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BEIRUT — Legendary Lebanese singer Fairuz attended the funeral of her son, renowned composer and playwright, Ziad Rahbani, at a church in Bikfaya on Monday, in her first public appearance in years.

Fairuz, 90, arrived at the Church of the Dormition accompanied by her daughter Rima and parliament member Elias Abu Saab. She got out of the car to applause from the crowd, then made her way into church as “Al-Oum al-Hazina” (“I am the Grieving Mother”), a religious hymn, played in the…

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is set to recall his cabinet next week from the summer recess to discuss the escalating crisis in Gaza and the mounting calls for the UK to recognise a State of Palestine.

The decision, announced by Downing Street, comes amid increasing pressure from more than 200 UK MPs, including over 100 Labour backbenchers, who signed a cross‑party letter urging for the immediate recognition of Palestine. This growing chorus also includes…

Rights groups B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel said on Monday that they had concluded the war in Gaza amounts to a “genocide” against Palestinians, a first for Israeli NGOs.

Both organisations are frequent critics of Israeli government policies, but the language in their reports issued on Monday was their most stark yet.

“Nothing prepares you for the realisation that you are part of a society committing genocide. This is a deeply painful moment for us,” B’Tselem executive…

A Syrian government official said on Sunday that Hikmat al-Hijri, a leading Druze religious figure in the southern province of Sweida, is calling for the establishment of an “autonomous zone”.

The remarks came during a closed discussion between the unnamed official and a group of journalists regarding the humanitarian situation in Sweida.

The official noted that hundreds of individuals whose identities could not be verified were buried in mass graves…