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War is often less seen than heard, and as a cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel came into effect on Wednesday morning, Ibrahim Najdi marveled at the absence of one particular sound: the buzz of Israeli drones that had been a near-constant presence in Beirut over the last few months. “You can’t hear them, can you? They’re gone,” he said. He gave a small smile, then picked his way through the mounds of rubble separating him from the remains of his two warehouses. Najdi, a 42-year-old home-supplies merchant, was one of tens of thousands of people Wednesday swarming the Hezbollah-dominated suburbs south of Beirut. He came to take stock of the damage wrought by 70 days of ferocious Israeli bombardment . Though his two warehouses were destroyed in an airstrike two weeks ago, his shop was in a nearby building survived. The blast wave nevertheless tossed all of his stock into a jumble of shower handles and hoses, boxes of masking tape and home repair tools — all covered in fine, metallic-gray dust. “I don’t know if I can save any of it,” Najdi said. Similar scenes were playing out across the country, as people began the journey to their towns and villages in Lebanon’s devastated south. Shortly after the start of the cease-fire at 4 a.m., thousands of cars — many stacked on top with mattresses, suitcases and bags of vegetables — deluged the main highway leading out of Beirut in a reverse exodus that echoed t heir escape from the south only a few months before. Shelters in the southern city of Saida, a refuge for thousands of displaced, emptied by around 80%, Lebanese authorities say. “I know my house is bombed, but I don’t care. We’re all going back,” said Haidar, 33, who was picking up shawarma sandwiches for his family at a roadside restaurant. Haidar, who did not want to give his full name, was from the village of Khirbet Selm, some 9 miles north of the Lebanese-Israeli border. He had already been hours on the road with his wife and two children in his rugged-looking SUV, but was intent on going on — even though he didn’t know where the family would sleep. “We’ll figure it out. Allah’s earth can fit us all,” he said. The cease-fire agreement , which came after intense mediation by the U.S. and France, was approved by Lebanon’s government on Wednesday morning. It stipulates that Israeli troops conduct a phased withdrawal from south Lebanon over the next 60 days, while Hezbollah pulls back its fighters to north of the Litani River, a natural boundary that lies some 20 miles north of the border. According to the plan, around 5,000 Lebanese soldiers will take their place, Lebanese officials say. The Lebanese army said in a statement on Wednesday that it had begun “to reinforce its deployment” south of the Litani and would “extend state authority” in coordination with U.N. peacekeeping forces. (The Lebanese army remained neutral in the fight between Israel and Hezbollah.) Despite the calm on Wednesday, there were moments that highlighted the fragility of the truce. Israeli troops fired warning shots at people trying to approach their positions in southern villages from which they had yet to withdraw, the Israeli military said. Later, it imposed a nighttime curfew over much of south Lebanon and warned civilians not to return to their homes before being instructed to do so. Despite those reminders that the war is not fully resolved, many Lebanese were jubilant. Motorists driving through Beirut suburbs honked their horns as they drove in impromptu motorcades, while others waved flags and fired celebratory shots into the air. Many walked the streets, shaking their heads in amazement as they raised their smartphones to film the destruction. The war between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese armed group began last year after Palestinian militant faction Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people. The next day, Hezbollah began launching rockets into northern Israel, saying it was acting in support of Hamas and Palestinians in Gaza Strip. Israel and Hezbollah continued trading fire over the last year in an escalating tit-for-tat conflict that saw tens of thousands of people evacuated from both sides of the border. In September, Israel intensified its attacks on Hezbollah. It launched a punishing airstrike campaign on Lebanon’s south, east and parts of the capital where Hezbollah holds sway, and invaded areas of Lebanon’s south in what it said was a bid to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure. Since last October, more than 3,800 people have been killed in Lebanon, a quarter of them women and children, according to Lebanese health authorities; almost 16,000 have been injured. Israeli authorities say 45 civilians have been killed in Hezbollah attacks, and at least 73 soldiers killed in combat in south Lebanon, the occupied Golan Heights and northern Israel. Najdi, the merchant, was happy that the cease-fire was holding, but it was also bittersweet as he contemplated the difficult months ahead. “I was making something, building something. At 45 I thought I would slow down, take it easy,” he said. He added that he had experienced five wars in his lifetime, the first — in 1982 — when he was still in diapers. “And now this one. I have to start again from nothing.” More than a million people displaced in the fighting over the last year share his fate, with the World Bank estimating in November that nearly 100,000 housing units have been partially or completely destroyed, while the total cost of damage amounts to roughly $8.5 billion. It remains unclear how Lebanon — which before the war was suffering a multiyear financial crisis that had eviscerated the economy and left most of its population under the poverty line — intends to go about the reconstruction. International aid groups have urged governments to help, said Juan Gabriel Wells, Lebanon country director for the International Rescue Committee aid group. “It is vital that the international community now also invest in Lebanon’s recovery,” he said in a statement on Wednesday. “These efforts are not only about rebuilding infrastructure; they are also critical to restoring dignity and hope to families who have lost everything.” The Lebanese government has yet to formulate concrete plans, officials said. “You know we were so busy, all of us, with the cease-fire,” said Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib at a conference in Rome on Tuesday, a few hours before the truce. “Did we think very much about the day after? No.”After 29 operations, the 'sassy' five-year-old hoping for a normal Christmas
MADRID (AP) — Kylian Mbappé admitted he is going through a difficult moment as he missed another penalty kick and Real Madrid lost ground to Barcelona in the Spanish league after a 2-1 loss at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday. Mbappé had his penalty saved by Athletic goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala in the 68th minute, and later Federico Valverde gifted a late goal by losing possession on defense to allow an easy winner by Gorka Guruzeta in the 80th. “Bad result,” Mbappé posted on Instagram. “A big mistake in a match where every detail counts. I take full responsibility for it. A difficult moment but it's the best time to change this situation and show who I am.” Mbappé sent the penalty shot to his right and Agirrezabala dived that way to make the stop. “We knew that he is a good penalty taker,” Agirrezabala said. “He missed the last one and I believed that he was going to choose the same side and luckily that’s what happened.” Mbappé, who had a goal disallowed for offside in the 13th, had also missed a penalty in Madrid’s 2-0 loss at Liverpool in the Champions League last week. He didn’t take the one for the club in a Spanish league match on Sunday, but he scored in the 2-0 win over Getafe to ease some of the pressure on him and the club. But it was another lackluster outing for the France star, who continues to struggle in his first season since finally joining the Spanish powerhouse. “I won’t evaluate the performance of a player because of a missed penalty. Obviously he is sad and disappointed, but you have to move on,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said about Mbappé. “He is not at his best level, but you have to give him time to adapt. You have to give him time to be able to do better.” Ancelotti also downplayed the bad play by Valverde, saying that mistakes can happen to anyone. Valverde had control of the ball but gave it away while trying to get past a couple of Athletic players instead of passing it to a teammate, leaving Guruzeta with an easy run into the area for his goal. Álex Berenguer had put the hosts ahead in the 53td and Jude Bellingham equalized for Madrid in the 78th. The defeat left Madrid four points behind Barcelona, which on Tuesday ended a three-match winless streak in the league with a 5-1 rout at Mallorca. Madrid, which has a game in hand, had won three consecutive league games since a 4-0 loss at home in the “clasico” against Barcelona. Madrid has lost five of its last 11 matches in all competitions. Athletic moved to fourth place with the victory, its fourth consecutive across all competitions. Both matches on Tuesday and Wednesday were moved forward in the schedule because the clubs will be playing in the Spanish Super Cup in January. In the Copa del Rey, first-division clubs Rayo Vallecano, Valencia and Real Betis all advanced over lower-division teams in the second round, but Villarreal lost 1-0 to fourth-division club Pontevedra and Girona fell on penalties to fourth-tier team Logrones. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerNone
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Rupert Murdoch's audacious bid to cement his eldest son's control over one of the world's most influential media empires has failed, a US report said Monday. The first family of news -- commanding a stable that includes Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and a host of British and Australian media -- had been the inspiration for the hit TV series "Succession." Like the fictional version, this real-life fight pitted the children of a powerful patriarch against each other for who should be the face and the voice of the empire after the old man dies. Murdoch, now 93, had long intended that his children inherit the empire, and jointly decide its direction. The eldest daughter, Prudence, has had little involvement in the family business, but at various times the other three -- Lachlan, James and Elisabeth -- have all been considered as successors. But in recent years Murdoch senior had reportedly grown concerned that Fox News -- the crown jewels of the collection -- might drift away from its lucrative right-wing moorings after his death, to reflect the more centrist views of James and Elisabeth. He had therefore sought to designate Lachlan -- who currently heads Fox News and News Corp -- as the controlling player in the wider business. That had required rewriting the terms of an irrevocable trust that passed power to the four siblings jointly, stripping three of them of voting power, while allowing them to continue to benefit financially. Rupert Murdoch had argued that giving control to Lachlan -- who is understood to share his father's worldview -- was in the financial interests of the whole brood. The family intrigue played out behind closed doors in a Nevada courtroom, where Murdoch senior and his four children were understood to have given several days' evidence in September. In a decision filed at the weekend, probate commissioner Edmund J. Gorman Jr. said the father and son had acted in "bad faith" in trying to rewrite the rules, The New York Times reported, citing a copy of the sealed court document. The plan to alter the trust's structure was a "carefully crafted charade" to "permanently cement Lachlan Murdoch's executive roles." "The effort was an attempt to stack the deck in Lachlan Murdoch's favor after Rupert Murdoch's passing so that his succession would be immutable," the Times cited the ruling as saying. "The play might have worked; but an evidentiary hearing, like a showdown in a game of poker, is where gamesmanship collides with the facts and at its conclusion, all the bluffs are called and the cards lie face up. "The court, after considering the facts of this case in the light of the law, sees the cards for what they are and concludes this raw deal will not, over the signature of this probate commissioner, prevail." Murdoch's lawyer, Adam Streisand, did not immediately reply to an AFP request for comment. The ruling is not final, and must now be ratified or rejected by a district judge. That ruling could be challenged, perhaps provoking another round of legal arguments. The complicated structure of the irrevocable trust reflects the colourful familial relationships that shaped Rupert Murdoch's life as he built the multibillion-dollar empire. The trust was reported to have been the result of a deal agreed with his second wife -- mother of Lachlan, Elisabeth and James -- who wanted to ensure her offspring would not be disenfranchised by children Murdoch had with his third wife, Wendi Deng. The Murdoch empire has transformed tabloid newspapers, cable TV and satellite broadcasting over the last few decades while facing accusations of stoking populism across the English-speaking world. Brexit in Britain and the rise of Donald Trump in the United States are credited at least partly to Murdoch and his outlets. hg/nro
NoneWASHINGTON — Amnesty International is appealing to President Joe Biden to use his final weeks in office to “rectify a case of injustice” by releasing 80-year-old Native American rights activist Leonard Peltier from prison. “As a matter of humanity, mercy, and human rights, you should grant clemency and release Leonard Peltier,” reads a Wednesday letter to Biden from Paul O’Brien, executive director of Amnesty International USA. “This would not only allow Peltier to be home with his family and community for his last years, but it would also help mend the fractured relationship between Native Americans and the U.S. government, which could be forever part of your legacy,” said O’Brien. A White House spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. Here’s a copy of O’Brien’s letter, which also calls on Biden to take actions like closing the Guantanamo Bay detention center and changing course in response to the Israel-Gaza war. Peltier, who is nearly blind and struggles to walk, has been in prison for almost 50 years. He is widely considered to be America’s longest-serving political prisoner . The U.S. government convicted him for murdering two FBI agents in a 1975 shoot-out on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. But his trial was carried out with unbelievable misconduct: The FBI threatened and coerced witnesses into lying. Federal prosecutors hid evidence that exonerated Peltier. A juror admitted on Day 2 of the trial that she was biased against Native American people, but she was kept on anyway. The government’s case fell apart after these revelations, so it abruptly revised its charges against Peltier to aiding and abetting whoever did kill those agents — entirely on the grounds that he was one of dozens of people present when the shoot-out took place. The FBI and U.S. attorney’s office later admitted they never did figure out who killed those agents. There was never evidence that Peltier committed a crime. In his letter to the president, O’Brien raised concerns about Peltier’s health — he has diabetes and an aortic aneurysm — amid the ongoing unfairness of his imprisonment. Peltier was hospitalized in July after his diabetes reportedly caused him to “develop open wounds and tissue death on his toes and feet.” He was hospitalized again in October. “No one should be imprisoned after a trial riddled with uncertainty about its fairness,” O’Brien wrote, “and keeping him locked behind bars does not serve justice.” Members of Congress , U.S. senators , Indigenous rights groups , Hollywood celebrities and international human rights leaders including Pope Francis and Nelson Mandela have called for Peltier’s release over the decades. The main reason he’s still in prison, if not the only reason, is because of staunch opposition from the FBI. But the bureau’s stated reasons for opposing Peltier’s release are full of holes, outdated and remarkably easy to disprove . “The FBI remains resolute against the commutation of Leonard Peltier’s sentence for murdering FBI Special Agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams at South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 1975,” the bureau asserted to HuffPost in a 2022 statement. “We must never forget or put aside that Peltier intentionally and mercilessly murdered these two young men and has never expressed remorse for his ruthless actions.” Don't let this be the end of the free press. The free press is under attack — and America's future hangs in the balance. As other newsrooms bow to political pressure, HuffPost is not backing down. Would you help us keep our news free for all? We can't do it without you. Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read. You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest — we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you. Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all. You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest — we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you. Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all. Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages. The FBI still has not publicly addressed the key context of that 1975 shoot-out, either: The FBI itself was intentionally fueling tensions on that reservation as part of a covert campaign to suppress the activities of the American Indian Movement, or AIM, a grassroots movement for Indigenous rights. Peltier was an active AIM member and an FBI target. Biden has authority to unilaterally release Peltier before he leaves office. Presidents historically announce batches of clemencies at the ends of years, and particularly at the ends of their terms. Biden wouldn’t even have to formally pardon the Native American elder; he could simply grant Peltier clemency, which would allow him to live out his final years at home with his family in South Dakota without the U.S. government simultaneously conceding it was wrong to imprison him. HuffPost spoke to Peltier in a rare interview in May 2022. Asked what he would say to Biden if he had a few minutes alone with him, he said his message would be simple. “I’m not guilty of this shooting. I’m not guilty,” Peltier said. “I would like to go home to spend what years I have left with my great-grandkids and my people.” Related From Our Partner
The White House announced an unusual diplomatic accord with Beijing in the last months of the Biden administration on Wednesday, announcing the release of three American citizens who had been detained by China for years and their return to the US, according to Politico. The three are Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung, all of whom had been designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained. Swidan had been facing a death sentence on drug charges while Li and Leung were imprisoned on espionage charges . "Soon they will return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years," the White House said in a statement. A U.S. official said the Biden administration had raised their cases with China in multiple meetings over the last several years, including earlier this month when President Joe Biden spoke to Chinese president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru. Russian 'spy' ship 'deliberately violates Finland border' risking NATO fury All 24 inmates released in Russian prisoner swap - from Kremlin spies to Ukraine war activists It comes after U.S. citizen David Lin was released in September as part of a similar swap agreement for an unnamed Chinese national who was imprisoned in the US. For President Joe Biden and negotiations in the office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, the release of Swidan, Li, and Leung represents a diplomatic triumph for the late administration. Additionally, it eliminates a long-standing issue in U.S.-China relations that has long drawn criticism on Capitol Hill. In a letter to Biden last month, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) encouraged the administration to make sure that Li and Swidan's release continues to be a diplomatic priority. Click here to follow the Mirror US on Google News to stay up to date with all the latest news, sports and entertainment stories Under the State Department's Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, the administration has repatriated over 70 Americans from nations such as Iran, Venezuela, and Russia in the last four years. According to the senior administration official, the three men should return to the US "in a few hours." They will probably be taken to the Brooke Army Medical Center, which is located south of San Antonio, Texas, upon arrival. This facility has the capacity to assess former captives psychologically and get them ready for reintegration into American society. DAILY NEWSLETTER: Sign up here to get the latest news and updates from the Mirror US straight to your inbox with our FREE newsletter. According to the source, the publication is the culmination of "years of work." "Jake Sullivan brought this up when he was in Beijing [in September], and President Biden brought it up when he met with President Xi in Peru two weeks ago. Secretary Blinken also pushed for this really hard in September at the UNGA with [Chinese Foreign Minister] Wang Yi," the official continued.Louisville scores 52 second-half points to race past No. 14 Indiana 89-61 in the Battle 4 Atlantis
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