Spain declares three days of mourning for Pope Francis
"We regret the death of a good man and a great pope. Therefore, the government of Spain will declare three days of official mourning," Bolanos said, praising Francis' "reformist" 12-year papacy that "will leave a legacy for history." --- AFP
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Nahar Net
5 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Lebanese govt. renames Assad avenue after late music legend Ziad Rahbani
by Naharnet Newsdesk 06 August 2025, 12:22 Cabinet has decided to rebaptize a thoroughfare named after former Syrian president Hafez al-Assad in favor of late Lebanese musician and playwright Ziad Rahbani, a move many welcomed on Wednesday. The decision marks the end of an era and a rupture with the authoritarian rule of former Syrian leaders Hafez al-Assad and his son Bashar -- close allies of Lebanon's Hezbollah -- who from Damascus held Lebanon in a stranglehold for almost three decades. Islamist forces ousted Bashar al-Assad in December, ending five decades of one-family rule, further weakening Hezbollah after a war with Israel and helping to change the balance of power in Lebanon. "Hafez al-Assad into the dustbin of history, Ziad Rahbani is the name of the airport road forever!" independent lawmaker Mark Daou who opposes Hezbollah wrote on X. The government on Tuesday announced the renaming of the avenue, which runs to the international airport through south Beirut, where Hezbollah enjoys strong support. Lebanese actor Ziad Itani welcomed the move, telling AFP that the former Syrian leader was associated with "dark periods in Lebanese history, marked by massacres, abuses and assassinations". The Syrian army entered Lebanon in 1976 as part of an Arab force that was supposed to put an end to the country's civil war which began a year earlier. Troops only withdrew in 2005 under enormous pressure after the assassination of Lebanese ex-prime minister Rafic Hariri, which was widely blamed on Syria and Hezbollah. The Lebanese army dismantled a number of monuments paying homage to the Assad family following the pullout. The government announced the street's name change as it said it had tasked the army with developing a plan to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year, an unprecedented step since civil war factions gave up their weapons decades ago. The road's renaming "is the decision that made me the happiest", said Hassan Roumani near the avenue. "Each time I passed along the Assad road, I felt like Hafez al-Assad and the Syrian army were still in Lebanon. Now psychologically I feel relieved -- that period is over, and for the best," he told AFP. Not all welcomed the renaming however, particularly Hezbollah supporters. Faysal Abdelsater, an analyst close to the Iran-backed group, said the move was "the result of political malice" and urged the local council to reject it. Rahbani, son of iconic singer Fairouz, died last month aged 69 after a decades-long career that revolutionized the country's artistic scene.
Nahar Net
9 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Beirut renames Assad avenue after late music legend Ziad Rahbani
by Naharnet Newsdesk 06 August 2025, 12:22 Cabinet has decided to rebaptize a thoroughfare named after former Syrian president Hafez al-Assad in favor of late Lebanese musician and playwright Ziad Rahbani, a move many welcomed on Wednesday. The decision marks the end of an era and a rupture with the authoritarian rule of former Syrian leaders Hafez al-Assad and his son Bashar -- close allies of Lebanon's Hezbollah -- who from Damascus held Lebanon in a stranglehold for almost three decades. Islamist forces ousted Bashar al-Assad in December, ending five decades of one-family rule, further weakening Hezbollah after a war with Israel and helping to change the balance of power in Lebanon. "Hafez al-Assad into the dustbin of history, Ziad Rahbani is the name of the airport road forever!" independent lawmaker Mark Daou who opposes Hezbollah wrote on X. The government on Tuesday announced the renaming of the avenue, which runs to the international airport through south Beirut, where Hezbollah enjoys strong support. Lebanese actor Ziad Itani welcomed the move, telling AFP that the former Syrian leader was associated with "dark periods in Lebanese history, marked by massacres, abuses and assassinations". The Syrian army entered Lebanon in 1976 as part of an Arab force that was supposed to put an end to the country's civil war which began a year earlier. Troops only withdrew in 2005 under enormous pressure after the assassination of Lebanese ex-prime minister Rafic Hariri, which was widely blamed on Syria and Hezbollah. The Lebanese army dismantled a number of monuments paying homage to the Assad family following the pullout. The government announced the street's name change as it said it had tasked the army with developing a plan to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year, an unprecedented step since civil war factions gave up their weapons decades ago. The road's renaming "is the decision that made me the happiest", said Hassan Roumani near the avenue. "Each time I passed along the Assad road, I felt like Hafez al-Assad and the Syrian army were still in Lebanon. Now psychologically I feel relieved -- that period is over, and for the best," he told AFP. Not all welcomed the renaming however, particularly Hezbollah supporters. Faysal Abdelsater, an analyst close to the Iran-backed group, said the move was "the result of political malice" and urged the local council to reject it. Rahbani, son of iconic singer Fairouz, died last month aged 69 after a decades-long career that revolutionized the country's artistic scene.
Nahar Net
a day ago
- Nahar Net
Qassem refuses to commit to arms handover while Israel continues attacks
Qassem refuses to commit to arms handover while Israel continues attacks Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem said Tuesday his group would not accept any timetable on handing over its weapons to the Lebanese state while Israeli strikes continue, as the government held a session on the issue. "Any timetable presented for implementation under... Israeli aggression cannot be agreed to," Qassem said in a televised address, urging the state to develop "plans to face the pressure and threats" and not to "deprive the resistance (Hezbollah) of its capacities and strength." "The resistance is fine, strong and dignified, its supporters are resilient and coherent, and its fighters are ready to offer the dearest sacrifices," Qassem added. The Iran-backed Hezbollah emerged badly weakened from more than a year of hostilities with Israel, including two months of all-out war that saw its arsenal pummeled and a slew of senior commanders killed, among them leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Long the strongest political force in Lebanon -- with detractors accusing it of using the threat of its weaponry to impose its will on domestic decisions -- Hezbollah has also seen that influence diminish since the conflict. Israel has kept up regular raids on Lebanon despite the November truce, mostly saying it is striking Hezbollah targets, and has threatened to keep doing so until the group has been disarmed. "Are we being asked to engage in dialogue, or to surrender our weapons without dialogue?" Qassem said. "We cannot accept Lebanon committing to gradually giving up its strength while all the strength cards remain in the hands of the Israeli enemy," he added. Qassem also criticized a recent proposal presented by U.S. envoy Tom Barrack on disarming the group. "Whoever looks at the deal Barrack brought doesn't find an agreement but dictates," he said, arguing that "it removes the strength and capabilities of Hezbollah and Lebanon entirely." Hezbollah is the only faction that kept its weapons after Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, doing so in the name of "resistance" against Israel, which occupied the country's south until 2000. Last month, Barrack urged Lebanon to "act now" to impose a state weapons monopoly. A Lebanese official with knowledge of the talks told AFP that "Washington is pressuring Lebanon to make Hezbollah hand over its weapons according to a timetable, but without (the U.S.) providing any guarantees." President Joseph Aoun last week said Lebanon was committed to removing "weapons from all armed groups including Hezbollah" and seeing them surrendered to the Lebanese Army. Lebanon is at "a crucial stage" and must choose "between collapse and stability," Aoun had said, linking international support for the crisis-hit country to disarming the group. In his speech, Qassem said that "we do not agree to any new deal other than the existing deal between the Lebanese state and the Israeli entity," referring to the November ceasefire. Qassem also warned Israel against launching any new "large-scale aggression." 'Israel's interest is not to widen the aggression because if they expand, the resistance will defend, the army will defend and the people will defend,' Qassem said. "This defense will lead to the fall of missiles inside the Israeli entity,' he added. Before discussing the fate of its weapons, which it considers a matter of domestic defense strategy, Hezbollah has demanded that reconstruction of areas destroyed during the war begin, and that Israel stop its attacks, withdraw from five areas it occupies and release Lebanese prisoners.
