Gaza civil defense says Israeli forces kill 26 people
Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli military operations killed at least 26 people on Friday across the Palestinian territory, with another five killed in an overnight air strike. Civil...
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Army allocates land to LU branch, military hospital in Akkar
The Lebanese Army has allocated a 15,000-square-meter plot in Halba, Akkar, at the far north of Lebanon, for the construction of a branch of the Lebanese University (LU) and a regional military...
25 July 2025
US forces kill an Islamic State group leader in Syria raid
American forces killed an Islamic State group leader in a raid in Syria's Aleppo province on Friday, the U.S. military's Central Command (CENTCOM) said. The raid resulted "in the...
25 July 2025
Israeli official tells AFP Gaza air drops of aid to resume
An Israeli official said Friday that aid drops over the Gaza Strip would resume soon, as the Palestinian territory reels from a humanitarian crisis after more than 21 months of war....
25 July 2025
Paris to host Syria talks on integrating Kurds
Syria, France and the United States said they agreed Friday to convene "as soon as possible" talks in Paris to integrate the autonomous Kurdish administration into the Syrian state. The...
25 July 2025
Mexican president condemns humanitarian crisis in Gaza
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday deplored the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Gaza Strip due to chronic food shortages in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory. "Of course,...
25 July 2025
Gaza mediators Qatar, Egypt carry on with 'intensive efforts': Joint statement
Qatar and Egypt said on Friday that they were pressing on with efforts to mediate talks to end the Gaza war, insisting that suspending negotiations to hold consultations was "normal" as...
25 July 2025
UK, France, Germany say Gaza 'humanitarian catastrophe must end now'
The leaders of Britain, France and Germany said Friday the "humanitarian catastrophe" in the Gaza Strip "must end now," as the war-ravaged Palestinian territory faces a...
25 July 2025
Trump says Hamas doesn't want deal, 'want to die'
President Donald Trump said Friday that Hamas did not want a cease-fire deal in Gaza, after Israel and the United States quit indirect negotiations with the Palestinian militant group. "It...
25 July 2025
Joint committee between government, public sector representatives established
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam received a delegation on Friday from the General Confederation of Lebanese Workers (CGTL) and the League of Public Administration Employees, who went on strike...
25 July 2025
Blerta Aliko, UNDP resident representative to OT: Lebanon’s recovery hinges on recovery of its people
BEIRUT — Appointed as the head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Lebanon, Resident Representative Blerta Aliko took on her role a year ago, shortly before the escalation of the...
Interview conducted by Stephanie Bechara, 25 July 2025
Why has France decided to recognise Palestinian statehood?
France's President Emmanuel Macron hopes that his country's formal recognition of a Palestinian state in September will encourage other countries to follow suit, according to analysts....
L'Orient Today staff, 25 July 2025
Almost a third of Gazans 'not eating for days': UN agency
Almost a third of people in Gaza have "not [eaten] for days," the United Nations food aid agency told AFP on Friday, saying the crisis has reached "new and astonishing levels of...
25 July 2025
Tech alone won’t save us: Grounding AI in Lebanon’s realities
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Lebanon is often misunderstood. Some see it as a magical fix for all of the country's woes, a swift shortcut to bypass the deep reforms or hard work required to...
Iva KOVIC-CHAHINE, 25 July 2025
Hamas says US accusations over Gaza deal failure 'run counter' to talks
A Hamas official on Friday accused U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff of distorting reality after he announced Washington's withdrawal from Gaza truce talks and accused the group of blocking a deal....
25 July 2025
NGOs sue Belgium to do more to stop Israel's war in Gaza
Two Belgian NGOs launched a court case on Friday seeking to pressure the country to do more to help stop Israel's war in Gaza, as the European Union struggles to take action. Belgium has been...
25 July 2025
UN chief blasts 'lack of compassion' for Palestinians in Gaza
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday slammed the international community for turning a blind eye to the suffering of Palestinians starving in the Gaza Strip, calling it a "moral...
25 July 2025
Italy can 'no longer accept carnage and famine' in Gaza, FM says
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Friday his country cannot accept "carnage and famine" in Gaza, criticising Israel but stating that Italy was not ready to recognise the state...
25 July 2025
National insurance council meets for first time in five years, sets out roadmap
For the first time in five years, the National Insurance Council, an organization made up of government-appointed members and sector representatives, held its first meeting Friday at the invitation...
L'Orient Today staff, 25 July 2025
A moment of opportunity: Supercharging the clean energy age
Energy has shaped humanity’s path – from mastering fire, to harnessing steam, to splitting the atom. Today, we’re at the dawn of a new era. The sun is rising on a clean energy age. Last year,...
António GUTERRES, 25 July 2025
Israel PM says Hamas 'obstacle' to Gaza hostage release deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday said that Hamas was obstructing a deal to release hostages held in Gaza, as indirect negotiations hit a dead end. "Hamas is the obstacle to...
25 July 2025
IAEA chief 'encouraged' by Iran decision to re-engage
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said Friday he was "encouraged" that Iran had agreed for a delegation from the U.N. nuclear watchdog to visit the country...
AFP, 25 July 2025
Zelensky says negotiators have 'begun to discuss' possible Putin meeting
Delegations from Moscow and Kyiv discussed the possibility of a meeting between Ukrainian President and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during talks in Istanbul this week, Volodymyr Zelensky...
AFP, 25 July 2025
Six people arrested involved in medical equipment smuggling network
BEIRUT — Lebanese State Security announced Thursday night the arrest of six people suspected of being involved in a medical equipment smuggling network operating through Beirut International...
L'Orient Today staff, 25 July 2025
Lebanese Army sends helicopters to Limassol to help extinguish fires
BEIRUT — The Lebanese Army announced Friday that two military helicopters flew to the neighboring island of Cyprus to help extinguish fires that broke out Wednesday near Limassol (south), which...
L'Orient Today staff, 25 July 2025
One dead in Israeli drone strike in Braasheet, Bint Jbeil district
SOUTH LEBANON — An Israeli army drone targeted a vehicle with two missiles on the outskirts of Braasheet in the Bint Jbeil district early Friday afternoon, killing one and critically injuring...
L'Orient Today staff, 25 July 2025
France to offer the French Riviera to the Palestinians, jokes US ambassador to Israel
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee joked Friday about President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that France will recognize the State of Palestine at the United Nations in September, claiming...
AFP, 25 July 2025
Meta to ban political ads in EU due to bloc's 'unworkable' rules
Meta on Friday said it will be forced to ban political advertising on its platforms in the European Union from October because of rules the Facebook and Instagram owner called...
AFP, 25 July 2025
Doctors launch five-day strike, ignoring PM's plea
Thousands of UK doctors launched a five-day strike early Friday after talks with the Labour government for a new pay increase failed to reach a deal. Doctors were out on picket lines outside...
AFP, 25 July 2025
Bank Audi estimates 5% Lebanese economic growth in 2025
"The first half of 2025 marked a clear reversal of the trend" in Lebanon, says Bank Audi in its latest quarterly economic report. This is "driven by a political breakthrough at the...
Fouad GEMAYEL, 25 July 2025
Hundreds protest over water shortages in drought-hit Iraq
Hundreds of Iraqis protested Friday against severe water shortages exacerbated by the summer's sweltering heat in the central province of Babylon, an AFP correspondent said. Iraq, and its 46...
AFP, 25 July 2025
Iran plays populist card with campaign to expel Afghan migrants
Iran is banking on the idea that expelling Afghan migrants will boost its national economy. On Tuesday, Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani reaffirmed the clerical regime's goal:...
Tatiana KROTOFF, 25 July 2025
The crucial role of lifeguards in preventing Lebanon's regular drownings
With a whistle hanging from his neck, Hussein Ismail and his three fellow lifeguards keep watch over the swimmers at Ramlet al-Baida, Beirut's only remaining public sandy beach. "We’ve...
Lilia GEHA, 25 July 2025
Hospitals in Sweida struggling after sectarian clashes, WHO says
The main hospital in the southern Syrian city of Sweida is overwhelmed with trauma patients and working without adequate power or water after the local Druze minority clashed almost two weeks ago...
Reuters, 25 July 2025
Zelensky says negotiators have 'begun to discuss' possible Putin meeting
Delegations from Moscow and Kyiv discussed the possibility of a meeting between Ukrainian President and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during talks in Istanbul this week, Volodymyr Zelensky...
AFP, 25 July 2025
UN urges UK to repeal 'disproportionate' Palestine Action ban
The U.N. rights chief on Friday slammed Britain's ban on activist group Palestine Action as a "disturbing" misuse of UK counter-terrorism legislation, and urged the government to...
AFP, 25 July 2025
Berlin 'does not plan to recognize a Palestinian state in the near future'
The German government "does not plan to recognize a Palestinian state in the short term," it said Friday, a day after Emmanuel Macron announced he would do so in September at the U.N....
AFP, 25 July 2025
11 requests, a burst of anger from Beirut and a legal loophole: How George Abdallah was finally released
After his 2015 parole request was rejected, George Ibrahim Abdallah vowed that only a presidential pardon — not another legal attempt — would ever free him. Yet, on July 17, 2025, the Paris Court...
Julia Mokdad, 25 July 2025
Abbas hails 'a victory for the Palestinian cause', after French recognition
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday hailed French President Emmanuel Macron's announcement of the upcoming recognition of a Palestinian state as "a victory for the Palestinian...
AFP, 25 July 2025
Aid groups warn of starving children as European powers discuss Gaza
Aid groups warned of surging numbers of malnourished children in war-ravaged Gaza as a trio of European powers prepared to hold an "emergency call" Friday on the deepening humanitarian...
AFP, 25 July 2025
Arrest of a man attempting to sell real estate under a false identity in Kesrouan
BEIRUT — The General Directorate of State Security announced Friday that it had thwarted a fraud attempt and arrested a man accused of trying to sell a plot of land using forged documents. The...
L'Orient Today staff, 25 July 2025
Iran and Europeans begin nuclear talks with questions over future UN sanctions
Iran pushed back on Friday on suggestions of extending a U.N. resolution that ratifies a 2015 nuclear deal as it began the first face-to-face talks with Western powers since Israel and the U.S....
25 July 2025
No evidence of theft of humanitarian aid Gaza by Hamas, US analysis finds
An internal analysis by the U.S. government has found no evidence of systematic theft of U.S.-funded humanitarian aid by Hamas, Reuters reported Friday. The previously undisclosed analysis was...
Reuters/L'Orient Today staff, 25 July 2025
France to contribute $88 million to reconstruction in Lebanon
French President Emmanuel Macron informed Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam that France will contribute €75 million (about $88.16 million) to the Lebanon Emergency Aid Project (LEAP), launched by...
L'Orient Today staff, 25 July 2025
Lebanese Army helicopters deployed to extinguish fire in Qala forest (Akkar district)
NORTH LEBANON —Lebanese Army helicopters were deployed at dawn Friday to battle a wildfire that has been burning for two days in the cedar and fir forests of Qala, in the highlands of Meshmesh,...
L'Orient Today staff, 25 July 2025
Why is France recognizing Palestinian statehood and who else has?
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced he will recognise Palestinian statehood, drawing angry rebukes from Israel and the United States and opening the door for other major nations to...
Reuters, 25 July 2025
In Nabatieh, nearly 70% of heritage buildings uninhabitable
Among the destruction in southern Lebanon, heritage buildings with their distinctive traditional architecture hold a prominent place. A report presented Thursday during a conference at the National...
Suzanne BAAKLINI, 25 July 2025
Brazil 'welcomes' France’s announcement recognizing the State of Palestine
Brazil “welcomes the announcement” of France’s recognition of the State of Palestine and “urges all other nations that have not yet done so” to follow suit, the Foreign Ministry said Friday. “The...
25 July 2025
Maronite patriarch hospitalized, condition not serious
BEIRUT — The press office of the Maronite Patriarchate said Friday morning that Patriarch Bechara Rai is currently hospitalized for an "intestinal disorder," but that his condition is not...
L'Orient Today staff, 25 July 2025
Seven children killed in school roof collapse
At least seven children were killed and 26 others injured Friday after part of the roof and walls of a government-run school collapsed in western India, police said. "Seven children have lost...
