According to UNHCR, in just under nine months, over 200,000 have chosen to return. Some for the first time since 2011. For the authorities in Beirut, the departures “lighten” the Land of the Cedars from a “substantial demographic burden”. But there is also a counter-exodus: from Alawites fleeing the coast to Christians who dream of leaving after the attack on the church in Damascus.

In a reflection for AsiaNews, Archbishop Mathieu criticises the ‘colonial hegemony’ that distorts the reality of an ‘intrinsically multipolar’ region. ‘Peace cannot be built on the ideology of a so-called free interventionist world that dehumanises parts of populations that are not aligned with them.’ Tension rises over nuclear issue: “E3” countries want to reactivate snapback mechanism, Tehran threatens to withdraw from Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The UN Security Council has extended UNIFIL’s mandate for one final year, until 31 December 2026, after the United States rejected further extensions. Present in Lebanon since 1978, UN peacekeepers now number 10,800. President Joseph Aoun was grateful towards the UN mission, while Israel reiterated its misgivings.

Dubai’s statistical agency released the data today. In 1975, the population stood at 175,000. The emirate is increasingly a popular among the super-rich from Europe, Asia, and Africa, with a boom from the United Kingdom. The emirate’s 2040 development plan focuses on liveability, a city where everything can be found in “20 minutes”.

Talks between Iran and the E3 countries on sanctions resumed yesterday in Geneva. Iran’s foreign minister says his government is open to "indirect talks" with the US if the latter abandons the military option. Domestic  tensions are growing between camps divided over the nuclear programme and talks. According to HRANA, executions increased by 54 per cent between July and August in 2025 over the same period last year.

Cardinal Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Theophilus III reject the prospect of "evacuation" in the face of the Israeli military operation already underway. “There can be no future based on imprisonment, the displacement of Palestinians, or revenge,” they say. The Sisters of Mother Teresa, who arrived in 1973 after the killing of the local parish priest, serve a community devastated by hunger and war. In Tel Aviv, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum is marking a “National Day of Struggle”.