U.S. envoy Tom Barrack has arrived in Beirut for his fourth visit since June, seeking to reinforce a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, days after the Cabinet backed a plan to disarm Hezbollah and other non-state groups.
Barrack landed at Rafik Hariri International Airport on Sunday evening, where he was received by Rodrigue Khoury, deputy chief of protocol at the Foreign Ministry, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.
He first presented Washington’s 11-point plan in June and returned in July for follow-up discussions. The proposal calls for full implementation of the 1989 Taif Agreement and U.N. Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war.
It also seeks to extend state sovereignty across Lebanon, ensure weapons are held solely by official forces, and confirm the state’s exclusive authority in decisions of war and peace.
Political reaction
Lebanon’s Cabinet endorsed the objectives 10 days ago, provoking sharp opposition from Hezbollah, which rejected surrendering its arms. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Hezbollah’s position amounted to “a veiled threat of civil war.”
Ceasefire under strain
Cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began in October 2023 and escalated into full-scale war in September 2024, leaving around 4,000 dead, including Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah, and more than 17,000 wounded.
A ceasefire agreed in November has struggled to hold. Israel was due to withdraw from southern Lebanon by January 26, later extended to February 18, but still retains five border outposts. Israeli forces continue near-daily strikes, claiming to target Hezbollah positions.
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China has released the first and second volumes of a compilation of speeches by President Xi Jinping on comprehensively deepening reform, covering works from 2012 to 2025.
More than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants will continue striking despite federal back-to-work orders, their union said Sunday, intensifying disruption at Canada’s largest airline.
U.S. President Donald Trump may offer NATO-like protection for Ukraine, a move that Russia is open to, according to his top foreign policy aide. The suggestion comes ahead of talks in Washington with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders on possible security guarantees.
A 5.8-magnitude undersea earthquake hit Indonesia’s Sulawesi island on Sunday, injuring 29 people and damaging buildings, including a church where worshippers were gathered.
A powerful eruption at Japan’s Shinmoedake volcano sent an ash plume more than 3,000 metres high on Sunday morning, prompting safety warnings from authorities.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Oaxaca region of Mexico on Saturday.
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 56 kilometres east of Gorgan in northern Iran early Sunday morning, according to preliminary seismic data.
A deadly heatwave has claimed 1,180 lives in Spain since May, with elderly people most at risk, prompting calls for urgent social support.
Media accreditation is now open for COP30, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, set to take place in Belém, Brazil in 2025.
Since January, more than 1.7 million Afghan citizens have returned from Iran and Pakistan, the United Nations said on Friday, warning of mounting humanitarian pressures.
The Washington Agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan has sparked a mix of hope, doubt, and cautious realism among Armenians.
South Sudan and Israel have held talks on a plan to resettle Palestinians from war-torn Gaza in the African nation, three sources told Reuters, though Palestinian leaders have called the idea unacceptable.
Kyrgyzstan’s economy expanded by 11.5 percent in the first seven months of 2025, reaching 9.9 billion U.S. dollars, official data shows.
Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, is set to become a meeting point for musicians from across the Asian continent as it prepares to host the first-ever Silk Way Star vocal competition this August. The announcement was made during a press conference at the Kazmedia Center.
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