Lebanese Lawmakers Choose a President After 2 Years of Gridlock

Lawmakers elected Joseph Aoun, the commander of the Lebanese military, the first step in forming a government to lead a country recovering from economic crisis and a devastating war.

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With Stakes High, Lebanese Lawmakers to Try Again to Choose a President

Despite pressure by the United States and others to elect a president in order to receive financial support, a consensus candidate has yet to emerge who can clearly end Lebanon’s political gridlock.

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U.S. Envoy Says Israel Will Withdraw From Southern Lebanon

With the deadline looming for the terms of a fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah to be met, an American diplomat on Monday said “much progress” had been made recently.

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Syrians in Christian Neighborhoods Protest After Christmas Tree Is Burned

The protests in Damascus broke out after footage circulated online of an artificial Christmas tree on fire in a mostly Christian town as masked men stand around it.

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Top Arab Diplomats Visit Syria to Build Ties With New Leadership

Ministers from Jordan and Qatar were among the first high-ranking Arab diplomats to meet with the leader of the rebel coalition that toppled the Syrian regime two weeks ago.

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Israel Carries Out Heavy Strikes on Syria’s Coast, Monitor Says

Overnight strikes targeted former army positions, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor. Israel has said it aims to keep military equipment away from extremists.

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Who Is Massad Boulos, the Lebanese American Tycoon and Trump Adviser?

President-elect Donald J. Trump has selected Mr. Boulos, the businessman and father-in-law of Mr. Trump’s daughter, as a senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.

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Israeli Strikes Threaten Lebanon’s Archaeological Treasures

The country is home to thousands of years’ worth of antiquities. Some have already been damaged or destroyed in the war, alarming the conservationists trying to protect them.

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Lebanese Residents of Baalbek Return to a Bombed-Out City

Tens of thousands of people who had fled the city of Baalbek returned to bombed-out restaurants, flattened apartment buildings and many of the dead still buried under the rubble.

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