Lebanon 

Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel to avenge the death of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei; in response, the Israeli military hit Hezbollah targets in Beirut and southern Lebanon, ending a shaky cease-fire, with 31 dead and over 3.000 people displaced

Another building has collapsed in Tripoli, leaving at least 2 dead as rescues fear up to 20 people could be trapped under the debris; Qobbeih, where a building collapsed on an entire family last weekend, is among the neighborhoods most at risk

The election process has begun with the publication of the decree calling for elections in the Official Gazette: expats would vote abroad on 1 and 3 May, election workers would vote in Lebanon on 7 May and resident voters would vote on 10 May

In Hadath, Beirut’s outskirts, a shelter for abandoned cats has been running for 12 years: it began with a single rescue and became a long-term commitment; since 2024, the war has intensified the pressure and cats are relocated amid scarce housing options

Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Lebanon underscored the unique position of Christians in the Middle East’s most religiously diverse country, the only Arab one with a Christian president, where Christians wield influence far greater than their numbers

Two concrete walls built by Israel inside Lebanese territory have been the object of an official complaint submitted to the UN Security Council; In a statement they are described as an additional serious violation of Lebanese sovereignty

30 new public buses will run across the country, not just in Beirut, upon extended Chinese donation of around 100 more buses, bringing the total to roughly 130 new vehicles hitting Lebanese roads soon

Works have begun on the lighting of the tunnel in front of the Phoenicia Hotel in downtown Beirut; Ministry of Public Works and Transport confirmed next phase will include cleaning, repairing damaged tiles, and the overall rehabilitation of the tunnel

With the Litani River drying and Lake Qaraoun at record lows, rainfall drastically diminished, aid groups warn the crisis could spiral into a nationwide emergency as Lebanon faces its worst drought in 65 years

Record cocaine seizures, elimination of a drug lord, destruction of cannabis fields, dismantling of captagon factories: authorities are announcing operations against drugs every day after they made it clear that combating narcotics is a priority

Pope Leo XIVcould be visiting Lebanon on his first foreign visit, Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi said, a trip that would give a chance to speak in broad terms about peace in the Middle East and the plight of Christians there