Lebanon's state electricity company has lost about $40 billion over past decades and delivers only a few hours of power a day. Qatar's prime minister visited Beirut and announced a plan to fix that: Qatari entities would finance, build and operate the plants, with no upfront cost to the Lebanese treasury.

• Under the Build-Operate-Transfer model, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Qatari entities would handle financing, implementation and operation, and he plans to put the plan to the Cabinet soon.
• QatarEnergy and France's TotalEnergies have agreed to jointly develop a solar power plant as the first project, which Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani called "massive."
• The International Finance Corporation (the World Bank's private-sector arm) is supporting preparation of the project.
• Salam called it an integrated project covering all energy sources and the infrastructure behind them, not a single plant.

Why it matters: Lebanon has heard electricity promises for decades, so the test is whether a Cabinet vote and signed contracts follow, since this one comes with Qatari financing attached.

France's foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, and Armed Forces minister Alice Rufo arrive this⁠ weekend to work out what international presence follows UNIFIL (the UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon). We reported that the US is blocking UNIFIL's mandate renewal and that the Dec⁠ember deadline looms. Paris now wants to prevent what it calls a "security vacuum."

• France says the visit aims to "prepare for the scheduled withdrawal of UNIFIL on Dec⁠. 31" and define the modalities of an international presence from Jan⁠. 1, 2027.
• The backdrop is a Lebanese-American-Israeli framework agreement from Jun⁠e. It provides for army deployment across the territory to disarm Hezbollah, and for Israeli withdrawal from the south.
• The ministers will meet President Joseph Aoun, Salam, Defense Minister Michel Menassa, Army Commander Rodolphe Haykal and Speaker Nabih Berri.
• France and Italy announced in Jun⁠e a multinational "coalition" for after UNIFIL. The EU also announced a training mission for the Lebanese army.

What to watch: Whether Paris leaves Beirut with a concrete post-UNIFIL formula, or a gap that persists into Jan⁠uary when the mandate ends.

Lebanon sits between a war in the Gulf and a deepening domestic divide. Against that backdrop, a column in the Beirut outlet Al Modon argues Lebanese should anchor their stance in Lebanese identity first. It is an opinion piece, not reporting.

• The author argues Lebanon should condemn outside interference in Arab affairs and back Arab states targeted by aggression, without joining any axis or alliance.
• It says blaming only Israel, or only the state, no longer persuades, since the authority is built from every part of Lebanese society.
• The writer says the state lacks the ability to contain illegal weapons alone, and that relying on the US "shepherd" brings requests without aid to match.

The bigger picture: The column puts into words a live debate over who sets Lebanon's foreign-policy line as regional wars intensify.

Iraq's prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi, filled out his government by naming Laith al-Khazali, a senior figure in Asaib Ahl al-Haq, an Iran-backed armed group that Washington has designated as terrorist. Diplomatic sources say the US signed off, in return for promises to disarm armed groups.

• Zaidi announced the completed cabinet Thurs⁠day night. Diplomatic sources told AFP he secured tacit US approval during his Sep⁠tember visit to the United States, where he met President Trump.
• The deal, per one source: Zaidi pledged to push his disarmament plans and guaranteed the groups will not attack US interests in Iraq.
• Asaib Ahl al-Haq won 27 seats in the latest parliamentary elections. It says it has begun handing over weapons.
• Kataeb Sayyid al-Shuhada, a faction that has claimed hundreds of attacks on US interests, secured the tourism ministry.

What to watch: Zaidi earlier dropped a Sep⁠tember 30 deadline for factions to hand over weapons, so the real test is whether the new Jun⁠e 30 target holds.

Starlink, Elon Musk's satellite internet service, has grown from a rural-broadband idea into a communications lifeline for armies, protesters and aid groups, which gives a private company real geopolitical weight. DW's explainer, updated this⁠ week, comes as Ukrainian units report data disruptions.

• The network runs on about 10,000 small satellites orbiting roughly 550 kilometers up, far lower than conventional internet satellites.
• In mid-Oct⁠ober, Ukrainian units reported disruptions that affected control of combat and reconnaissance drones. Musk said the US military and ultimately the president determine speed and use restrictions; who ordered the limits remains unclear.
• In Iran, thousands of smuggled terminals reportedly kept protest organizers connected during a shutdown. Using Starlink there is banned, with penalties ranging from six months in prison up to the death penalty in espionage cases.
• Rivals include Eutelsat's OneWeb, Amazon's Leo, China's Guowang and Qianfan, and the EU's IRIS2, which won't be fully operational before 2032.

Zooming out: As more governments build rival constellations, control of the sky above conflict zones is turning into a question of national security policy.

Between 1904 and 1908, German imperial forces waged a war of extermination in what is now Namibia, killing at least 100,000 Ovaherero, Nama and other people. A century on, Germany has not formally recognized it as genocide or apologized. This⁠ week the Bundestag, Germany's parliament, debated the issue again, with descendants watching from the gallery.

• The socialist Left Party tabled the resolution, calling for full recognition and compensation, worked out with descendants' representatives.
• Since 2021, the two governments have negotiated a joint declaration pledging €1.1 billion ($1.24 billion) in reconstruction aid to Namibia over 30 years. Once signed, Germany's president would issue a formal apology.
• Paramount Chief Mutjinde Katjiua of the Ovaherero rejects it, saying development aid cannot substitute for reparations.
• Germany's Foreign Ministry says legal claims to compensation cannot be derived from recognizing genocide.

The bigger picture: The row sits between two options on the table: recognition with aid, or recognition with reparations, and the gap between them has so far stalled the draft declaration.