UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Thursday to terminate the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon at the end of next year after nearly five decades, bowing to demands from the United States and its close ally Israel. The United States, which initially demanded that the force be ended in six months and later sought a one-year final extension, voted in favor of a final 16-month mandate to continue its activities near Lebanon’s UN-drawn border with Israel.

Operations will stop at the end of 2026, despite concerns that shutting down UNIFIL too quickly could be a boon to Hezbollah.

Amid US pressure, vote extends peacekeeping mission but then calls for ‘orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal’.