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Lebanon abandoned by international community – ex PM

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4 months ago

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Lebanon’s prime minister at the time of its last war with Israel in 2006 has told the BBC his country has been abandoned by the international community.

Fouad Siniora said it was unacceptable to leave Lebanon to fall, and there was a lack of initiative when it came to trying to restore peace.

“We are now in a very difficult situation that requires real effort locally, as well on the Arab side and internationally.

“You can push things – sometimes to the brink of falling – in a major catastrophe without really realising what it means later on.

“It’s happening at a time when the American administration is so busy with the elections.

“And we are unable to elect a president, because some groups in the country, particularly Hezbollah, have been insisting that they want a president that will not stab that group in the back,” Siniora said.

The last war between Lebanon and Israel, nearly 20 years ago, began when Hezbollah fighters crossed the border and attacked Israeli soldiers. Two were kidnapped and three were killed, sparking a month-long conflict.

In the days that followed, Siniora made a public statement distancing the Lebanese government from what had happened.

He thinks the country’s current leaders have failed their people by not doing the same thing.

“This government did not do what my government did that day. My government was very clear and determined in stating that we were not aware, and we were not informed, of Hezbollah’s plan to cross the Blue Line on the border and to kidnap and kill Israeli soldiers.

“This time there hasn’t been any move made by the Lebanese government. The advantage of what we did is that we created a distance between the Lebanese government and Lebanon on the one hand, and Hezbollah on the other,” he explained.

Israel’s military says it is hitting Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, including in the capital Beirut
© EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

 

Siniora is unflinching in his assessment of Lebanon’s lost sovereignty.

“Practically, Lebanon as a state has been kidnapped by Hezbollah. And behind Hezbollah is Iran.

“This gun that was held by Hezbollah, instead of being pointed towards Israel, started to be pointed domestically and started to be used as a way for Iran to interfere in Syria, in Iraq, in Yemen. Lebanon can’t get involved in such a war.”

Siniora was also one of the architects of UN resolution 1701, the agreement which ended the 2006 war.

Among its conditions was that a swathe of southern Lebanon – the area south of the landmark Litani river – should be kept as a buffer zone between the two sides, free of any Hezbollah fighters or weapons.

Despite the deployment of the UN peacekeeping force Unifil and the presence of the Lebanese army, that didn’t happen. Hezbollah’s people, and its military infrastructure, remained bedded into the area.

This vacuum at the top of the Lebanese political system has made Hezbollah’s influence on the country particularly difficult to control.

Lebanon has been without a properly functioning government since its last set of elections in 2022, being run instead by a caretaker administration.

When President Michel Aoun’s term ended nearly two years ago, lawmakers couldn’t agree on his replacement – so the job remains empty. Many Lebanese believe leadership is in short supply.

Siniora is also clear that the conflict in Lebanon should not be inextricably linked to the current year-old war in Gaza.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has visited regional capitals, calling for simultaneous ceasefires in both Lebanon and Gaza.

“Since October 2023 things have been dragging and getting worse and worse. Many chances were made available to dissociate the Lebanese situation from Gaza. It’s very important nationally and from an Arab point of view to associate with Gaza,” Siniora said.

“But particularly now Lebanon cannot afford, in principle, to get involved in such a matter.

“When the Gaza situation has become 2.2 million Palestinians homeless and all of Gaza destroyed, to continue to link Lebanon’s situation with Gaza is not wise.”

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Politics

‘Time for American people to know TRUTH’: Donald Trump orders declassification of assassination files of John F Kennedy, Martin Luther King

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1 hour ago

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January 24, 2025

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US President-elect Donald Trump (File photo: Reuters) © Provided by Asian News International (ANI)
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Washington, DC [US], January 24 (ANI): United States President Donald Trumpsigned the executive order ordering the declassification of records regarding the assassinations of President John F Kennedy, Senator Robert F Kennedy, and the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr, and said it is time for the American people to know the “truth”.

Sharing the detailed document, the White House stated, “Providing Americans with the truth after six decades of secrecy.”

“The Executive Order establishes the policy that, more than 50 years after these assassinations, the victims’ families and the American people deserve the truth,” the statement added.

Specifically, the order directs the Director of National Intelligence and other appropriate officials to Present a plan within 15 days for the full and complete release of all John F Kennedyassassination records and Immediately review the records relating to the Robert F Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr assassinations and present a plan for their full and complete release within 45 days.

Notably, In Trump’s first term, he ordered agencies to move toward disclosing more information about the John F Kennedy assassination

According to the White House, the President John F Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 required all records related to the assassination be released in 25 years, absent a presidential certification that: Continued postponement is necessary due to identifiable harm to the military defence, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or conduct of foreign relations; and Such identifiable harm is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

“In October 2017 and April 2018 certifications, President Trump directed agencies to reevaluate redactions and disclose any information that no longer warranted withholding. President Biden delayed disclosure in 2021, 2022, and 2023,” the statement added.

Trump said the continued withholding of the John F Kennedy records is “not in the public interest and is long overdue”, while further adding that releasing the Robert F Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassination records is in the ‘public interest’.

Notably, it was President Trump’s campaign promise to release assassination records to give Americans the truth.

President Trump pledged on multiple occasions to release the JFK files, specifically stating in June 2024 that he would do so “early on.”

“When I return to the White House, I will declassify and unseal all JFK assassination-related documents. It’s been 60 years, time for the American people to know the TRUTH!” Trump stated. (ANI)

Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info

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Niger Explosion: Governance must prioritize human lives through proactive policies – Peter Obi

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18 hours ago

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January 23, 2025

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Peter Obi, former governor and 2023 presidential candidate, has called for urgent safety measures to prevent recurring disasters like the tragic petrol tanker explosion that claimed over 100 lives in Suleja, Niger State.

Obi made this appeal during his visit to the site of the explosion, the gravesite, and the Sarkin Dikko palace along the Dikko-Maje Road.

“Today, emotion took the greater part of me as I left Lagos this morning and headed to the site of the tragic petrol tanker explosion, the gravesite, and also the Sarkin Dikko place along the Dikko-Maje Road in Suleja, Niger State, where over 100 lives were lost, more than 50 injured, and many properties destroyed,” Obi shared on his official X handle on Wednesday.

At the explosion site and the graveyard, where 80 victims were buried, Obi expressed sorrow over the preventable tragedy.

He also visited some of the injured victims at the hospital, offering them support and encouragement.

“These recurring disasters call for urgent safety measures: repairing roads, more enlightenment of tanker vehicle operators, investing in healthcare, and lifting people out of poverty to prevent such heartbreaking losses,” he added.

Obi extended his condolences and solidarity to the Dikko community during his meeting with Sarkin Dikko and his council.

He revealed the importance of proactive governance to safeguard human lives.

“Human lives are invaluable, and governance must prioritize their protection through proactive policies,” he stated.

“Together, we can ensure such tragedies become a thing of the past,” he said.

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Saudi crown prince says kingdom intends to invest billions in US during call with Trump

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19 hours ago

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January 23, 2025

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President Donald Trump meets with then deputy crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the White house on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017 Evan Vucci/Copyright 2017 The AP. All rights reserved.
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Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said on Thursday that the kingdom wants to invest $600 billion (€576 billion) in the United States over the next four years after a phone call with US President Donald Trump.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s comments come after Trump mused about returning to Saudi Arabia as his first foreign trip back in office.

State-run Saudi Press Agency said, “the crown prince affirmed the kingdom’s intention to broaden its investments and trade with the United States over the next four years, in the amount of $600 billion (€576 bn), and potentially beyond that.”

The agency did not elaborate on exactly how the money would be spent.

During their conversation, the two also reportedly discussed ways the two countries could cooperate to establish peace, security and stability in the Middle East.

There was no immediate response from the White House regarding the call. It also wasn’t clear whether Trump’s call with the crown prince was his first with a foreign leader since returning to the Oval Office.

However, it was his first reported abroad.

Trump’s relationship with Saudi Arabia

After his inauguration, Trump talked about the possibility of heading to the kingdom again as his first foreign trip, like he did in 2017.

“The first foreign trip typically has been with the UK but… I did it with Saudi Arabia last time because they agreed to buy $450 billion (€429 bn) worth of our products,” Trump told journalists in the Oval Office.

“I think I’d probably go (again),” the recently inaugurated leader said.

In recent years, the US has increasingly pulled away from relying on Saudi oil exports — once the bedrock the relationship between the two nations.

Trump maintained close relations with Saudi Arabia, even after the crown prince was embroiled in controversy after he was implicated in the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul.

The billion dollar pledge, which dwarves the gross domestic product of many nations, comes as the kingdom faces budgetary pressures of its own. Global oil prices remain depressed years after the height of the coronavirus pandemic, affecting the kingdom’s revenues.

Meanwhile, the crown prince has continued to invest in NEOM, a new city in the Saudi Arabian desert. The country also needs to build tens of billions of dollar’s worth of new stadiums and infrastructure ahead of the 2034 FIFA World Cup, which it is hosting.

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