Lebanon's parliament votes to elect head of state after 12 failed attempts
Following tense scenes early in the session, the first round of Thursday's vote concluded with 71 votes for Joseph Aoun, the widely supported army commander.
Author: Unknown\ Published on: 09/01/2025 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:\ Lebanese army commander Joseph Aoun emerged as the frontrunner. Of the rest, 37 lawmakers cast blank ballots, and 14 voted for "sovereignty and the constitution" The vote took place amid chaotic scenes early in the session. The vote is the first since June 2023 and the 13th since the election. Michel Aoun is technically barred from becoming president. A head of state in Lebanon needs to be elected by a two-thirds majority of the 128-member house.
Original: 542 words\ Summary: 81 words\ Percent reduction: 85.06%
UN warns that lack of fuel threatens to shut down more medical facilities across the besieged territory.
Author: Unknown\ Published on: 09/01/2025 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:\ A lack of fuel supply threatens to shut down more medical facilities across the besieged territory. The UN condemns the “deliberate and systematic” attacks on Gaza hospitals. Al-Aqsa, Nasser and the European hospitals are at risk of imminent closure. The death toll from the past day has really been staggering,” he said. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees renewed its call for a ceasefire. “More humanitarian aid must come into Gaza and a truce is more critical than ever,” the group wrote on X.
Original: 540 words\ Summary: 90 words\ Percent reduction: 83.33%
A holidaying Israeli soldier was forced to flee Brazil after a judge ordered an investigation into his wartime conduct.
Author: Unknown\ Published on: 09/01/2025 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:\ A holidaying Israeli soldier was forced to flee Brazil after a judge ordered an investigation into his wartime conduct in Gaza. It’s just one case in a growing list where Israeli soldiers have been tracked down on vacation and threatened with arrest, as Soraya Lennie explains.
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Premier Giorgia Meloni says she doesn't believe President-elect Donald Trump actually intends to use military force to seize control of Greenland or the Panama Canal
Author: Unknown\ Published on: 09/01/2025 | 11:49:39
AI Summary:\ Giorgia Meloni says she read Trump's comments more as a warning to China and other global players. "We can exclude that the United States in the coming years will try to use force to annex territory that interests it," she says. Trump said he wouldn't rule out the use of military force to seize control of the Panama Canal. Warrant is wanted in connection with a 2024 drone attack in Jordan that killed three american soldiers. Meloni identified a “triangulation” with Iran and the United States as key to securing release.
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‘Joy and fear’: Syrian refugees ponder what 2025 holds for their homeland
Thirteen years after a revolution left the Middle Eastern country in civil war and led to more than 6 million Syrians fleeing as refugees, dictator Bashar Al-Assad has been deposed. Euronews spoke to three refugees about their hopes for Syria in the coming year and their thoughts on returning.
Author: Unknown\ Published on: 09/01/2025 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:\ Maydani, Abdulrahman, and Ahmad were all students when protests erupted across Syria and the broader region in 2011. All three of them joined the revolution, all three were imprisoned, and all were forced to flee. Even after his release, Maidani was gripped by fear of re-arrest. "When I got out of prison, I was always afraid to walk in the street so that they would arrest me," said Ahmad. Ahmad travelled from Italy to settle in Germany, which welcomed up to 850,000 Syrian refugees. Having trained as a dentist, Maydani now lives with his wife and children and runs a taxi company while his partner is retraining. A month ago, the name Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) was relatively unknown in international circles, as was that of its leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. Since marching to victory in December, HTS has been trying to play down its controversial past and present itself as inclusive and moderate. He also insisted he supported women’s rights. A group of more than 300 Syrian women sent a letter to UN General Secretary Antonio Gueterres stating, “we do not accept the stark absence of women leaders in the transitional government or to be excluded from international discussions” Ahmad and Abdulrahman both recognise the fears around HTS, with Ahmad admitting he was hopeful but “a little bit worried” about developments. Al-Sharaa suggested elections could take up to four years. Ahmad also pointed out that many refugee children left Syria before they could feel rooted. But these aren’t insurmountable issues, according to Maydani.
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A prominent Vietnamese lawyer has gone on trial for Facebook posts that allegedly criticized the country's former top judge
Author: Unknown\ Published on: 09/01/2025 | 10:31:12
AI Summary:\ Tran Dinh Trien was arrested last June for three Facebook posts that allegedly criticized the country's former top judge. He was charged under Article 331 of the Penal Code with “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state” The trial is expected to last two days, with 12 lawyers defending him. Human Rights Watch said Trien is the latest in a series of prominent lawyers targeted for their social media posts. It said at least four Vietnamese lawyers have sought asylum in the United States in the past two years. Vietnamese authorities have also increasingly used Article 331 to silence government critics.
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Authorities in northern France say two people have died and 20 others are injured from a cold snap bringing snow and ice
Author: Unknown\ Published on: 09/01/2025 | 11:17:57
AI Summary:\ Authorities say two people have died and 20 others are injured from a cold snap bringing snow and ice. One of those killed slipped on a pavement and violently banged their head. The other person had no fixed address and was found dead in the town of Valenciennes.
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Hollywood stars lose homes as out-of-control Los Angeles wildfires rages on
Fast-moving blaze kills at least five and puts 130,000 under evacuation orders in the heartland of US film industry.
Author: Unknown\ Published on: 09/01/2025 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:\ The Hollywood Hills was burning uncontrollably on Thursday morning. At least six separate wildfires were burning in Los Angeles County. The homes of movie stars and celebrities were among those consumed by flames.
Original: 275 words\ Summary: 36 words\ Percent reduction: 86.91%
‘President’ Elon Musk – what to make of the billionaire’s new political power.
Author: Unknown\ Published on: 09/01/2025 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:\ Elon Musk is shaping up to be a super influential figure in the new Trump administration. He is going to be running the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) which is tasked with cutting government bureaucracy and spending.
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The US President-elect does not rule out force to take over the Danish territory – home to a US military base.
Author: Unknown\ Published on: 09/01/2025 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:\ Republican leader refused to rule out using military or economic power to achieve the goal of taking over the autonomous Danish territory. Greenland is 80 percent covered in snow and is more than 3,000km (1,864 miles) from the US capital, Washington, DC. The island is home to some 56,000 people, mostly Indigenous Inuit people. Greenland joined the now-defunct European Community with Denmark in 1973, but left in 1985. The EU has replaced the European Community. On December 23, Trump said the island was not for sale and will never be for sale. Greenland is incredibly rich in minerals, including rare earth minerals used in the manufacture of batteries and high-tech industry. The economy of the island is largely reliant on its fishing industry. The US has long expressed an interest in the island. The Arctic island is 2.17 million square kilometres (836,330 square miles), making it about three times the size of the US state Texas. However, the Danish territory is perceived to be larger based on maps. On the Mercator map, Greenland territory is shown to be almost as large as Africa.
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From Richard Grenell to Matt Gaetz, their comments reflect overseas PTI campaigning for Khan’s release. Will it work?
Author: Unknown\ Published on: 09/01/2025 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:\ Richard Grenell, a close confidante of Donald Trump, demanded the release of Pakistan’s jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan last November during protests in Islamabad. In another since-deleted tweet, Grenell wrote, “Watch Pakistan. Their Trump-like leader is in prison on phony charges, and the people have been inspired by the US Red Wave. Stop the political prosecutions around the world!” The post gained further momentum when Matt Gaetz, another Republican and a former Trump nominee for Khan has been imprisoned since August 2023 on dozens of charges and convictions. His party’s symbol – a cricket bat – was banned from Pakistan’s national election last February. The Biden administration appoint Donald Blome as US ambassador to Pakistan in May 2022. Islamabad has dismissed the significance of the comments coming from Trump allies. Pakistani foreign office said the country seeks relations based on "mutual respect, mutual interest, and noninterference in each other’s domestic affairs" Husain Haqqani acknowledged the Pakistani diaspora’s effectiveness in mobilising support. He cautioned that Pakistan remains a low priority for Trump’s foreign policy.
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Ukraine takes another bite out of Russia as Moscow grinds on in Donetsk
Ukraine also announced significant investments in unmanned and long-range systems, where it has an edge.
Author: Unknown\ Published on: 09/01/2025 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:\ Russian military bloggers say Ukrainian forces also held the settlements of Martynovka, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye and Mikhaylovka. Ukrainian forces were reported to have advanced in three waves using company-sized assaults backed by armoured vehicles, the Russian bloggers said. Ukraine has used long-range drones of its own build to attack Russian energy assets. A Ukrainian drone hit a terminal for gas condensate transshipment in the port of Ust-Luga, near Leningrad, on Saturday. Ukrainian officials have listed a number of reasons for the counterinvasion. Russian equipment destroyed in Kursk, including 104 tanks, 575 armoured combat vehicles, more than 1,000 other vehicles and 330 artillery systems. Russia has been able to replace soldiers, but its ability to replace equipment is less certain. Ukrainian Navy said it sank five ships and 458 smaller craft. Russian forces have focused much of their manpower and firepower on the twin settlements of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad in Donetsk. On Tuesday, 41 combat clashes were in this area, out of 176 across the entire front line. At the closest point, Russian forces held positions just 1.5km (1 mile) from the south, where 7,300 civilians were still living and working. Ukrainian forces in Kurakhove say the Russians have switched to attacks by infantry in the past few weeks. Ukraine invests heavily in long-range and unmanned systems Ukraine has invested heavily in its own defence industry during the past year. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyal announced that Ukraine planned to build about 3,000 cruise missiles and drone missiles this year, and at least 30,000 long-range drones. The drone and missile programmes were part of a plan to increase Ukraine’s defence industrial capacity to about $30bn, from an estimated $7bn in 2024.
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UK freezes assets of extreme-right group Blood and Honour for alleged terrorism
The British authorities' designation makes it illegal for anyone in the UK to offer funding to Blood and Honour, which takes its name from a Nazi slogan.
Author: Unknown\ Published on: 09/01/2025 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:\ UK government imposes full asset freeze against the extreme-right group Blood and Honour. It is the first use of a domestic sanctions regime against right-wing terrorism. The sanctions make it illegal for anyone in the UK to offer it funding or financial services.
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Over 1,000 structures destroyed and thousands evacuated in LA fire
Video. A devastating fire in Los Angeles County has claimed at least five lives, destroyed more than 1,000 structures, and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents.
Author: Unknown\ Published on: 09/01/2025 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:\ Evacuation orders issued for tens of thousands of residents in Los Angeles County. In the scramble to escape, roads became blocked.
Original: 55 words\ Summary: 23 words\ Percent reduction: 58.18%
Dan Perry talks about the “conundrum” Netanyahu faces regarding military service exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jews.
Author: Unknown\ Published on: 09/01/2025 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:\ Video Duration 1 minute 19 seconds play-arrow01:19 Video Duration 01 minutes 50 seconds play arrow01 :50 Video Duration 02 minutes 28 seconds video Duration 00 minutes 26 seconds playing-arrow 01:26 Video Duration 0 minutes 45 seconds play 5-arrow00:45 Video Duration 45 seconds playing arrow00,45. Video Duration 20 minutes 20 seconds play 1-arrow0:49 Video Duration 25 minutes. 20 minutes play--arrow00:00 Video Duration 10 minutes 45 minutes play.
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Senior foreign ministry officials of two countries hold highest-level talks since group’s takeover of Kabul in 2021.
Author: Unknown\ Published on: 09/01/2025 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:\ India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met acting Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai on Wednesday. In a statement later, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said they discussed expanding their relations and boosting trade through Chabahar Port in Iran. India, which hosts thousands of Afghan refugees, also said it will provide “material support” for their rehabilitation back home. India reopened its embassy in Kabul in June 2022. Afghanistan’s embassy was closed in November 2023 after diplomats appointed by Afghan government ousted by the Taliban failed to secure visa extensions from their Indian hosts. India is also one of several countries to facilitate trade, aid and medical support.
Original: 526 words\ Summary: 114 words\ Percent reduction: 78.33%
A 7.1-magnitude quake struck Dingri County in Xigaze on Tuesday morning, causing at least 126 fatalities and over 46,000 evacuations.
Author: Unknown\ Published on: 09/01/2025 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:\ By Wednesday, 126 deaths and 188 injuries had been reported in the earthquake. So far, 46,525 affected people have moved to emergency shelters in 187 relocation sites set up in Dingri county. Local officials say they have acted quickly to distribute food and emergency supplies to the affected people.
Original: 256 words\ Summary: 52 words\ Percent reduction: 79.69%
State media in Chad say an attack on the presidential palace left 18 assailants dead and six in custody, with one soldier killed and three wounded
Author: Unknown\ Published on: 09/01/2025 | 09:21:03
AI Summary:\ An attack on Chad's presidential palace left 18 assailants dead and six in custody. The attack occurred while Chadian President Mahamat Deby Itno was inside the palace. It coincided with a visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Original: 162 words\ Summary: 41 words\ Percent reduction: 74.69%
Lebanon’s parliament is to vote for the country’s next president after a two-year void.
Author: Unknown\ Published on: 09/01/2025 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:\ Lebanese political parties and leading figures have been in talks with foreign officials as discussions intensified over who will take the top job. Parliament hasn’t managed to find a consensus candidate. Lebanon has 128 MPs, a candidate needs a majority with at least 86 votes. Elias Baysari, interim head of Lebanon’s General Security directorate, was seen as a potential consensus candidate but doesn’t have any overt support. Other contenders are businessman and MP Neemat Frem, who has said he might back Aoun himself. Former Interior Minister Ziad Baroud occasionally mentioned as possible consensus candidate.
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Those mistaking the Ummah’s political and cultural diversity for disunity are playing into the hands of our oppressors.
Author: Unknown\ Published on: 09/01/2025 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:\ I know this negativity stems primarily from having to bear witness to violence and injustices being inflicted on our brothers and sisters in faith across a number of Muslim-majority countries. Our religion encourages us to engage in introspection, and to adhere to the Islamic ideal of “al-amr bil ma’rouf and al-nahy anil munkar (enjoining good and forbidding evil””. True unity cannot be found in the enforcement of political or cultural uniformity under a Utopian empire stretching from Morocco to Malaysia. The Quranic message, delivered by Prophet Muhammad, underscores this universality. For us Muslims, recognising this unity, and harnessing its power, is a theological imperative. Ummah’s unity persists in ways that these “invaders” could not erase. The continuity of Islamic practices – from prayer to pilgrimage – across 1,400 years attests to an unbroken metaphysical bond. This unity, rooted in faith, has outlived countless empires and regimes. The Indian mutiny of 1857 against British colonial rule is a poignant example of resilience in the face of defeat. After the failed uprising, the ulema of Deoband did not succumb to despair. They did not panic, or whine about the disunity and weakness of the Ummah, they did not become despondent. The unity of the Muslim world is not an unattainable ideal but a living reality that requires recognition and celebration. The challenges of the modern world – from political instability to economic inequities and systemic violations of human rights – demand innovative solutions. These solutions, however, must build on the existing foundation of unity, not undermine it with pessimistic narratives. By reframing the narrative and celebrating what unites us, Muslims can move forward with confidence, transforming unity into a force for renewal and resistance
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congrats on being the first comment in this community