DEBEL, Lebanon, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- In the border village of Debel, the facade of George Awad's small grocery shop is still cross-hatched with shrapnel scars. But this week, Awad, 50, climbed a ladder to hang a string of Christmas lights over the damage.Behind him, the village is a graveyard of architecture: shattered roofs and pancaked walls, the gray debris of months of shelling.These lights won't rebuild our homes, Awad said, surveying his work. But they say that we are still here. We want our children to know that Christmas was not canceled and that there is still a space for hope.A year of ceasefire has passed between Israel and Hezbollah. Along the jagged terrain of Lebanon's southern border, villages are finally emerging from the wreckage. The recovery is quiet, but resilient. In frontline towns such as Rmeish, Khiam, and Qouzah, hundreds of families have slowly returned. Many homes are little more than hollowed-out shells, unfit for winter, but they are filled with the scent of pine and incense during the holiday.However, the festive atmosphere barely conceals a grim humanitarian reality. In many villages, schools and clinics remain shuttered, and basic utilities such as electricity and water are intermittent at best. Layered challenges, driven by a protracted economic crisis, the aftermath of a devastating conflict, and the looming threat of renewed conflict, have drained the holiday of its usual luster.Carol Haddad, a boutique owner, noted that this year's shopping season is a misnomer. People are asking only for essentials, Haddad said. Gifts have become a luxury. Most of what you see -- the trees, the lights -- was funded by municipalities. We are decorating on borrowed means.For others, the return is haunted by the fear that the peace is merely a pause. Edouard Daher, 60, described the current influx of residents as a cautious, anxious return. Without security guarantees or a formal reconstruction plan, many families are surviving on dwindli...

The Ukrainian General Staff confirmed strikes on the seaport 'Temryuk'

JERUSALEM, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) - An Israeli citizen has been arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran, the Israel Police said Thursday in a statement.The suspect, identified as 40-year-old Vadim Kuprianov from the central city of Rishon LeZion, was arrested by an elite police unit in cooperation with the Shin Bet domestic security agency, the statement said.Police said Kuprianov was spotted taking photographs near the home of former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett as part of his alleged contacts with Iranian operatives, who had instructed him to purchase a vehicle-mounted camera for the task.Over the past two months, Kuprianov reportedly carried out a series of security-related missions, sending photos of locations in various cities to his handlers in exchange for payments, police said.An indictment will be filed against him in a central district court following the investigation, the statement added.

ADEN, Yemen, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's internationally-recognized government on Thursday backed Saudi Arabia's call to ease tensions in the country's southern regions, as military movements by the Southern Transitional Council (STC) continue to strain the anti-Houthi alliance.In a statement carried by the state-run Saba news agency, the Yemeni government welcomed what it described as Saudi Arabia's clear, balanced and responsible stance toward the latest developments in Hadramout and Al-Mahrah provinces.The government warned that any security or military actions taken outside state authority and without coordination with the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), the government, or local authorities represent an unacceptable source of tension and impose additional burdens on the war-ravaged country.Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry said earlier Thursday that recent STC troop deployments in the two southern Yemeni provinces constituted an unjustified escalation that undermines Yemeni interests and complicates Saudi Arabia-led coalition efforts.Riyadh announced that a joint Saudi-Emirati military delegation had arrived in Aden to coordinate with the STC on withdrawing its forces from the areas in an orderly and timely manner and transferring military camps to government-affiliated or local forces.Tensions escalated on Dec. 3 when STC forces took control of Hadramout after clashes with pro-government units, accusing them of maintaining ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. The STC also criticized the PLC for failing to launch a serious campaign against the Houthi group.STC forces then expanded into Al-Mahrah without reported resistance, and have since recruited local forces in both provinces despite repeated de-escalation calls from the Yemeni government and Saudi Arabia.Later, STC forces launched a new large-scale military operation in the southern province of Abyan.Earlier this week, the STC gained allegiance from more than a dozen ministers within the central governme...

Tanzania's Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) on Thursday confirmed that five people were killed on Wednesday after a helicopter crashed at the Barafu Camp on Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain.

JERUSALEM, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Thursday that it arrested seven Palestinians during overnight raids on three villages in the occupied West Bank.Four of the detainees were arrested in Jayyous in the western part of the West Bank, who were accused of advancing terrorist activities and planning an attack. The remaining three detainees were apprehended in the nearby villages of Kifl Haris and Deir Istiya for allegedly hurling rocks at a main road, according to an IDF statement.The Israeli domestic security agency Shin Bet is conducting further investigations into the arrests.The IDF said in a separate statement that in a joint operation with Shin Bet, it had targeted a militant in the Ansariyah area in southern Lebanon. It did not disclose the identity of the militant.

Tanzania's Civil Aviation Authority on Thursday confirmed that five people were killed on Wednesday after a helicopter crashed at the Barafu Camp on Mount Kilimanjaro.