52:12
Oil Prices Fall on China Demand Fears, Focus on Mideast Talks
Oil prices eased in trading on Monday as fears of weaker demand in top oil importer China weighed on market sentiment while investors focused on the progress of ceasefire talks in the Middle East, which could reduce supply risks, according to Reuters.
Brent crude futures dropped 45 cents, or 0.56 percent, to $79.23 per barrel by 09:46 Saudi time. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures slid 58 cents, or 0.76 percent, to $76.07 a barrel.
Both benchmarks fell nearly 2 percent last Friday as investors tempered expectations of demand growth from China, but ended the week largely unchanged from a week earlier after a batch of US data last week showed inflation was moderating and retail spending was robust.
“Persistent concerns about slow demand in China led to a sell-off,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, president of NS Trading, a unit of Nissan Securities, adding another factor was the approaching end of the peak driving season in the US.
“Still, tensions in the Middle East and the escalation of the Russian-Ukraine war, which pose supply risks, are underpinning the market,” he said.
Customs data over the weekend showed that China’s diesel and gasoline exports fell sharply in July, reflecting lower crude processing levels in the month because of weak profit margins.
On Thursday, data also showed China’s economy lost momentum in July, with new home prices falling at the fastest pace in nine years, industrial output slowing and unemployment rising.
That has stoked worries among traders about a slump in demand from China, where refineries sharply cut crude processing rates last month on tepid fuel demand.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Sunday on another Middle East tour to push for a ceasefire in Gaza, but Hamas raised doubts about the mission by accusing Israel of undermining his efforts.
The mediating countries — Qatar, the US and Egypt — have so far failed to narrow enough differences to reach an agreement in months of on-off negotiations, and violence continued unabated in Gaza on Sunday.
