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Witnesses describe the impact of the explosion in Beirut on Friday which killed Mohamad Chatah, a key adviser to the now exiled former Lebanese prime minister, Saad Hariri. ...

s compound in Beirut A senior aide to the former Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri has been assassinated by a large car bomb in central Beirut. Fifteen other people were injured in the blast, which destroyed part of a neighbourhood near Hariri's compound. Hariri-linked media reported that Mohamad Chatah, a senior adviser to the now exiled leader, died in the blast. He was believed to have been en...

s a reminder that we should chip in to save other world heritage sites threatened by conflict Congratulations to Jeffrey Gonano, who has won a Picasso valued at €1m for the cost of a €100 raffle ticket . But while the inclusion of a work by the the modern world's greatest artist has drawn attention to a charity auction in aid of the ancient city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, the publicity has not led...

s landmark nuclear deal was tempered by continued bloodshed in Syria and the further unravelling of the Arab spring It is always hard to predict how historians will judge current events. But the rough draft for any future tally of the Middle East in 2013 must include the Geneva agreement on Iran's nuclear programme , the bloody and escalating war in Syria – and fading hopes for a happy end to the other...

s support for Assad regime A car bomb went off near a Hezbollah base in eastern Lebanon early on Tuesday, officials said, the latest in a wave of deadly attacks that have targeted the Shia militant group's interests in Lebanon. The Lebanese National News Agency said a suicide bomber detonated his vehicle in the remote area of eastern Bekaa Valley near the village of Sbouba in the Baalbek region, about...

s armed forces were hit, said Israel Defence Forces spokeswoman Libby Weiss, but no information was given on their condition. The Lebanese media reported that the soldier who killed the Israeli sergeant went missing for several hours before reporting back to his base on Monday morning. Unifil, the UN peacekeeping force along the Israel-Lebanon border, said it had no information about a shooting on...

s defence spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, said: "The IDF has protested this outrageous breach of Israel...

Aid agencies warn of crisis for refugees living in tents and makeshift shelters as flood waters rise Miserable conditions endured by Syrian refugees and others in the Middle East as a result of the harshest weather for decades are set to worsen in the coming days as melting snow causes flooding. Heavy snowfalls, torrential rain and icy winds have caused havoc, bringing down power lines, blocking roads...

A powerful winter storm sweeping the eastern Mediterranean this week is causing mayhem across the region and inflicting extra misery on Syrians convulsed in civil war and refugees who have fled the fighting. The storm, named Alexa, is expected to last until Saturday, bringing more snow, rain and freezing temperatures to large swaths of Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories...

Storm Alexa shuts airports and schools in Holy Land and brings misery to Syrian refugees • If you are affected, we would like to hear from you. Share your pictures, videos and stories via GuardianWitness Snow has covered swaths of the Holy Land as storm Alexa continued to cause havoc across the Middle East, bringing misery to hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees living in tents and makeshift shelters....

makeshift shelters are leaking badly. "The winds have torn the plastic sheeting, and the ground has become like a swamp," he told the Guardian. "Many of the children don't have proper shoes, they are wearing flip flops, and most only have summer clothing. Some families have small stoves but can't afford wood, so they are burning plastic bags and grocery boxes. It's very dangerous for the children...

Storm Alexa sweeps across Syria and Lebanon, bringing high winds and freezing temperatures, and fears for hundreds and thousands of Syrian refugees in the region ...