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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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Bizarre: Man travels across 203 countries in 3,512 days without taking a single flight
Thor travelled via a total of 351 buses, 158 trains, 43 tuk-tuks, 37 container ships, 33 boats, 9 trucks, 3 sailboats, 2 cruise ships, 1 police car, 1 yacht, and a horse-drawn carriage. He made particular to spend a minimum of 24 hours in each nation during his incredible journey.

Danish citizen Thor Pedersen has travelled to every country in the world. He got there by all means of travel possible — by foot, by car, by bus, by train, by boat, and a container ship. It took the 44-year-old man 10 years to finish this challenging task. Pedersen began his trip in October 2013, reports said.
He claimed to have travelled through every nation in the world without using a plane in 3,512 days, according to reports. Even though there are 195 countries on the United Nation’s official list, Pedersen claims to have visited 203 countries since he included disputed territories.
Pedersen travelled on a total 351 buses, 158 trains, 43 tuk-tuks (autos), 37 container ships, 33 boats, 9 trucks, 3 sailboats, 2 cruise ships, a police car, a yacht, and a horse-drawn carriage. He made it particular to spend a minimum 24 hours in each country during his journey.
He also travelled to India in the latter half of 2018 and the beginning of 2019. After a remarkable 3,512-day journey, he arrived in the Maldives, his 203rd and last nation, via container ship. Pedersen is now among the 150 people in the world with the most travels thanks to this incredible accomplishment.
On his incredible journey, he said, it was challenging for him to plan for everything that would come his way because this had never been done before. He said he was proud that he never gave up throughout all of this. He was pleased that he was able to bring out the strength which was required.
Pedersen faced enormous challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which left him stranded in Hong Kong for two years. He thought of giving up the project because of the virus’s unknown characteristics and the growing danger. However, he received support from Le, his long-time girlfriend, during the break in his preparations. Interestingly, the pair chose to get married, and Le visited him 26 times during that period.
Thor Pedersen financed his trip with personal savings, business sponsorships, and crowdfunding with a daily expenditure of just $20 (around Rs 1500). Many people followed his incredible journey on social media along the way, joining him there.
He has been working nonstop to record his adventures, and he intends to make a feature-length documentary that highlights his journey. Pedersen will soon release a book, to enable his admirers to find out more about his adventures.
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White House hails India’s democracy, calls it vibrant ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s US tour later this month
A National Security Council official at the White House, John Kirby, while addressing a press conference said the strength and health of democratic institutions will be part of the discussion with PM Modi during his visit to the state.

The White House on Monday said India is a vibrant democracy and anybody can witness that on visiting New Delhi dismissing concerns about the health of democracy in India as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the US later this month.
A National Security Council official at the White House, John Kirby, while addressing a press conference said the strength and health of democratic institutions will be part of the discussion with PM Modi during his visit to the state.
Kirby said the US hopes to have a deeper partnership with India which would strengthen their relations. He further added that India is a strong partner with the US on many levels.
Kirby said there would be additional Defence cooperation between the two nations. He also stated that the economic activities between the two countries were at an all-time high and India, as a Pacific Quad member, is a key partner to the Indo-Pacific security.
He further added America’s relationship with India is multi-dimensional that took place at many levels. Kirby said US President Joe Biden is awaiting Prime Minister Modi’s visit to discuss all the issues and deepen the bond of friendship and partnership between US-India.
Kirby’s comments help in establishing the commitment of the Biden administration to work with the Modi–led government, which has reportedly come under criticism from some political quarters in the US and its media for the alleged depletion of India’s democratic institutions.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in his recent visit to the US, made remarks on press freedom, institutions, and democracy in India.
While the official visit is on June 22, PM Modi will lead the International Yoga Day celebrations on July 21 at the United Nations in New York. He is likely to meet political and business leaders during his visit. The leaders are expected to discuss China’s actions in Asia and beyond, which are feared to be against their shared interests.
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Indiana Ophthalmics: Gujarat based company supplies poor quality eye drops in Sri Lanka
On Thursday, Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council (Phermexcil), India’s Centre agency looking after the promotion of pharmaceutical exports from India has sent a notice to the Gujarat company asking an explanation and an internal investigation report on the quality of the Methylprednisolone eye drops.

A Gujarat based top pharmaceutical manufacturing firm Indiana Ophthalmics has been accused of supplying poor quality eye drops to Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan government has complained to the Indian government stating that the eye drops supplied by the company has has caused eye infection to 30 people.
On Thursday, Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council (Phermexcil), India’s Centre agency looking after the promotion of pharmaceutical exports from India has sent a notice to the Gujarat company asking an explanation and an internal investigation report on the quality of the Methylprednisolone eye drops.
Phermexcil Director General Udaya Bhaskar in a letter to Indiana Ophthalmics has stated that the alleged supply of the contaminated eye-drops by the company has dented the reputation of the Indian pharma industry and will have to face trust issues by the international agencies on the export of pharmaceuticals from the country.
A probe has also been started by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation on Thursday, to investigate into the questions of quality concerns being raised on the eye drops being manufactured by Indiana Ophthalmics. The drops were recalled by Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health in April this year saying the patients had reported complications after using them.
The Sri Lankan government claimed to have found bacteria Burkholderia cepacia in the eye drop. The Lankan government has asked the Indian government to compensate the affected patients and has demanded to investigate into the matter. Reports claimed, the firm has been told to stop production of eye drops immediately.
As per reports, the state drug officials had tested the drops and are waiting for results. Reports also said, these drugs require sterility testing hence, the test results will take another 15 days. Once the test results are out, they will be sent to the Sri Lankan government immediately.
A similar case was reported in February 2023, when questions were raised against Tamil Nadu based Global Pharma Healthcare, a firm whose product was allegedly linked with contamination causing blindness and one death in the US.
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