The Daily Star Lebanon Breaking News, Lebanon News, Middle East News & World News

In a significant development, Russia and Ukraine have conducted a major exchange of prisoners of war (POWs), marking the largest release of captives since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Ukrainian authorities reported that 230 Ukrainian prisoners of war returned home in this exchange, which is the first of its kind in nearly five months. Simultaneously, Russia’s Defense Ministry stated …

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna conveyed a message from French President Emmanuel Macron to Lebanese Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati. President Macron expressed France’s strong commitment to Lebanon’s sovereignty, especially in the aftermath of the Israeli strike that targeted a senior official of Hamas in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Macron emphasized the importance of taking responsibility at this critical moment and …

The powerful earthquake that struck central Japan on New Year’s Day didn’t result in massive tsunamis like the ones that devastated the country’s Pacific coast in 2011. The tsunamis that did occur along the Sea of Japan, on the western coast, were relatively small, contrary to initial predictions. However, the earthquake, along with numerous aftershocks and evacuation orders, revived memories …

When Rafael Nadal faced a challenging situation with three break points while serving for the first set, a spectator in the crowd at the Brisbane International shouted encouraging words to his opponent, Jason Kubler. However, Nadal quickly regrouped, winning the next five points to secure the set. He went on to break Kubler’s serve at love in the second set …

Recent clashes between Israeli forces and the Hezbollah along the border have heightened tensions in the region. TRS targeted Israeli soldiers and posts in several locations, while Israel responded with strikes and artillery fire in southern Lebanon. The situation escalated further with the death of four Hezbollah fighters, including a local Hezbollah leader, in Israeli strikes on the border town …

Coco Gauff, the U.S. Open champion, continued her impressive start to the year by advancing to the quarterfinals of the Auckland Classic. She faced the hard-hitting Czech teenager Barbara Fruhvirtova and secured a 6-3, 6-0 victory. Fruhvirtova, at just 16 years old, displayed incredible power in her shots, initially troubling Gauff and even breaking her serve to love in the …

Researchers have made a remarkable discovery by uncovering a 22-million-year-old mangrove forest that was engulfed by a massive volcanic eruption. This ancient forest, once teeming with towering trees and lush green vegetation on an island in the Panama Canal, met its demise due to natural disasters. The revelation was made by scientists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, who stumbled …

In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have uncovered the fossils of a previously unknown group of animal predators in North Greenland’s Early Cambrian Sirius Passet fossil locality. These creatures, named Timorebestia, meaning ‘terror beasts’ in Latin, may represent some of the earliest carnivorous animals to inhabit the water more than 518 million years ago, shedding light on a previously unknown dynasty …