• A residential building in Tripoli's Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood collapsed Sun⁠day, killing 14 people and injuring several others as rescue operations concluded Mon⁠day.
• Civil Defense Director Imad Khreish confirmed 8 survivors were rescued from the rubble of the two-section building that housed 22 residents across six floors in each section.
• Mayor Abdel Hamid Karimeh declared Tripoli a "disaster-stricken city" due to unsafe buildings, citing municipal statistics showing 105 buildings requiring immediate evacuation warnings.
• This marks the second deadly collapse in Tripoli within a month, following a Jan⁠uary incident that killed two people in the Qubba area.

The backstory: Lebanon's building crisis stems from illegal construction during the 1975-1990 civil war, weak regulatory oversight, and owners adding floors without permits. The economic crisis has left residents unable to afford repairs or alternative housing.

Why it matters: The recurring collapses expose decades of regulatory failure and highlight how Lebanon's economic crisis has turned basic housing into a deadly gamble for thousands of citizens.

• Prime Minister Nawaf Salam concluded his two-day southern tour Sun⁠day, visiting Kfar Kila, Marjeyoun, Kfar Shouba, and Kfar Hamam to assess war damage and pledge state authority restoration.
• In Kfar Kila, where 90 percent of buildings were destroyed by Israeli forces, Salam promised infrastructure reconstruction would begin "within the coming weeks" including roads and utilities.
• The P⁠M received warm welcomes from residents and politicians across sectarian lines, including Hezbollah and Amal representatives as well as opposition MPs, signaling broad support for state presence.
• Salam emphasized that "the state has long been absent from the South" but declared the government's commitment to "continue making Israel commit" to ceasefire terms while rebuilding simultaneously.

Zooming out: Salam's tour represents the first significant government presence in the South since the ceasefire, testing whether Lebanon's weak state can assert authority in Hezbollah's traditional stronghold.

• Israeli forces seized al-Jamaa al-Islamiya official Atwi Atwi from southern Lebanon early Mon⁠day, taking him to Israel for interrogation in a targeted intelligence operation.
• The military accused the Sunni Islamist group of "encouraging terrorist attacks," while simultaneously conducting a drone strike on a car in Yanouh village that killed 3 people including a child.
• Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya condemned the "kidnapping" and called on Lebanese authorities to pressure ceasefire sponsors for Atwi's release, questioning whether this was retaliation for Salam's southern tour.
• The group's armed wing, Fajr Forces, had joined Hezbollah in attacking Israel during the war, launching rockets in support of Hamas after Oct⁠ober 2023.

What to watch: These violations test the ceasefire's durability and Lebanon's ability to respond diplomatically while Israeli forces continue operating in southern Lebanon with apparent impunity.

• Hong Kong's court sentenced 78-year-old media mogul Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison for national security offences, marking the harshest penalty under China's 2020 law.
• The founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper was convicted of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and seditious publication, with judges calling him the "mastermind" of foreign collusion conspiracies.
• Human Rights Watch described the sentence as "effectively a death sentence" for the British citizen, while UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called it "tantamount to a life sentence" given his age and poor health.
• The case symbolizes Hong Kong's transformation from a free city to one where dissent is crushed, with Lai's arrest in 2020 following Beijing's national security law imposition.

The bigger picture: Lai's harsh sentence demonstrates Beijing's determination to eliminate press freedom in Hong Kong and serves as a warning to other pro-democracy activists worldwide.

• Japanese stocks reached record highs following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's landslide election victory, giving her ruling Liberal Democratic Party its biggest parliamentary majority in decades.
• The Nikkei index surged as investors welcomed political stability and Takaichi's pro-business policies, while wage growth data paved the way for potential Bank of Japan rate increases.
• LDP lawmaker Rui Matsukawa outlined the administration's fiscal policy outlook, emphasizing continued economic reforms and infrastructure investment following the electoral mandate.

What to watch: Takaichi's commanding majority enables ambitious economic reforms that could reshape Japan's monetary policy and regional influence amid growing geopolitical tensions.

• Iranian authorities sentenced Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi to an additional 7.5 years in prison for "conspiracy" and "propaganda," bringing her total sentences to over 44 years.
• The human rights campaigner was hospitalized due to poor health during a hunger strike before being returned to Tehran's notorious Evin prison, where she has spent most of two decades.
• Her lawyer Mostafa Nili confirmed the sentencing came after Mohammadi was arrested in Dec⁠ember while attending a memorial service for human rights lawyer Khosrow Alikordi, who died under disputed circumstances.

Zooming out: The harsh additional sentence reflects Iran's escalating crackdown on dissent and demonstrates the regime's disregard for international condemnation of its human rights abuses.