Damascus wants to secure the release of fellow citizens who have been detained without trial in Lebanon for years and are ideologically close to HTS. Their arrest was based on ideological motives linked to mere suspicion. According to Lebanese ministerial sources, there are at least 2,100 of them, 55% of whom have never appeared in court. At the root of the controversy are the civil war in Syria and Hezbollah's hegemony.

Choosing a country that wants to return to being a model of pluralism is a “significant” step said Marwan Sehnaoui, president of the Order of Malta in Lebanon, speaking to AsiaNews. The visit will also include a meeting on Muslim-Christian dialogue. All leading government officials, including President Aoun, a Christian, and Parliamentary Speaker Nabib Berri, welcome the announcement of the visit, which will fulfil the late pope Francis’s wish to visit Lebanon.

The Vatican announced the visit for 27 November to 2 December. Together with Patriarch Bartholomew, Leo will commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which formulated the profession of faith that still unites Christians. The trip to Lebanon, which the late Francis wanted to visit, will take on particular significance given ongoing wars in the region.  Cardinal Parolin speaks on the second anniversary of Hamas’s attacks on 7 October.

Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the killing of the historic leader of the "Party of God" in an Israeli raid. Defying the prime minister and government directives, the Shia movement projected his face onto the Raouche Rock in front of thousands of supporters. A cabinet crisis is looming while Hezbollah might enjoy again impunity.

Speaking at the General Assembly, the president defended the value of ‘coexistence’ in the face of the “malignant” crises affecting it. The appeal for an ‘immediate cessation’ of Israeli aggression and the protection of borders and territorial integrity. The issue of Hezbollah's disarmament and the danger of a ‘new civil war’.

Five kilometres from the border with Israel, the institute founded under the Ottoman Empire in 1881 for Christian girls is fighting for survival. Fr Youssef Nasr: Catholic schools welcome around 190,000 students, 20% of the total and 30% of private schools. Non-Christians account for 30%, although in some areas the figure exceeds 60%. The economic challenge for survival and post-war ethnic tensions.