Israel and Lebanon agree to ceasefire conditioned on Hezbollah withdrawal
via Business News2 min read
The United States announced a diplomatic breakthrough between Israel and Lebanon on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, following two days of negotiations in Washington. Both countries agreed to implement a ceasefire and continue direct discussions for a broader agreement on security and sovereignty. The ceasefire's activation is contingent on a complete halt to Hezbollah's firing and the withdrawal of its fighters from the area south of the Litani River. Key measures include creating "pilot zones" in southern Lebanon where the Lebanese army will have sole authority, without non-state armed actors. Washington believes this will strengthen Lebanese sovereignty and reduce escalation risks. Discussions also covered a new security framework to ensure territorial integrity, including dismantling armed groups operating outside state institutions. The joint communiqu茅 from Washington, Beirut, and Tel Aviv reflects shared views on Hezbollah, with the US reaffirming support for the Lebanese army to extend its control. Israel emphasized that its security depends on Hezbollah's disarmament and the dismantling of its infrastructure in Lebanon. The text also explicitly condemns Iran for regional attacks and support for groups contributing to Middle East instability. Israel and Lebanon affirmed no hostile intentions and committed to further negotiations, with new meetings scheduled for the week of June 22 under US mediation. Despite the announcement, the situation remains tense. Hours after the commu
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During a series of site visits, President Ka茂s Sa茂ed addressed various administrative dysfunctions, particularly concerning water and electricity services. Visiting the Ghdir El Golla hydraulic complex and the Oued Medjerda flood protection project, the President acknowledged the efforts of technical teams but strongly criticized persistent failures. He stated that the situation, marked by repeated power outages and water distribution issues, cannot continue, emphasizing the need for officials to take responsibility and accelerate reforms. Sa茂ed stressed that each region should have its own maintenance workshops and spare parts to reduce intervention times for repairs. He also highlighted the importance of a national water management strategy to better utilize resources and called for the preservation of national heritage, inspecting the restoration of the historic Qantara Bizerte bridge. The President's visits, following a period of absence, underscored his commitment to reforming state services and improving public administration responsiveness.
Tunisian Olympic champion Ahmed Ayoub Hafnaoui secured two gold medals at the Florida Summer Championships in the United States. On the night of Saturday, July 18 to Sunday, July 19, 2026, he won the 400-meter freestyle with a time of 3 minutes 50.45 seconds. This victory followed his earlier win in the 200-meter freestyle, where he finished in 1 minute 50.76 seconds. These performances indicate a strong return to form for the 23-year-old swimmer, who is aiming to be in peak condition for upcoming international events, including the Mediterranean Games in Taranto, Italy, scheduled from August 21 to September 3. Hafnaoui rose to prominence with his 400m freestyle Olympic title at the Tokyo 2021 Games. He further solidified his status at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, winning two world titles in the 800m and 1,500m freestyle, and a silver medal in the 400m. He also earned a world silver medal in the 1,500m short course in Abu Dhabi in 2021. His recent double gold in Florida sends a positive signal about his readiness to compete among the world's top swimmers.
On Sunday, July 19, 2026, users worldwide experienced a major outage affecting the web versions of Facebook and Instagram. Attempts to log in from computers resulted in error messages. Facebook displayed "Account temporarily unavailable. Your account is currently unavailable due to a site issue. We hope to resolve this quickly. Please try again in a few minutes." Instagram's web version showed "Sorry, something went wrong. We're working on it and we'll get it fixed as soon as we can." Mobile applications for both social networks appeared to be functioning normally, suggesting the outage primarily impacted browser-based services. The specialized website DownDetector reported a significant increase in user complaints early in the morning, confirming the widespread nature of the incident. Many users also reported their difficulties on other accessible social media platforms. As of now, Meta has not released a statement regarding the cause of the outage or an estimated time for full restoration of services. Users are advised to wait or use the mobile applications, which seem unaffected.