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Understanding Hezbollah: The Influential Iran-Backed Organization Along Israel’s Border

(CTN NEWS) – Hezbollah is an Iran-backed Islamist organization known for having one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the Middle East.
It is primarily based in the region along the Israel-Lebanon border.
The presence and activities of Hezbollah have the potential to significantly impact the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel and could even escalate into a broader regional conflict.
It’s essential to understand that Hezbollah’s involvement in regional conflicts has far-reaching implications, and its actions often contribute to the complexity of the Middle East situation.
The Origins Of Hezbollah
Hezbollah’s origins trace back to the aftermath of Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982, during which Israeli forces seized nearly half of Lebanon’s territory, including the capital, Beirut.
In the course of this invasion, Israeli forces, in collaboration with right-wing, Israel-aligned Christian Lebanese militias, imposed a siege on the western part of Beirut with the aim of expelling Palestinian militants.
This military operation resulted in a devastating toll, with reports from that era indicating more than 17,000 casualties.
It also brought to light one of the darkest chapters in the region’s history: the massacre at the Beirut refugee camp of Sabra and Shatila, an event of significant bloodshed.
The Kahan Commission of Inquiry, established by Israel, indirectly held Israel accountable for the massacre, which was executed by right-wing Christian Lebanese combatants.
Estimates of the death toll at Sabra and Shatila vary considerably, ranging from 700 to 3,000, underscoring the profound tragedy and the complex historical context surrounding this harrowing incident.
Following the departure of numerous Palestinian fighters from Lebanon, a cadre of Shia Islamist combatants, who had received training and support from the emerging Islamic Republic of Iran, swiftly emerged on the complex political landscape of Lebanon.
This relatively ad hoc group of fighters left an indelible, albeit turbulent, mark.
In 1983, two suicide bombers affiliated with this faction carried out a devastating attack on a U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, resulting in the tragic deaths of nearly 300 U.S. and French military personnel, as well as several civilians.
Just a year later, in 1984, fighters with links to Iran orchestrated a bombing at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, claiming the lives of 23 individuals.
In 1985, these militants began to consolidate into a more structured entity, giving birth to the organization known as Hezbollah.
Hezbollah made no secret of its deep-rooted ideological alignment with Tehran, and it benefited from a consistent influx of financial support from the Islamic Republic.
This substantial backing played a pivotal role in elevating Hezbollah’s status in the region.
The organization actively engaged in Lebanon’s civil war, which reached its conclusion in 1990, and later spearheaded a campaign against Israeli forces that had occupied southern Lebanon.
This prolonged struggle ultimately led to the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the region in the year 2000.
A Terror Designation
In Lebanon, Hezbollah is officially recognized as a “resistance” group, tasked with countering Israel, which Beirut categorizes as an adversary.
However, in much of the Western world, Hezbollah carries the label of a terrorist organization.
This designation largely stems from events such as Argentina’s accusation that Hezbollah was responsible for the 1992 attack on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, resulting in the loss of 29 lives, as well as the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in the same city, which claimed 85 lives.
Both Iran and Hezbollah vehemently denied any involvement in these attacks.
The year 2011 marked a turning point when the pro-democracy Arab Spring protests cascaded into a series of proxy wars that engulfed much of the Middle East.
Hezbollah became an active participant, joining the ranks of Iran-aligned forces in conflicts across Syria and Iraq.
Subsequently, several Arab nations also designated it as a terrorist organization.
However, these designations did little to diminish Hezbollah’s influence.
Throughout the extended proxy conflicts, the group experienced a meteoric ascent, transitioning from a guerrilla insurgency into a formidable regional fighting force, further complicating the geopolitical dynamics of the Middle East.
How Hezbollah Relates To Hamas
Hezbollah and Hamas have had periods of discord in their history.
They found themselves on opposing sides during Syria’s uprising-turned-civil war.
Hezbollah supported Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, while Hamas militants backed the predominantly Sunni opposition.
It’s important to note that Hezbollah is rooted in the Shia branch of Islam, while Hamas follows the Sunni tradition.
As the Syrian conflict waned in most regions towards the end of the last decade, Hamas and Hezbollah chose to put their differences aside.
Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has openly lauded the strengthening alliance between the two organizations.
Hamas’s leadership has engaged in multiple meetings with Nasrallah over the past year, and it’s widely recognized that Hamas has established deeper connections with Tehran.
A Growing Regional Power At Home
While Hezbollah was engaged in battles in distant lands, problems began to brew in their homeland, Lebanon.
Recurrent cycles of economic and political crises over the past two decades have eroded the group’s popularity beyond its core Shia support base.
Hezbollah found itself entangled in broader economic challenges it couldn’t effectively address.
It also acted as a bulwark against Lebanese protests that were demanding reform from a political elite widely accused of corruption.
The group even dispatched its supporters to confront peaceful demonstrators.
Furthermore, Hezbollah has managed to largely thwart a judicial investigation into the catastrophic explosion at the Beirut port in August 2020, which caused extensive devastation in the city.
Nonetheless, these challenges may not significantly deter Hezbollah from pursuing its objectives.
The organization remains arguably Iran’s most potent non-state ally.
As its regional influence continues to expand, it could emerge as an even more formidable adversary to its long-standing foe, Israel.
Why Hezbollah Could Become The Embroiled In The Israel-Hamas War
Hezbollah is indeed a complex and powerful entity with a history of conflict with Israel.
While it shares a common goal with Hamas of opposing Israel, it’s unclear whether Hezbollah will actively intervene in the Hamas-Israel war.
The reasons for this uncertainty are multifaceted.
Hezbollah recognizes the significant military strength of the Israeli armed forces, which are supported by advanced weaponry and equipment, much of it provided by the United States.
Additionally, Israel’s recent response to hostilities in Gaza has resulted in a substantial loss of life, potentially serving as a deterrent for further conflict.
Another factor to consider is that a war with Hezbollah in Israel’s north could lead to a third front, potentially involving the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
This region separates Israel from Iran-aligned forces, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a formidable wing of the Iranian military.
While Hezbollah’s arsenal may not match Israel’s in terms of overall capability, it does possess precision-guided missiles, which are significantly more advanced than the outdated Soviet-era rockets they used in their last conflict with Israel in 2006.
Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, claims that the group consists of over 100,000 personnel, encompassing both active fighters and reservists.
Should Hezbollah become involved in the ongoing conflict, it would create a multifront war, introducing a high level of unpredictability and potentially pushing the Middle East into uncharted territory with uncertain consequences.
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Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding, But Still Accounting 48% Search Revenue

Google is so closely associated with its key product that its name is a verb that signifies “search.” However, Google’s dominance in that sector is dwindling.
According to eMarketer, Google will lose control of the US search industry for the first time in decades next year.
Google will remain the dominant search player, accounting for 48% of American search advertising revenue. And, remarkably, Google is still increasing its sales in the field, despite being the dominating player in search since the early days of the George W. Bush administration. However, Amazon is growing at a quicker rate.
Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding
Amazon will hold over a quarter of US search ad dollars next year, rising to 27% by 2026, while Google will fall even more, according to eMarketer.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the forecast.
Lest you think you’ll have to switch to Bing or Yahoo, this isn’t the end of Google or anything really near.
Google is the fourth-most valued public firm in the world. Its market worth is $2.1 trillion, trailing just Apple, Microsoft, and the AI chip darling Nvidia. It also maintains its dominance in other industries, such as display advertisements, where it dominates alongside Facebook’s parent firm Meta, and video ads on YouTube.
To put those “other” firms in context, each is worth more than Delta Air Lines’ total market value. So, yeah, Google is not going anywhere.
Nonetheless, Google faces numerous dangers to its operations, particularly from antitrust regulators.
On Monday, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that Google must open up its Google Play Store to competitors, dealing a significant blow to the firm in its long-running battle with Fortnite creator Epic Games. Google announced that it would appeal the verdict.
In August, a federal judge ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly on search. That verdict could lead to the dissolution of the company’s search operation. Another antitrust lawsuit filed last month accuses Google of abusing its dominance in the online advertising business.
Meanwhile, European regulators have compelled Google to follow tough new standards, which have resulted in multiple $1 billion-plus fines.

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Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding
On top of that, the marketplace is becoming more difficult on its own.
TikTok, the fastest-growing social network, is expanding into the search market. And Amazon has accomplished something few other digital titans have done to date: it has established a habit.
When you want to buy anything, you usually go to Amazon, not Google. Amazon then buys adverts to push companies’ products to the top of your search results, increasing sales and earning Amazon a greater portion of the revenue. According to eMarketer, it is expected to generate $27.8 billion in search revenue in the United States next year, trailing only Google’s $62.9 billion total.
And then there’s AI, the technology that (supposedly) will change everything.
Why search in stilted language for “kendall jenner why bad bunny breakup” or “police moving violation driver rights no stop sign” when you can just ask OpenAI’s ChatGPT, “What’s going on with Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny?” in “I need help fighting a moving violation involving a stop sign that wasn’t visible.” Google is working on exactly this technology with its Gemini product, but its success is far from guaranteed, especially with Apple collaborating with OpenAI and other businesses rapidly joining the market.
A Google spokeswoman referred to a blog post from last week in which the company unveiled ads in its AI overviews (the AI-generated text that appears at the top of search results). It’s Google’s way of expressing its ability to profit on a changing marketplace while retaining its business, even as its consumers steadily transition to ask-and-answer AI and away from search.
Google has long used a single catchphrase to defend itself against opponents who claim it is a monopoly abusing its power: competition is only a click away. Until recently, that seemed comically obtuse. Really? We are going to switch to Bing? Or Duck Duck Go? Give me a break.
But today, it feels more like reality.
Google is in no danger of disappearing. However, every highly dominating company faces some type of reckoning over time. GE, a Dow mainstay for more than a century, was broken up last year and is now a shell of its previous dominance. Sears declared bankruptcy in 2022 and is virtually out of business. US Steel, long the foundation of American manufacturing, is attempting to sell itself to a Japanese corporation.
SOURCE | CNN
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The Supreme Court Turns Down Biden’s Government Appeal in a Texas Emergency Abortion Matter.

(VOR News) – A ruling that prohibits emergency abortions that contravene the Supreme Court law in the state of Texas, which has one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the country, has been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. The United States Supreme Court upheld this decision.
The justices did not provide any specifics regarding the underlying reasons for their decision to uphold an order from a lower court that declared hospitals cannot be legally obligated to administer abortions if doing so would violate the law in the state of Texas.
Institutions are not required to perform abortions, as stipulated in the decree. The common populace did not investigate any opposing viewpoints. The decision was made just weeks before a presidential election that brought abortion to the forefront of the political agenda.
This decision follows the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that ended abortion nationwide.
In response to a request from the administration of Vice President Joe Biden to overturn the lower court’s decision, the justices expressed their disapproval.
The government contends that hospitals are obligated to perform abortions in compliance with federal legislation when the health or life of an expectant patient is in an exceedingly precarious condition.
This is the case in regions where the procedure is prohibited. The difficulty hospitals in Texas and other states are experiencing in determining whether or not routine care could be in violation of stringent state laws that prohibit abortion has resulted in an increase in the number of complaints concerning pregnant women who are experiencing medical distress being turned away from emergency rooms.
The administration cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in a case that bore a striking resemblance to the one that was presented to it in Idaho at the beginning of the year. The justices took a limited decision in that case to allow the continuation of emergency abortions without interruption while a lawsuit was still being heard.
In contrast, Texas has been a vocal proponent of the injunction’s continued enforcement. Texas has argued that its circumstances are distinct from those of Idaho, as the state does have an exemption for situations that pose a significant hazard to the health of an expectant patient.
According to the state, the discrepancy is the result of this exemption. The state of Idaho had a provision that safeguarded a woman’s life when the issue was first broached; however, it did not include protection for her health.
Certified medical practitioners are not obligated to wait until a woman’s life is in imminent peril before they are legally permitted to perform an abortion, as determined by the state supreme court.
The state of Texas highlighted this to the Supreme Court.
Nevertheless, medical professionals have criticized the Texas statute as being perilously ambiguous, and a medical board has declined to provide a list of all the disorders that are eligible for an exception. Furthermore, the statute has been criticized for its hazardous ambiguity.
For an extended period, termination of pregnancies has been a standard procedure in medical treatment for individuals who have been experiencing significant issues. It is implemented in this manner to prevent catastrophic outcomes, such as sepsis, organ failure, and other severe scenarios.
Nevertheless, medical professionals and hospitals in Texas and other states with strict abortion laws have noted that it is uncertain whether or not these terminations could be in violation of abortion prohibitions that include the possibility of a prison sentence. This is the case in regions where abortion prohibitions are exceedingly restrictive.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which resulted in restrictions on the rights of women to have abortions in several Republican-ruled states, the Texas case was revisited in 2022.
As per the orders that were disclosed by the administration of Vice President Joe Biden, hospitals are still required to provide abortions in cases that are classified as dire emergency.
As stipulated in a piece of health care legislation, the majority of hospitals are obligated to provide medical assistance to patients who are experiencing medical distress. This is in accordance with the law.
The state of Texas maintained that hospitals should not be obligated to provide abortions throughout the litigation, as doing so would violate the state’s constitutional prohibition on abortions. In its January judgment, the 5th United States Circuit Court of Appeals concurred with the state and acknowledged that the administration had exceeded its authority.
SOURCE: AP
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Supreme Court Rejects Appeal From ‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli, To repay $6.4 Million

Washington — The Supreme Court rejected Martin Shkreli’s appeal on Monday, after he was branded “Pharma Bro” for raising the price of a lifesaving prescription.
Martin appealed a decision to repay $64.6 million in profits he and his former company earned after monopolizing the pharmaceutical market and dramatically raising its price. His lawyers claimed the money went to his company rather than him personally.
The justices did not explain their reasoning, as is customary, and there were no notable dissents.
Prosecutors, conversely, claimed that the firm had promised to pay $40 million in a settlement and that because Martin orchestrated the plan, he should be held accountable for returning profits.
Supreme Court Rejects Appeal From ‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli
Martin was also forced to forfeit the Wu-Tang Clan’s unreleased album “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” which has been dubbed the world’s rarest musical album. The multiplatinum hip-hop group auctioned off a single copy of the record in 2015, stipulating that it not be used commercially.
Shkreli was convicted of lying to investors and defrauding them of millions of dollars in two unsuccessful hedge funds he managed. Shkreli was the CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals (later Vyera), which hiked the price of Daraprim from $13.50 to $750 per pill after acquiring exclusive rights to the decades-old medicine in 2015. It cures a rare parasite condition that affects pregnant women, cancer patients, and HIV patients.
He defended the choice as an example of capitalism in action, claiming that insurance and other programs ensured that those in need of Daraprim would eventually receive it. However, the move prompted criticism, from the medical community to Congress.
Supreme Court Rejects Appeal From ‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli
Attorney Thomas Huff said the Supreme Court’s Monday ruling was upsetting, but the high court could still overturn a lower court judgment that allowed the $64 million penalty order even though Shkreli had not personally received the money.
“If and when the Supreme Court does so, Mr. Shkreli will have a strong argument for modifying the order accordingly,” he told reporters.
Shkreli was freed from prison in 2022 after serving most of his seven-year sentence.
SOURCE | AP
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