Yemen’s Houthis release 153 war detainees, Red Cross says

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Hamas Gaza chief, Mohammad Sinwar, one of its most wanted and the younger brother of the deceased group’s leader, Yahya Sinwar, had been eliminated.
Mohammad Sinwar was elevated to the top ranks of the Palestinian militant group last year after Israel killed his brother Yahya in combat during the ongoing war in Gaza.
Yahya Sinwar masterminded the October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war, and was later named the overall leader of the group after Israel killed his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.

BEIRUT: A delegation from the UAE arrived in Beirut on Tuesday to review the needs and priorities of the Lebanese state, following the results of the Lebanese-Emirati summit that took place at the end of April in Abu Dhabi.

President Joseph Aoun, who met with the delegation, praised the “interest of the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, in supporting Lebanon.”

The delegation was led by Abdulla Nasser Lootah, deputy minister of cabinet affairs for competitiveness and knowledge exchange.

During the meeting, Aoun said, according to his media office: “The current phase necessitates the expansion of cooperation and the deepening of exchange and integration in education, governance, and public sector management, extending to private sector initiatives and various investments, particularly in knowledge economies, digitization, and advanced technology, where the expertise of our brothers in the United Arab Emirates is significant in these areas.”

Lootah outlined the delegation’s mission to “define partnership frameworks and facilitate data exchange,” emphasizing that “the UAE will stand with Lebanon in realizing the aspirations articulated by President Aoun during his discussions with our leadership. We are committed to delivering comprehensive support that strengthens bilateral cooperation, guided by extensive facilitation measures and leadership’s directives.”

An extensive technical session between Lebanese and Emirati officials addressed key modernization priorities.

Presidential sources indicated the talks concentrated on “collaborative mechanisms for streamlining administrative processes, advancing digital transformation, strengthening legal frameworks, and improving public sector efficiency through bilateral knowledge transfer and technical assistance programs.”

Concurrently, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam addressed the Dubai Media Summit, declaring Lebanon’s emergence “from the debris of multiple crises, determined to reclaim its identity, voice, and statehood after years of debilitating sectarian divisions, conflicts, and external interference.”

Salam outlined his administration’s core principle: “Our governmental approach links reform with sovereignty, necessitating weapons monopolization under state authority. Lebanon must escape the arms duality that created decision-making duality and undermined our national project.

“Our Lebanese vision represents practical policy, not idealistic thinking,” Salam said. “We envision a constitutional state governed by institutions rather than sectarian allocations and patronage networks — a sovereign entity free from external control, a decision-making state rather than a battleground for regional conflicts.”

The prime minister concluded with Lebanon's strategic positioning: “We seek a Lebanon controlling its destiny in both peace and war, firmly anchored in Arab identity while maintaining global openness, serving as an East-West communication bridge.”

Salam believes that “now that Lebanon has returned to the Arab fold, it longs to the active return of its Arab brothers, based on partnership and complementarity.”

He thanked the UAE and its president for “their supportive decisions and for allowing the brotherly Emirati people to visit Lebanon, their second country, again.”

He pointed out that “about 190,000 Lebanese live and work with utmost dedication and sincerity in the UAE, their second country, where they enjoy safety, security and quality of life.”

The Lebanese prime minister mentioned “the ongoing Israeli occupation of our territory,” and the “daily Israeli violations of our sovereignty, while we work on fully implementing decision 1701, and commit to the cessation of hostilities.”

Salam emphasized that “Beirut was and still is a beacon for expression, a hub of freedoms, and a loud Arab voice in the face of darkness and closed-mindedness. Lebanon, this small country in its geography, deep in its wounds, and rich in its cultural and human heritage, is determined to reclaim its place at the heart of the Arab world and on the map of the future despite all the storms,” he said.

Salam also mentioned the challenges facing the media these days, when “media is no longer a true reflection, but a tool that shapes the public opinion, as well as peace and strife.”

Those challenges, he said, required a new discourse.

“Today, we stand at a historic crossroads in the region; a delicate regional moment that calls for a new media discourse. One that counters efforts at marginalization and fragmentation and rekindles hope.

“We seek a modern, dynamic and diverse Arab media that shapes the future and does not dwell upon the past. One that opens windows rather than shuts them. That safeguards freedom rather than exploits it. The discourse, when truthful, can serve as a bridge toward more humane and cohesive societies.”