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In Lebanon, families memories are detonated along with their villages

Ayman Jaber's memories are rooted in every corner of Mhaibib, the village in southern Lebanon he refers to as his "habibti," the Arabic word for "beloved." The root of the village's name means "the lover" or "the beloved."

Reminiscing about his childhood sweetheart, the 45-year-old avionics technician talks about how the young pair would meet in a courtyard near his uncle's house.

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Hezbollah-Israel conflict threatens Lebanon's fragile economy

BEIRUT — Analysis from a humanitarian group working in Lebanon forecasts two scenarios in its report on the Hezbollah-Israel conflict, both predicting a severe economic contraction in Lebanon by early 2025.

Mercy Corps’ Lebanon Crisis Analysis Team says Israel’s continued strikes on suspected Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, without blocking key infrastructure, will still bring severe economic and humanitarian risks.

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CNN bans conservative writer after 'beeper' comment to Muslim commentator

CNN has banned conservative writer Ryan Gidursky from the network following a contentious on-air exchange where he told panelist Mehdi Hasan that "I hope your beeper doesn't go off."

"Did you just say I should die?" Hasan said, responding to Gidursky's apparent reference to September's attack where pagers used by hundreds of Hezbollah members in Lebanon and Syria exploded simultaneously. The attack was widely believed to be carried out by Israel.

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North Korea sends foreign minister to Russia as its troops train to fight in Ukraine

North Korea said Tuesday its top diplomat is visiting Russia, in another sign of their deepening relations as rival South Korea and Western nations say the North has sent thousands of troops to support Russia's war in Ukraine.

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said a delegation led by Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui departed for Russia on Monday, but didn't specify the purpose of the visit. In a closed-door hearing at South Korea's parliament, the South's spy agency said Choe may be involved in high-level discussions on sending additional troops to Russia and negotiating what the North would get in return, according to Lee Seong-kweun, a lawmaker who attended the meeting.

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Hochstein due in region this week, but is a short-term fix possible in Lebanon?

With the U.S. presidential election just a week away, the Biden administration is not giving up hope for short-term deals for cease-fires in Gaza and Lebanon.

In Lebanon, where Israel has been intensifying military operations against Hezbollah for the past month, U.S. officials allow that a short-term fix is probably unrealistic.

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US presses ahead with modest Mideast plans despite election uncertainty

With the U.S. presidential election just a week away, the Biden administration is not giving up hope for short-term deals for cease-fires in Gaza and Lebanon.

But U.S. officials are mindful that political uncertainty in the United States has made the sides reluctant to commit to any significant agreements before it is clear who has won the White House.

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Iran accuses Europe of 'hypocrisy' after criticism of dual national's execution

Iran on Tuesday accused European countries of "hypocrisy" after remarks by EU chief Josep Borrell saying the bloc was "considering measures in response" to the execution of Iranian-German Jamshid Sharmahd.

"Europe only stands for hypocrisy," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X, accusing the EU of failing to "end the killing of more than 50k Palestinians in Gaza" or "to allow 1.5m refugees in Lebanon to return to their homes".

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Fear rises in Lebanese communities where the displaced took refuge

Dany Alwan stood shaking as rescue workers pulled remains from piles of rubble where his brother's building once stood.

An Israeli airstrike destroyed the three-story residential building in the quiet Christian village of Aito a day before. His brother, Elie, had rented out its apartments to a friend who'd fled here with relatives from their hometown in southern Lebanon under Israeli bombardment.

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Yemen's Houthis target ship in Bab el-Mandeb Strait off Red Sea

Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted a ship traveling through the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the Red Sea on Monday, though it escaped undamaged, authorities said.

The attack ended an 18-day lull in reported assaults attributed to the Houthis, who have been attacking ships traveling through the Red Sea corridor for nearly a year now over the Israel-Hamas war raging in the Gaza Strip. The violence has disrupted international shipping through the region, once valued at $1 trillion in goods annually.

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Arab American voters make their choice in election's final days

Bowls of labneh and platters of za'atar bread covered the tables in a Lebanese restaurant near Detroit, yet no one seemed to have much of an appetite.

On one side were Kamala Harris ' top emissaries to the Arab American community. On the other were local leaders who were explaining — once again — why many in the community couldn't vote for the vice president because of the war in Gaza.

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