RAMALLAH: Israeli police will curb the number of worshippers in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem during Orthodox Easter ceremonies on Saturday, drawing anger from church leaders who said they would not cooperate.

The decision to limit access on Saturday to the Holy Fire, the most important Easter celebration for the Eastern Orthodox Church, angered church leaders who see it as part of what they consider long-standing efforts by Israel to restrict the rights and freedoms of the local Christian community.

BEIRUT: A Lebanese judge will lift a travel ban imposed on the country’s embattled central bank chief, who has been summoned for a hearing in Paris next month, two judicial officials said Wednesday.
Riad Salameh is part of a political class widely blamed for Lebanon’s unprecedented economic crisis that the World Bank says is of a scale usually associated with wars.

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s municipal elections set for May could be postponed for a second time following a series of parliamentary delays, leaving local administrations and services paralyzed.
The elections were initially postponed for 12 months because they coincided with the 2022 parliamentary elections.
But with deputies refusing to hold a parliamentary session to settle the matter, municipal polls now face a second postponement.
Rival Cabinet and parliamentary blocs blamed each other for the possible delay of the elections.

WASHINGTON: The US military conducted a helicopter raid in eastern Syria late on Saturday and captured a Daesh operative and two of his associates, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The capture of Hudayfah al Yemeni and his associates will disrupt the organization’s ability to plot and carry out operations,” the statement said, adding no civilians were killed or hurt.

Sanaa: An exchange of nearly 900 prisoners from Yemen’s civil war will start on Friday, one day later than previously announced, a government official said on Wednesday.
No reason was given for the delay to the three-day exchange, in which prisoners will be flown between cities in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
The biggest prisoner swap since 2020 is taking place after a delegation from Saudi Arabia held talks with Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia this week in an attempt to end hostilities.