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200 European Observers For ‘Transparent’ Monitoring of Lebanon’s Elections

the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) Chief Observer, Gyorgy Holvenyi met on Thursday with Lebanese President Michel Aoun at the Presidential Palace (NNA)
the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) Chief Observer, Gyorgy Holvenyi met on Thursday with Lebanese President Michel Aoun at the Presidential Palace (NNA)
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200 European Observers For ‘Transparent’ Monitoring of Lebanon’s Elections

the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) Chief Observer, Gyorgy Holvenyi met on Thursday with Lebanese President Michel Aoun at the Presidential Palace (NNA)
the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) Chief Observer, Gyorgy Holvenyi met on Thursday with Lebanese President Michel Aoun at the Presidential Palace (NNA)

Around 200 observers from the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) will be deployed in Beirut and all regions to monitor the upcoming parliamentary elections on May 15, EU EOM Chief Observer, Gyorgy Holvenyi announced on Thursday after a meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun at the Presidential Palace.

He said the mission arrived on 27 March and will stay until 6 June to support credible, transparent and inclusive elections in Lebanon.

On Election Day, it will comprise some 200 observers from all 27 EU member states, Norway and Switzerland.

Holvenyi said the EU EOM will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the electoral process, based on long-term observation. Its final report will include a final assessment of the elections and a set of recommendations for possible reforms to improve future electoral processes.

The Chief Observer thanked Aoun for Lebanon's agreement on an EU EOM that would observe the elections, saying the team is a demonstration of the European Union's commitment to democracy and peace in Lebanon.

For his part, the Lebanese President stressed that his country welcomes the EU mission, noting the same role it took in the elections of 2005, 2009, and 2018.

“All arrangements have been made to hold the elections on time in an atmosphere of freedom, democracy, and transparency,” he said.

A total of 103 electoral lists were registered at the Interior Ministry last Monday, the deadline for candidates to register, including 718 candidates to compete for 128 parliament seats.

Aoun asserted that work is underway to overcome obstacles to the achievement of this important constitutional entitlement, despite the difficult economic and financial conditions that Lebanon is going through.

Following his presidential visit, Holvenyi met with Prime minister Najib Mikati at the Grand Serail and discussed the mechanisms for conducting the next elections and the mission of the observers.

“This is not an interference in the electoral process, this is an observation mission,” Mikati said.

The EU official then visited Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi. The two officials tackled the preparations for the elections.

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Arab World

Lebanese President Says Ban on Hezbollah’s Military Activity ‘Irreversible’

Smoke plumes rise following Israeli bombardment on southern Lebanon near the border with northern Israel on March 3, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke plumes rise following Israeli bombardment on southern Lebanon near the border with northern Israel on March 3, 2026. (AFP)
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Lebanese President Says Ban on Hezbollah’s Military Activity ‘Irreversible’

Smoke plumes rise following Israeli bombardment on southern Lebanon near the border with northern Israel on March 3, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke plumes rise following Israeli bombardment on southern Lebanon near the border with northern Israel on March 3, 2026. (AFP)

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun said Tuesday that the decision to ban Hezbollah's military activities is "irreversible", as the Iran-backed movement claimed responsibility for new attacks targeting Israeli positions.

Speaking to members of the Quintet -- a committee made up of the French, US, Qatari, Saudi Arabian, and Egyptian ambassadors -- the president called the decision "final," after a Hezbollah statement on Monday night lambasted the state's "impotence in the face of the brutal Zionist enemy".

Aoun urged the Quintet members to "pressure Israel to stop its aggressions against Lebanon" as Israel continued launching intense strikes and authorized its troops to "take control of additional strategic positions in Lebanon".

Arab World

Despite Keeping its Distance, Syria Still Feels the Fallout of the Iran War

02 March 2026, Syria, Ain Terma: People watch the damage after an intercepted missile fell in a residential building in Ain Tarma town. Photo: Moawia Atrash/dpa
02 March 2026, Syria, Ain Terma: People watch the damage after an intercepted missile fell in a residential building in Ain Tarma town. Photo: Moawia Atrash/dpa
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Despite Keeping its Distance, Syria Still Feels the Fallout of the Iran War

02 March 2026, Syria, Ain Terma: People watch the damage after an intercepted missile fell in a residential building in Ain Tarma town. Photo: Moawia Atrash/dpa
02 March 2026, Syria, Ain Terma: People watch the damage after an intercepted missile fell in a residential building in Ain Tarma town. Photo: Moawia Atrash/dpa

Syria’s efforts to remain largely outside the direct line of fire in the war between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other have not spared it the consequences rippling across the region.

Missile debris has fallen on scattered parts of the country, gas and electricity shortages have resurfaced, border crossings with Lebanon have become crowded with Syrians returning home, and cargo shipments have been disrupted.

Long electricity outages, shortages of household cooking gas and rising prices have again cast a heavy shadow over daily life, only months after a period of relative improvement.

The Syrian Ministry of Energy said Monday that the reduction in electricity supply hours was due to a decline in natural gas volumes arriving through Jordan and allocated to operate power-generation stations. The ministry said the shortfall was tied to the current regional escalation, which has temporarily made it impossible to maintain gas flows under previous agreements.

In a statement published on its official channels, the ministry said technical teams are continuing to manage the electricity system using available domestic gas production. It added that rationing is being set according to available capacity to ensure grid stability and continued operation, while efforts continue to boost local gas output to support the power system and improve supply in the next phase.

Jordan Temporarily Halts Gas Deliveries

In what was described as an early direct reflection of the regional escalation, Jordan has temporarily halted gas deliveries to Syria, according to a report published Monday by the energy platform Al-Taqa.

Citing unnamed sources, the report said Israel’s cutoff of gas supplies to Jordan pushed Amman to prioritize domestic demand.

Syria relies in part on gas coming from Jordan to support electricity generation, amid weak local production and infrastructure worn down over recent years.

The Syrian government began receiving natural gas through Jordan on Jan. 8 at a rate of 4 million cubic meters per day under an agreement linked to the Arab Gas Pipeline. Damascus also signed an agreement with Jordan to supply Syria with about 140 million cubic feet per day in an effort to ease the country’s electricity crisis.

Missile Debris and Growing Caution

On Monday, authorities in Damascus said a transformer at the Al-Otaybah industrial substation in the Damascus countryside was knocked out of service after it was hit by falling missile debris resulting from the exchange of strikes between Israel and Iran.

Caution has spread across parts of rural Damascus and southern Syria after missile remnants fell over the past two days, injuring civilians. Local sources in Daraa province said schools were closed and residents were urged to limit movement and gatherings and to avoid unfamiliar objects.

Syrian Civil Defense teams responded Monday to an incident involving the fall of military objects in the village of Al-Futaih, in the Ain Al-Sharqiyah area of the Jableh countryside on Syria’s coast. The Ministry of Emergency Situations said the incident was linked to the ongoing regional developments and urged citizens to follow safety guidance.

Israeli Arrest and Crowded Border Crossings

Amid heightened tensions, Israel has continued violations inside Syrian territory, according to the report. Israeli forces detained a shepherd on Monday west of the village of Kudna in the southern Quneitra countryside.

The Syrian Arab News Agency, SANA, said “occupation forces escorted the young man into the occupied territories,” with no further information available on his fate.

As the escalation widens and Hezbollah in Lebanon comes under attack, Syrian-Lebanese border crossings have seen heavy movement, with large numbers of Syrians leaving Lebanon and returning to Syria.

Arab World

RSF Drone Strike Causes Blackout in Sudan’s El-Obeid

Sudanese wait to break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan in Khartoum, Sudan, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, (AP)
Sudanese wait to break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan in Khartoum, Sudan, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, (AP)
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RSF Drone Strike Causes Blackout in Sudan’s El-Obeid

Sudanese wait to break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan in Khartoum, Sudan, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, (AP)
Sudanese wait to break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan in Khartoum, Sudan, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, (AP)

A paramilitary drone strike on a power plant Tuesday caused a blackout in Sudan's key Kordofan city of El-Obeid, a local official and an eyewitness told AFP.

"A drone belonging to the Rapid Support Forces bombed the city's power station early this morning, causing a fire," an official with the state electricity company said, requesting anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

El-Obeid is the largest city in Sudan's Kordofan region, currently the fiercest battlefield in the war raging between the RSF and the regular army since April 2023.

"I heard an explosion at 2:00 am (0000 GMT) then saw flames coming from the direction of the station," city resident Awad Ali told AFP.

"It's now past 9:00 am and power isn't back."

North Kordofan state capital El-Obeid lies on a key crossroads that connects RSF-controlled Darfur in the west with the army-controlled east, including the capital Khartoum.

For a year, since the army broke a long-running RSF siege, the paramilitary has been trying to encircle the city, including by launching drone strikes and attacking nearby towns.

Recent weeks have seen the army mount a counteroffensive, managing to break the siege on Kordofan's two other major cities: Dilling and Kadugli, where hundreds of thousands faced mass starvation.

Since it began, the war has killed tens of thousands and left around 11 million people displaced, creating the world's largest hunger and displacement crises.

It has also effectively split the country in two, with the army holding the north, center and east while the RSF and its allies control the west and parts of the south.