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Israel-bound plane flies over Beirut due to bad weather

An Aegean Airlines flight from Cyprus’ Larnaca to Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport was unexpectedly diverted through Lebanese airspace on Wednesday morning due to severe winter weather, Israel’s Channel 12 reported.

“The passengers were not informed in real time that the aircraft had crossed into the territory of a country officially at war with Israel,” the channel noted.

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Issa says negotiations with govt and war on Hezbollah are two separate things

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa said Wednesday that Israel differentiates between the Lebanese government and Hezbollah.

"The negotiations with the Lebanese government and the war on Hezbollah are two separate things to Israel," Issa told reporters in a press conference after a meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri and the American Task Force for Lebanon.

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Rajji tells Araghchi he can only meet him outside Iran

Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji told Wednesday his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi that he can only meet him in a neutral country but not in Iran, after the latter invited him to visit Tehran.

Rajji said, in a letter to Araghchi, that his refusal to visit Iran is because of the circumstances which are not currently favorable and not because he doesn't want to hold talks with Iran.

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Le Drian discusses Hezbollah disarmament, army support as he meets Gemayel in Beirut

French Special Envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian met Wednesday with Kataeb leader Sami Gemayel as he visits Lebanon to prepare for a conference to support the Lebanese Army.

Le Drian arrived Monday in Beirut and met with President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Foreign Minister Joseph Rajji, Army chief Rodolphe Haykal, former PSP leader Walid Jumblat, and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea.

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Israeli forces enter southern towns of Khiam, Odaisseh, and Aita al-Shaab

Israeli forces entered overnight into Tuesday the southern border towns of al-Khiam, Odaisseh, and Aita al-Shaab.

Local media reports said the soldiers detonated several buildings in Wadi al-Asafir in al-Khiam and a house in Odaisseh.

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Clashes and counter-demos in Lebanon as Sharaa supporters celebrate Assad’s fall

Supporters of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa staged motorbike and car rallies across Lebanon overnight to mark the first anniversary of the ouster of Bashar al-Assad at the hands of an Islamist-led uprising.

The rallies sparked tensions and led to clashes in some areas, prompting an intervention by the Lebanese Army.

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Le Drian meets Berri, Haykal and Jumblat

French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian met Tuesday with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Army chief Rodolphe Haykal and former PSP leader Walid Jumblat, as Lebanon moves towards direct negotiations with Israel.

French Ambassador to Lebanon Hervé Magro, who attended the talks, said the meeting with Berri was "very good".

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Award ceremony for the Rebecca Dykes Changemaker Challenge celebrates youth-led action to tackle gender-based violence

 

On Friday 5 December, the Deputy Head of Mission at the British embassy in Beirut, Victoria Dunne, hosted the certificate ceremony for the Rebecca Dykes Changemaker Challenge (RDCC), a youth-led initiative that empowers students across Lebanon to design creative, context-sensitive solutions to end gender-based violence.

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Khalil to Geagea: Speaker's powers are 'constitutional'

Amal MP Ali Hassan Khalil said Friday that Speaker Nabih Berri's powers are constitutional after Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea criticized the Speaker for refusing to discuss in parliament a draft law demanding the amendment of the current electoral law ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for May 2026.

The LF, the Kataeb and other MPS forming a parliamentary majority are pushing for amending the law to allow a large Lebanese diaspora to vote for the 128 seats.

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Issa says army chief's visit to Washington will likely happen

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa on Monday revealed the presence of contacts regarding the rescheduling of Army chief Rodolphe Haykal’s visit to Washington, expressing his belief that the visit will take place.

As for the Mechanism meetings, Issa said after meeting Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji that no one was “expecting peace from the first meeting.”

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