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Lebanon: PM Hariri withdraws resignation, business back to normal

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Lebanon: PM Hariri withdraws resignation, business back to normal

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Cabinet decided to dissociate from regional conflict

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Sa’ad Hariri has officially announced withdrawing his resignation, what he did while he was in Saudi Arabia on November 4. He announced his decision after Lebanon’s cabinet voted to affirm it’s disengagement from regional conflicts on Tuesday.

According to almanar.com, Hariri read the final statement after the cabinet meeting and asserted that Lebanon remains stick to the “dissociation policy and Taef Accord”.

“The government has unanimously approved a statement pledging compliance with a policy of dissociation, the president’s oath of office in terms of dissociating the country from regional conflicts and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries,” he added.

President Michel Aoun and PM Hariri held a closed door meeting before the cabinet meeting.

Taef  accord was reached in 1989 to provide “the basis for ending of civil war and the return to political normalcy in Lebanon.”  Rafik Hariri, former Lebanese PM and father of Sa’ad Hariri, was once Saudi diplomatic representative who played constructive role in formulating the agreement. Sa’ad Hariri enjoys dual citizenship of both the countries: Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.

The Taef accord covered political reform, ending of civil war, establishment of special relations between Syria and Lebanon and a framework for the beginning of complete Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon.

Sa’ad Hariri had suddenly announced his resignation on November 4 from Riyadh. According to earlier reports Hariri received a telephonic call from Riyadh on November 3 asking him to travel the Kingdom without aides.  On his arrival at Riyadh airport his mobile was confiscated and no official came to receive him. He read his resignation live on Saudi official TV.

At that time, he alleged Iran for interfering in Lebanon’s internal affairs and Hezbollah for its involvement in the regional conflicts. Hariri also cited “threats” against his life similar to his father Rafik Hariri who was killed in a bomb explosion in Beirut in 2005.

The resistance group Hezbollah  played important role in crushing IS terrorists in Syria and Iraq on the invitation of the respective governments. The governments of Iran, Iraq and Syria and Lebanon’s Hezbollah along with Russian air power defeated Daesh (IS) in both the countries.

So far, Hariri has not revealed the details of what he went through before announcing his resignation in Riyadh. After the resignation he had a short visit to Abu Dhabi to meet the Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on November 7.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun had expressed fear of Hariri’s detention in Saudi Arabia. Reuters had confirmed on November 12 about the shocks Hariri went through immediately after his arrival in Riyadh. His location was kept secret that vindicated Aoun’s fear of Hariri being detained by Saudi authorities.

On November 13, Hariri chose to get himself interviewed by his party mouthpiece Future TV. Saudi authorities did not allow even Future TV crew to travel from Beirut to Riyadh for the conducting the interview. With crew and equipment from Saudi official TV, Hariri declared he was living free in Saudi Arabia. He explained that by resigning he “gave a positive shock” to protect his country from imminent danger and pledged to return to Beirut “within days”.

He travelled to France on November 18  to meet President Emmanuel Macron. He also met with Egyptian President Abdel Fettah el-Sisi  in Cairo  before returning to Beirut on November 21, one day before independence day celebrations on November 22.

However, on his first day in Beirut he met President Micheal Aoun and announced his intention to defer his resignation. He said, “Today, I presented my resignation to the president and he urged me to hold onto it for more dialogue about its reasons and its political underpinnings … and I accepted.”

According to Aljazeera, the Iranian-backed forces in Iraq, Yemen, and Syria are on the winning side of years-long conflicts against Saudi-backed armed groups. Hezbollah has been instrumental in assisting these forces, it said.

The reports also indicate that Hezbollah has agreed to the disassociation policy promising to withdraw its fighters from Iraq once the campaign against Daesh (IS) is declared over.

Recently Lebanese President Michel Aoun, had promised that Hezbollah fighters will return from neighbouring countries once IS was defeated. For now, these guarantees are enough to end Lebanon’s uncertainty, he said.

Aljazeera correspondent from Beirut Zeina Khodr says, “Clearly the political crisis is over. The cabinet met and it’s back in business and this country – which found itself in the middle of a Saudi-Iranian rivalry” is back to the political status quo before Hariri’s resignation.

Analysts believe that with Hariri’s decision to withdraw his resignation after Hezbollah’s commitment to return its fighters once war against Daesh (IS) is declared over, Saudi Arabia’s plot to ignite another war in Lebanon has failed.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Kremlin denies US media reports on Donald Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin

Donald Trump said on the campaign trail that he could end the fighting within hours and has indicated he would talk directly with Russian President Putin.

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Kremlin denies US media reports on Donald Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin

The Kremlin today denied a US media report that Russian President Vladimir Putin and US president-elect Donald Trump had spoken on the phone last week about the Ukraine conflict.

Earlier on Sunday, The Washington Post reported that Donald Trump spoke to Vladimir Pution on call, urging him not to inflame the conflict. Speaking on the matter, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media that the report was completely false information, and denied any phone call took place.

It was reported that US President-elect Donald Trump has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged him not to escalate the war in Ukraine. It said that Donald Trump held the call from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Thursday, just days after his stunning election victory over Democratic rival Kamala Harris. The report also mentioned that both the leaders expressed an interest in further conversations to discuss the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon.

Notably, Donald Trump said on the campaign trail that he could end the fighting within hours and has indicated he would talk directly with Russian President Putin. However, the US President elect has not said how he intends to strike a peace deal or what terms he is proposing.

Donald Trump’s election is seen as carrying the potential to upend the almost three-year Ukraine conflict, as he insists on a quick end to the fighting and casts doubt on Washington’s multi-billion dollar support for Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Trump on Wednesday, with the Republican’s billionaire backer Elon Musk also notably joining them on the call. Volodymyr Zelensky described the call as excellent, adding that he and Trump had agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation.

Additionally, the outgoing Democratic administration of President Joe Biden has confirmed that it will send as much aid as possible to Ukraine before Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the White House aims to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position on the battlefield so that it is ultimately in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.

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India calls out Canada’s move to ban Australia Today for airing S Jaishankar’s press conference

The MEA said that these actions yet again highlight the hypocrisy of Canada towards freedom of speech.

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India calls out Canada’s move to ban Australia Today for airing S Jaishankar's press conference

A few hours after Australia Today aired External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s press conference in Australia, Canada banned the outlet. The External Affairs Minister gave remarks on the India-Canada diplomatic standoff. 

Reacting to this, India on Thursday said it was surprised by Canada’s move to ban the outlet and emphasized that it highlighted Ottawa’s hypocrisy towards freedom of speech. Australia Today, which is an important outlet for the Indian community in the country, had aired the joint press conference of S Jaishankar and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong in Canberra.

In a weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that they understand that the social media handles, pages of this particular outlet, which is an important diaspora outlet, have been blocked and are not available for viewers in Canada. He continued that this happened just an hour or a few hours after this particular handle carried the press conference of S Jaishankar with Penny Wong. He called out the incident, mentioning that they are surprised, and the matter looks strange to them.

He further underlined that these are the actions which yet again highlight the hypocrisy of Canada towards freedom of speech. He noted that the External Affairs Minister spoke about three things: Canada making allegations and a pattern had developed without any specific evidence, surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada, which he termed as unacceptable, and  the political space which has been given in Canada to anti-India elements. 

With this one can draw conclusions, why Australia Today channel was blocked by Canada, the spokesperson said. Australia Today focuses on news and analytical pieces related to the Indian community in Australia and elsewhere across the world.

This incident follows days after devotees were attacked by pro-Khalistani at a Hindu temple in Canada’s Brampton, with S Jaishankar calling it deeply concerning. Furthermore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condemned the attack and said that there were cowardly attempts to intimidate Indian diplomats.

The diplomatic standoff between India and Canada began in September last year when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that Indian government agents might have been involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a claim outrightly rejected by New Delhi.

Later in October 2024, ties between both the countries nosedived when Canada termed the Indian High Commissioner a person of interest in its investigation into Nijjar’s murder. Issuing a strongly worded statement, India dismissed the fresh charge and recalled the envoy and some diplomats, while expelling six Canadian officials, including Canada’s acting High Commissioner.

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PM Modi congratulates Donald Trump on winning US President election

The Prime Minister urged Trump to work for the betterment of the people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated Donald Trump on winning the 2024 US Presidential election and said he is looking forward to renewing their collaboration to further strengthen the India-US partnership.

The Prime Minister urged Trump to work for the betterment of the people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity.

“Heartiest congratulations my friend @realDonaldTrump on your historic election victory. As you build on the successes of your previous term, I look forward to renewing our collaboration to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership. Together, let’s work for the betterment of our people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity,” PM Modi posted on his X handle.

With the results being announced for the 2024 US election on November 6, Trump became the 47th President of the United States.

Former US President Trump appeared to be on track for a remarkable political comeback in the White House race. Projections suggested that he was poised to secure the necessary 270 electoral college votes, effectively blocking Democratic candidate Kamala Harris from winning the election.

The relationship between Trump and Modi has been characterised by robust diplomatic ties, strategic collaboration, and a noticeable personal rapport. Their friendship was prominently displayed during major events such as “Howdy, Modi” in Houston in 2019 and “Namaste Trump” in Ahmedabad in 2020, where they addressed large audiences and expressed their mutual respect.

On a strategic level, Trump and Modi found common ground in matters of defense and security, both adopting a strong stance against terrorism, which reinforced their alliance, particularly concerning threats from Pakistan.

As he approaches a notable victory in the US election, Republican Presidential candidate Trump expressed gratitude to his supporters today, calling it a magnificent victory for the American people. He also referenced the assassination attempt on July 13, stating, “God spared my life for a reason.”

The 78-year-old candidate is currently projected to secure 267 electoral college votes, just three shy of the decisive 270, while his opponent, incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris, holds 224 electoral votes.

Trump described the Republican campaign as the greatest political movement of all time, asserting, “We are going to help our country heal, secure our borders, and we made history for a reason tonight. This is an incredible political victory. I want to thank the American people. I will fight for you and your family with every breath I have.”

He noted that Democrats are now looking at a projected total of 315 electoral votes.

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