Source: Reuters
Security & Justice
Lebanon’s Border Villages Face Renewed Devastation Amid Israeli Withdrawal
The Israeli army withdrew from the southern Lebanese village of Bani Hayyan on Friday morning, two days after entering the area in the Marjayoun district. According to local reports, Israeli forces demolished multiple homes as they retreated.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Interview Set to Shed Light on Mossad’s Decade-Long Covert Operation Against Hezbollah
In a highly anticipated episode of CBS’s 60 Minutes, recently retired Mossad agents provide unprecedented insights into a decade-long covert operation targeting Hezbollah. The agents, whose identities remain concealed with masks and altered voices, share with journalist Lesley Stahl the intricate details of their mission to sabotage Hezbollah’s communications network.
Friday, December 20, 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
Tuesday 12 October 2021 11:23:38
Beirut Blast Judge Issues Arrest Warrant for Ex Finance Minsiter Khalil
The lead judge investigating last year’s catastrophic Beirut port blast issued an arrest warrant on Tuesday for former finance minister Ali Hassan Khalil after he failed to show up for questioning, a judicial source and local media said.
Khalil, a senior member of the Shia Amal movement and an ally of the armed Iranian-backed Hezbollah group, was not immediately available for comment.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah voiced his harshest criticism yet of lead Judge Tarek Bitar on Monday when he called for his replacement in a televised address, saying he was biased and politicized.
The remarks came weeks after Wafik Safa, a senior Hezbollah official, was said to have warned Bitar the group would remove him from the inquiry, according to a journalist and a judicial source.
The investigation into the Aug. 4, 2020, explosion, one of the biggest non-nuclear blasts in history, has made little headway amid the campaign against Bitar and pushback from powerful Lebanese factions.
Khalil’s arrest warrant is the second for an ex-minister arising from the investigation.
The first was issued for ex-public works minister Youssef Finianos in September when he too repeatedly failed to show for questioning.
Finianos hasn’t been arrested yet despite the warrant.
Judge Tarek Bitar had issued multiple requests in July to question several top officials, including former prime minister Hassan Diab, several ex-ministers and the country’s top security chief on negligence.
All have denied wrongdoing.
But Bitar’s request were met with resistance and legal complaints questioning his impartiality, that in one instance last month forced the probe to come to a standstill for a little over a week.
Another former public works minister, Ghazi Zeiter, also a senior member of Amal and an ally of Hezbollah, is due for questioning tomorrow. He is widely expected not to show up.
While Bitar has sought to question several politicians who are allied to Hezbollah, including Khalil and Zeiter, he has not sought to question any members of Hezbollah itself.
