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Lebanese Army Refuses to Coordinate with Damascus in Battle Against ISIS

Photo of Lebanese Army shelling ISIS positions on Saturday/NNA
Photo of Lebanese Army shelling ISIS positions on Saturday/NNA
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Lebanese Army Refuses to Coordinate with Damascus in Battle Against ISIS

Photo of Lebanese Army shelling ISIS positions on Saturday/NNA
Photo of Lebanese Army shelling ISIS positions on Saturday/NNA

Beirut- The final preparations for the upcoming Lebanese Army battle against ISIS at the eastern borders with Syria have already been triggered after the completion of a swap deal between Nusra Front and “Hezbollah” and the deportation of Nusra militants from Jurud Arsal to Idlib.

On Saturday, the Lebanese Army intensely shelled ISIS positions in Jurud Ras Baalbek and Al-Kaa ahead of launching a military operation against the terrorist group, which observers said was just days away.

“Army units continued Saturday to target terrorist organizations in the area of Ras Baalbek, firing rocket and heavy artillery shells, destroying a number of fortifications and vehicles and causing definite casualties among terrorists," said a statement by the Army Command.

Therefore, the Army counts on the intense battle against ISIS to push the terrorist organization to reveal the fate of nine Lebanese soldiers kidnapped in 2014.

Also on Saturday, the war media of “Hezbollah” revealed the latest battle map of the Lebanese-Syrian border, showing positions controlled by each of the Lebanese Army, the Syrian forces and ISIS militants at the eastern borders.

“Our concern about the fate of the nine Lebanese soldiers constitutes the basic element in all what is currently happening. There should be a certain kind of pressure exerted on the terrorist organizations to reopen negotiations and release the soldiers,” Defense Minister Yaacoub Sarraf said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, a military source told Reuters that the Lebanese army will not coordinate with the Syrian army to fight against ISIS in the Lebanese-Syrian border zone, rejecting a media report published by Al-Joumhuriya newspaper on Saturday saying that the Lebanese army has been coordinating the upcoming battle against ISIS in Ras Baalbek outskirts with Syrian regime military.

The source said the Lebanese army had the military capability to confront and defeat the group without any regional or international support.

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Sports

AC Milan Coach Allegri Carries Torch as Others Complain

Football - Serie A - Fiorentina v AC Milan - Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy - January 11, 2026 AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri reacts. (Reuters)
Football - Serie A - Fiorentina v AC Milan - Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy - January 11, 2026 AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri reacts. (Reuters)
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AC Milan Coach Allegri Carries Torch as Others Complain

Football - Serie A - Fiorentina v AC Milan - Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy - January 11, 2026 AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri reacts. (Reuters)
Football - Serie A - Fiorentina v AC Milan - Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy - January 11, 2026 AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri reacts. (Reuters)

Massimiliano Allegri, the coach of Italian soccer side AC Milan, joined the ranks of Winter Olympics torchbearers on Wednesday, amid a row over the exclusion of former athletes that has prompted government intervention.

The torch is journeying through Italy's 110 provinces ahead of the start of the Milano-Cortina games, scheduled for February 6-22.

Allegri walked with other volunteers through the city of Borgomanero, about 70 kilometers (45 miles) northwest of Milan.

Some 10,001 torchbearers have been mobilized to carry the flame, ‌wearing white ‌uniforms with a red-and-yellow pattern ‌recalling ⁠the Olympic flame.

But ‌former cross-country skiing champion Silvio Fauner is complaining that he and other Olympic medal winners have been sidelined.

"There's no respect for us champions. I consider it an incredible insult," Fauner said in an interview on Tuesday with sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"I represent 10 athletes who ⁠have won 35 Olympic medals, starting with the two gold relay ‌teams of 1994 and 2006... We ‍were not involved in the ‍slightest in any Winter Olympics initiative in our ‍country. Neither torchbearers, nor ambassadors, nor any role. Nothing," he said.

Olympics organizers said in a statement Fauner had been excluded from torchbearing duties because political office holders are disqualified.

Fauner is deputy mayor of Sappada, a ski resort in the Dolomites.

In a follow-up on Facebook, the retired ⁠athlete complained of double standards, noting that a local politician was among the torchbearers in Sicily.

He said he was speaking up for "at least 15 (other) athletes who have won Olympic medals in winter sports, champions who have written the history of Italian sport and who today feel sidelined."

Italian Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini, who is heavily involved in Olympics preparations, and Sports Minister Andrea Abodi announced on Wednesday an "urgent meeting" with Games organizers to deal with ‌the controversy.

In a joint statement, they said they wanted to shed light "on very baffling decisions".

Arab World

US Says Gaza ‘Phase Two’ Beginning with Goal of Hamas Demilitarization

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches across the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP)
A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches across the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP)
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US Says Gaza ‘Phase Two’ Beginning with Goal of Hamas Demilitarization

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches across the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP)
A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches across the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP)

President Donald Trump's envoy said Wednesday that a plan to end the Gaza war was now moving to Phase Two with a goal of disarming Hamas, despite a number of Israeli strikes during the ceasefire.

"We are announcing the launch of Phase Two of the President's 20-Point Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, moving from ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance, and reconstruction," envoy Steve Witkoff wrote on X.

The second phase will also include the setup of a 15-person Palestinian technocratic committee to administer post-war Gaza. Its formation was announced earlier Wednesday by Egypt, a mediator.

Phase Two "begins the full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza, primarily the disarmament of all unauthorized personnel."

"The US expects Hamas to comply fully with its obligations, including the immediate return of the final deceased hostage. Failure to do so will bring serious consequences," he said.

Arab World

Lebanon Arrests Syrian Citizen Suspected of Funding Pro-Assad Fighters

A damaged portrait of Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad lies on the ground in the western Syrian port city of Latakia on Dec. 15, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)
A damaged portrait of Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad lies on the ground in the western Syrian port city of Latakia on Dec. 15, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)
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Lebanon Arrests Syrian Citizen Suspected of Funding Pro-Assad Fighters

A damaged portrait of Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad lies on the ground in the western Syrian port city of Latakia on Dec. 15, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)
A damaged portrait of Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad lies on the ground in the western Syrian port city of Latakia on Dec. 15, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanese authorities have arrested a Syrian citizen who is suspected of sending money to fighters loyal to former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, judicial officials said Wednesday.

Ahmad Dunia was detained in recent days in Lebanon’s region of Jbeil north of Beirut and is being questioned over alleged links to Assad’s maternal cousin Rami Makhlouf as well as a former Syrian army general who left the country after Assad’s fall in December 2024, the officials said.

The officials described Dunia as the “financial arm” of the wealthy Makhlouf, saying he had been sending money to former Assad supporters in Syria who work under the command of ousted Syrian general Suheil al-Hassan who is believed to be in Russia.

The officials said the money was mostly sent to pro-Assad fighters who are active in Syria’s coastal region, where many members of his Alawite minority sect live.

Allegations that Dunia was financing Assad allies was first reported by Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV. He was then arrested by Lebanese security forces, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The arrest came a week after a Syrian security delegation visited Beirut and handed over to officials in Lebanon lists of dozens of names of former members of Assad’s security agencies whom they said are directing anti-government operations in Syria from Lebanon. Dunia’s name was one of those on the list, the officials said.

Since Assad’s fall, there have been several skirmishes between his supporters and the country’s new authorities.

In March last year, violence that began with clashes between armed groups aligned with Assad and the new government’s security forces spiraled into sectarian revenge attacks and massacres that killed hundreds of civilians from the Alawite minority.