Defense Minister Maurice Sleem met with Army Commander General Joseph Aoun and Chief of Staff Major General Hassan Aoude at the Yarzeh headquarters to review the country's security situation, with a particular focus on developments in the south.
Friday, December 13, 2024
The Israeli army confirmed its withdrawal from the town of Khiyam in southern Lebanon, in accordance with the recently established ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah. Despite this initial move, the Israeli army remains deployed in other parts of southern Lebanon and has asserted its commitment to continuing operations against any potential threats.
Thursday, December 12, 2024
The first time I went to Lebanon, I was nearly blinded by the excitement of finally seeing the home of my ancestors. After all, every Sunday for 16 years, I had heard Melkite and Maronite masses in Lebanese, Greek, and ancient Aramaic, and sung hymns I didn’t always understand but felt a deep connection to — music that took me somewhere beyond the walls of the West Roxbury parishes. At coffee hour after mass, or at hafles on the weekend, the old-timers would recount the beauty of their villages while munching on the delicious Lebanese treats of the day. The scents of za’atar, rose syrup, and coffee mark these memories. And a sense of longing to see for myself what they were talking about.
As the government of Bashar Al Assad in Syria collapsed, Hezbollah and Iran were watching closely to see how this would affect their weapons supply lines between Iraq and Lebanon. Even before Mr Al Assad fled his capital, the news last Friday that the Albukamal crossing had been taken over by the Syrian Democratic Forces, a US ally, must have been harsh, since the crossing was used to rearm Hezbollah.
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
Fifa on Wednesday confirmed that Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup, underlining the Gulf kingdom's growing influence in world sport despite criticism of the country's human rights record.
Fernando Alonso is considering his past, present and future in Formula 1 - and most of all his thoughts on his prospects of winning a third world drivers' title, even though he is 43 and it's 18 years since his last.