Saudi Arabia ‘does not accept’ presidential vacuum threatening Lebanon’s stability: envoy

Special Saudi Arabia ‘does not accept’ presidential vacuum threatening Lebanon’s stability: envoy
Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Lebanon Walid Al-Bukhari, right, and leader of the Lebanese Forces party Samir Geagea, Maarab, Lebanon, May 2, 2023. (Twitter/@DrSamirGeagea)
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Updated 03 May 2023
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Saudi Arabia ‘does not accept’ presidential vacuum threatening Lebanon’s stability: envoy

Saudi Arabia ‘does not accept’ presidential vacuum threatening Lebanon’s stability: envoy
  • Envoy Walid Al-Bukhari highlighted the need to ‘expedite the election of a president capable of fulfilling the aspirations of the Lebanese people’
  • Al-Bukhari: ‘We do not accept the ongoing presidential vacuum that threatens the stability and unity of the Lebanese people’

BEIRUT: Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Lebanon on Wednesday said it was vital Lebanese political leaders elected a new president as soon as possible to safeguard the crises-hit country’s stability.

After meeting Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, envoy Walid Al-Bukhari highlighted the need to “expedite the election of a president capable of fulfilling the aspirations of the Lebanese people.”

He added: “We do not accept the ongoing presidential vacuum that threatens the stability and unity of the Lebanese people.”

Returning from a vacation in Saudi Arabia, Al-Bukhari on Wednesday

held talks with several Lebanese officials.

In a tweet following discussions with Lebanon’s grand mufti, Sheikh Abdellatif Deryan, at Dar Al-Fatwa, Al-Bukhari said: “The meeting was an opportunity for us to review the latest developments on the Lebanese scene, especially the presidential deadline and its importance in addition to a number of issues of mutual interest.”

According to Deryan’s office, the Saudi ambassador had noted the “constant communication with Dar Al-Fatwa, the religious and national reference that guarantees the unity of Lebanon and its people.”

Al-Bukhari pointed out the Kingdom’s support for Lebanon, its institutions, and Islamic-Christian coexistence, and hoped the nation would “witness stability and a promising future.”

Deryan said: “Saudi Arabia’s role in Lebanon is essential, as it is in the Arab and international arena.

“Electing a president and stabilizing Lebanon, as well as its prosperity and development, are responsibilities that fall on the Lebanese first and foremost, and then on the Arab brothers and friendly countries that support and provide assistance.

“Any settlement related to the election of the president, local or external, must be worked on to restore respect for the state, its institutions, and sovereignty in all fields.”

The presidential vacuum in Lebanon has entered its seventh month after MPs failed to secure a quorum during 12 attempted voting sessions.

Political division between Hezbollah and its allies, and also the opposition and reformists continue to prevent a solution to the matter.

The economic crisis gripping Lebanon has led to the collapse of its national currency and pushed more than half of the population into poverty.

“Dar Al-Fatwa welcomes any internal or external endeavor to end the Lebanese tragedy in which citizens pay high economic, living, social, and security prices that exceed the capacity of the Lebanese.

“Lebanon and its people are keen to have brotherly cooperation with the Kingdom and its leadership, which always works to preserve Lebanon and its Arab and cultural role in this region, as well as strives to defend the issues of Arabs and Muslims everywhere in the world,” Deryan added.

In a statement on Tuesday, the US State Department also urged “a solution from within Lebanon and not from the international community” to elect a president “free from corruption and capable of unifying the country.”

Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the State Department, said: “The US urges political leaders in Lebanon to act urgently to elect a president to unify the country and adopt the necessary reforms quickly to save the economy from its crisis.

“Lebanese leaders should not put their personal interests and ambitions above the interests of their country and people.

“Lebanon needs a president who is free from corruption and capable of unifying the country and implementing fundamental economic reforms, including those required to secure an agreement on a program with the International Monetary Fund,” Miller added.

Separately, Mojtaba Amani, the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, met Gebran Bassil, head of the Free Patriotic Movement.

According to his media office, the Iranian envoy “informed Bassil of the Iranian-Saudi negotiation process and points of agreement,” and reiterated “Iran’s stance not to intervene in the internal Lebanese affairs and support whatever the Lebanese agree upon.”

Internal attempts to reach a compromise between the political forces have failed.

Suleiman Franjieh is still the only presidential candidate backed by Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, while most of the Christian forces and reformists in Lebanon are against the choice.

Parliament Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab has been meeting political leaders for days to hold a parliamentary dialogue. After talks with Sami Gemayel, head of the Kataeb Party, he said: “We have to start with the basics first, meaning that we have to define the role of the president before suggesting names.

“Timing is very important, and we can’t wait forever to find a solution. I am holding these meetings with this in mind.”

Gemayel said: “We are open to any solution that would take us to a new phase based on the sovereignty of the state, the freedom of the decision-making process in the country, and the establishment of a strong economy.

“However, we will oppose any solution that leaves the country in its current state. The problem is with the party that always imposes its decision on the Lebanese and prevents any possibility to advance.

“Electing Suleiman Franjieh, head of the Marada Movement, will be a continuation of the past six years because of his political stance, and will lead to the death of Lebanon and the migration of its young people. We will oppose this choice through various means available.”

Bou Saab also visited the Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi and met the Tajadod parliamentary bloc, which includes the opposition presidential candidate Michel Mouawad. He also met Samir Geagea, head of the Lebanese Forces.

Lebanese Forces MP Ghassan Hasbani questioned the point of the dialogue “at a time when, for Hezbollah, it’s either Suleiman Franjieh or the presidential vacuum.”

The Maronite Archbishops Council urged the Lebanese deputies, “to benefit from the regional and international positive signs regarding the window available to elect a new president and avoid whatever would undermine the hopes of the Lebanese to overcome the series of devastating crises afflicting their lives due to the difficulty of electing a president.”


Kataeb Hezbollah militia: Operations against US forces to continue until last American exist Iraq

Kataeb Hezbollah militia: Operations against US forces to continue until last American exist Iraq
Updated 41 sec ago
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Kataeb Hezbollah militia: Operations against US forces to continue until last American exist Iraq

Kataeb Hezbollah militia: Operations against US forces to continue until last American exist Iraq

BAGHDAD: Iraq's Kataeb Hezbollah militia said on Satirday operations against US forces would continue until the exit of the last American soldier from Iraq.

More to follow...

 


NGOs urge WFP, Houthis to resolve relief standoff to avert famine in Yemen

NGOs urge WFP, Houthis to resolve relief standoff to avert famine in Yemen
Updated 09 December 2023
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NGOs urge WFP, Houthis to resolve relief standoff to avert famine in Yemen

NGOs urge WFP, Houthis to resolve relief standoff to avert famine in Yemen
  • The WFP suspended the distribution of humanitarian aid in areas under Houthi control last week
  • To avert an impending famine in war-torn Yemen, the organizations proposed that the WFP and the Houthis reach an agreement

AL-KUKALLA: Twenty-two humanitarian groups working in Yemen have urged the Iran-backed Houthis and the World Food Programme to resolve their assistance distribution dispute as soon as possible to prevent widespread starvation.
The WFP suspended the distribution of humanitarian aid in areas under Houthi control last week, citing funding shortages and a dispute with the Houthis as the reasons.
The Houthis denied a UN proposal to reduce the number of recipients of aid from 9.5 million to 6.5 million, the organization said, following nearly a year of negotiations.
The 22 international organizations, which included Islamic Relief, OXFAM, Save the Children, Qatar Charity, and others, expressed “grave” concern about the impact of the food delivery suspension on Yemen’s already dire humanitarian situation in the Houthi-controlled areas.
“After years of conflict and economic decline, food aid is a lifeline for millions of Yemenis and suspending it as the country works toward peace is a catastrophic scenario. We understand the fears and concerns of the affected Yemeni people, and we stand in solidarity with them,” the organizations said in their joint appeal.
To avert an impending famine in war-torn Yemen, the organizations proposed that the WFP and the Houthis reach an agreement that would allow humanitarian aid delivery to resume in Sanaa and other Houthi-controlled districts and that international donors quickly mobilize additional funding to reduce the impact of the aid suspension, focusing on food, health, and cash aid.
“The sooner an agreement is reached, the more likelihood of averting the risk of famine conditions returning to Yemen,” the statement continued.
Yemen’s war, which began in late 2014 after the Houthis seized power militarily, has resulted in the death of tens of thousands of Yemenis and has triggered what the UN has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The WFP dispute with the Houthis is the latest in a series of incidents in which the militia has harassed humanitarian workers and obstructed the delivery of assistance in Yemen.
In their latest report on Yemen, the UN Panel of Experts said that life-saving humanitarian goods and medicine have expired before reaching their intended recipients due to the Houthis’ obstruction of aid delivery.
The panel also accused the Houthis of diverting humanitarian funding to their backers and selling aid items in detention centers, in addition to removing the names of those who oppose their policies from the list of aid recipients.


El-Sisi poised for third term as Egyptians head to the polls

El-Sisi poised for third term as Egyptians head to the polls
Updated 09 December 2023
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El-Sisi poised for third term as Egyptians head to the polls

El-Sisi poised for third term as Egyptians head to the polls
  • Analyst sees election as precursor to new era of political diversity
  • 9,400 polling stations set up

CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is looking to secure six more years in power in the country’s presidential election, which takes place Dec. 10-12.
The president is competing against three other candidates: Abdel-Sanad Yamama of the Wafd Party, the oldest Egyptian party; Hazem Omar, head of the Republican People’s Party; and Farid Zahran of the Social Democratic Party.
Parliamentary representative Mohammed Maher El-Sebaei said: “This is a significant moment, especially for the youth, who represent 65 percent of the population.”
El-Sebaei emphasized the critical role of young Egyptians in shaping the future through voting, calling the election a “democratic celebration, marking the fifth multi-party election in Egypt’s history.”
Shawkat Al-Assar, a political analyst, emphasized that the election could provide an opportunity for broader participation and expression of opinions and said he views it as a precursor to a new era of political diversity and expansion of the public sphere.
Vote counting is scheduled to begin as soon as the polls close on Tuesday. Around 9,400 polling stations have been set up across the country and 15,000 judicial employees will be working at them over the three days of the election, supervising the procedures and transporting the ballots to where they will be counted.
The Egyptian National Elections Authority said around 11,631 sub-polling committees had been set up at the stations, which include schools, youth centers, and health units.
The authority has also invited all accredited diplomatic missions in Egypt to observe the electoral process. So far, 24 embassies have expressed their interest in observing, and 67 diplomats have registered for monitoring.
Additionally, 14 international organizations and 62 local civil-society organizations have been approved to monitor the voting, with 22,340 people receiving permits.
Officials said 528 professionals from 115 international media outlets and 4,218 from 70 local outlets have been accredited to cover proceedings.
Dedicated phone lines and video-call services with sign language interpreters will also be available and arrangements have been made to ensure that the elderly, those with special needs, and those with impaired sight or hearing will be able to vote.
Dr. Iman Karim, general supervisor of the National Council for Persons with Disabilities, said that the council had been proactive in ensuring the participation of disabled people.
The polling stations will be open from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. on all three days of the election.


Children of Iran Nobel Peace Prize winner fear they won’t see her again

Children of Iran Nobel Peace Prize winner fear they won’t see her again
Updated 09 December 2023
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Children of Iran Nobel Peace Prize winner fear they won’t see her again

Children of Iran Nobel Peace Prize winner fear they won’t see her again
  • Her twin 17-year-old children are due to accept the award at Oslo’s City Hall and give the Nobel Peace Prize lecture on her behalf
  • In a letter smuggled out of prison and published by Swedish broadcaster SVT this week, Mohammadi said she would continue to fight for human rights even if it led to her death

OSLO: The teenage children of jailed Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi fear they will never meet their mother again, but said they were proud of her struggle for women’s rights as they prepared to accept the award on her behalf on Sunday.
Mohammadi, 51, who is serving multiple sentences in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison on charges including spreading propaganda, won the award on Oct. 6 in a rebuke to Tehran’s theocratic leaders, prompting the Islamic Republic’s condemnation.
Her twin 17-year-old children, Ali and Kiana Rahman, who live in exile in Paris, are due to accept the award at Oslo’s City Hall and give the Nobel Peace Prize lecture on her behalf.
In a letter smuggled out of prison and published by Swedish broadcaster SVT this week, Mohammadi said she would continue to fight for human rights even if it led to her death. But she said she missed her children the most.
Kiana Rahman, who last saw her mother eight years ago, said: “When it comes to seeing her again, personally I am very pessimistic.”
“Maybe I’ll see her in 30 or 40 years, but I think I won’t see her again,” she told a press conference via a translator. “But that doesn’t matter because my mother will always live on in my heart and with my family.”
Mohammadi was awarded the Peace Prize just over a year after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in the custody of Iranian morality police after being detained for allegedly violating the rules of wearing a hijab, an Islamic head scarf.
Amini’s death provoked months of nationwide protests that posed the biggest challenge to Shiite clerical rule in years, and was met with a deadly security crackdown costing several hundred lives.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said the award for Mohammadi also recognized hundreds of thousands who had demonstrated against the theocratic regime’s policies discriminating and oppressing women.
Iran has called the protests Western-led subversion, accusing the Nobel committee of meddling and politicizing human rights.
Mohammadi’s son Ali said he had accepted from early childhood that the family would live apart, but said he would stay optimistic he might see her again.
“If we don’t see her again we will always be proud of her and go on with our struggle,” he said.
Mohammadi’s husband Taghi Rahmani said the award would give her a larger voice even if her own conditions were likely to become more difficult.
“It’s a political prize and therefore there will be more pressure on Narges, but at the same time it is going to create a space for echoing the voice of the people” said Rahmani, who will also attend Sunday’s ceremony.
Mohammadi is the 19th woman to win the prize, which today is worth 11 million Swedish crowns, or around $1 million, and the fifth person to win it while in detention.
It is awarded on Dec. 10, the anniversary of the death of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, who founded the awards in his 1895 will.


Iran says reviving nuclear deal ‘useless’

Iran says reviving nuclear deal ‘useless’
Updated 09 December 2023
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Iran says reviving nuclear deal ‘useless’

Iran says reviving nuclear deal ‘useless’
  • “Today, the more we advance, the more the JCPOA becomes useless,” Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said
  • “We are not currently on the path to return to the agreement”

TEHRAN: Iran said Saturday that attempting to revive its landmark nuclear deal with world powers that was effectively scrapped by former US president Donald Trump was increasingly “useless.”
“Today, the more we advance, the more the JCPOA becomes useless,” Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in a speech to students at the University of Tehran, using the initials of the official name of the nuclear deal.
In 2015, Iran agreed to curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for a lifting of sanctions.
But while the deal was signed with several world powers — including China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany — it was rendered effectively useless when the United States unilaterally withdrew under Trump in 2018.
With the US reimposing sanctions, international banks and businesses have stayed away from Iran for fear of falling foul of US regulators.
Tentative efforts to revive the deal by Trump’s successor, Joe Biden, have been at a standstill since mid-2022.
“Because (Iran’s) red lines have sometimes been ignored by the other side, we are not currently on the path to return to the agreement,” Amir-Abdollahian said.
“Of course, this does not mean that we have set the agreement aside. If the agreement serves our interests, (we will accept it) with all its flaws,” he added.
The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, called in October on the international community not to fail in Iran as it did in North Korea, which now has nuclear weapons.
Iran says its nuclear program is entirely peaceful, but since 2021 the UN body has struggled to monitor the development of its capabilities.