The international community's focus is now on Rafah, while Israel gets ready for a ground assault. For Jordanian scholar Amer Al Sabaileh, the Palestinian cause has given way to global jihad. Hamas is politically divided while Shia groups are beholden to Iran. Saudis could play the role of mediators, transcending the Abraham Accords.
After two years of voluntary exile yesterday, the former premier attended celebrations marking the 19th anniversary of the assassination of his father Rafic. Analysts and observers point to his re-election bid in 2026, but the regional scenario presents new tensions and challenges. A rapprochement with the Saudis and relations with the Christian bloc the decisive factors.
For Card Sako, the time of fasting and prayer offers a “new horizon" that invites us to let "the Holy Spirit change us from within." The vicar of southern Arabia speaks of a "path" of hope, mercy and forgiveness. The Maronite patriarch asks the faithful to pray for the "divisions, conflicts, hatred" in Lebanon. Mar Younan mentions the "process of repentance through the Holy Spirit.”
Refugees in Lebanon incredulous, and worried, at the prospect of funding to the UN agency being suspended. Beirut head Dorothee Klaus: 'With the blocked funds we have resources to hold out only until the end of March'. At risk of closure are 61 schools housing 37,000 students and 155 dispensaries and hospitals.
Eastern Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs, the apostolic nuncio and thousands of Christians took part in an “ecumenical" concert. Accompanied by a choir of 250, the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra performed a "liturgical concert" at the Beirut Forum, the brainchild of a 29-year-old lawyer-cum-musician Marc Merhej and Archbishop Antoine Bou-Najem. “On the path of unity, the Christian people have preceded us.”
Without a president for 14 months, the country of the cedars is undergoing a socio-political process of implosion. According to one (alarming) study, Syrian refugees who entered in 2012 could, within 15 years, account for half the population. And at the southern gate, a front has opened up between Hezbollah, a state within a state, and Israel.