PARIS: Lebanon’s army will soon receive military equipment as part of a $1 billion grant from Saudi Arabia to help it fight Islamist militants encroaching into Lebanon from Syria, former Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri said on Tuesday.
Hariri originally announced the deal after visiting Saudi Arabia in August, just days after Islamist militants attacked and briefly seized the Lebanese border town of Arsal.
The Lebanese army has since stepped up its efforts to prevent fighters, most notably from Al-Qaeda’s Syrian wing Nusra Front, from crossing into Lebanon, but it is ill-equipped and has repeatedly called for more military aid.
“With regard to the $1 billion that I am managing, in a few weeks, you’ll see results,” Hariri told reporters after meeting President Francois Hollande. “It is finalized and some equipment will arrive soon,” he said without giving any details.
Lebanon has officially tried to distance itself from Syria’s conflict, but the country’s powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah has sent fighters to aid President Bashar Assad, an Alawite. Assad, like Hezbollah, is backed by Shiite power Iran.
The country, which is still rebuilding after its own 15-year civil war, has also seen clashes between gunmen loyal to opposing sides of the Syrian conflict, as well as militant strikes on the army and crossborder attacks by Syrian rebels.
One of the few institutions not overtaken by the sectarian divisions that plague the country, Lebanon’s army has few resources to deal with the situation, and Hariri urged the international coalition to do more against Islamic State.
The United States has been bombing Islamic State positions in Iraq since August and extended the campaign to Syria in September. Arab states have joined both campaigns, while other Western countries are participating in Iraq but not Syria.
“They need to do a lot more. Islamic State is advancing. The Western coalition must be more focused and destroy all of Islamic State,” Hariri said. “It must hit hard and in a systematic way, not just strategically.”
Hezbollah itself suffered one of its biggest death tolls in a single action on Sunday after 10 of its fighters were killed in clashes with fighters from Nusra Front in eastern Lebanon.
Hariri was in Paris to meet Hollande to discuss the $1 billion deal and a second contract, which was agreed in December for which Riyadh agreed to grant Lebanon $3 billion to buy French weapons.
That contract has been under intense scrutiny for several months as negotiations between Paris and Riyadh over the deal have proved more complicated than first imagined.
Officials from all sides say the three-party nature of the deal is behind the delay, although French and Lebanese media have cited various reasons including commissions for the deal.
“Of course France will deliver weapons,” Hariri said. “I think it should happen and we’ll see in the coming days.”
French daily Le Figaro cited on Oct. 3 the head of the Lebanese army General Jean Kahwaji as saying he had signed off on the weapons list, but was still waiting for an agreement between the other two states.
Citing sources, the paper said Saudi Arabia was now asking for guarantees that a new president in Lebanon would ensure the equipment was not used by Hezbollah.
Lebanese army to get first Saudi-financed weapons soon —Hariri
Lebanese army to get first Saudi-financed weapons soon —Hariri
Al-Azhar plans global peace forum in Thailand
- Thai king praises visiting grand imam’s efforts to promote unity, tolerance
CAIRO: Al-Azhar — Sunni Islam’s oldest and foremost seat of learning — and the Muslim Council of Elders are seeking to organize a global conference on coexistence in Thailand, bringing together several religious leaders and figures worldwide.
The aim is to emphasize the importance of promoting peaceful coexistence and human fraternity, Ahmed Al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar and chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders, said in Bangkok.
King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand and Queen Suthida recently received Al-Tayeb at the Grand Palace in Bangkok.
The king expressed his happiness with the grand imam’s visit, and praised efforts by Al-Azhar and the Muslim Council of Elders to promote the values of dialogue, peace, tolerance, and human coexistence.
He said that Al-Azhar is highly respected by the Thai people, who live in harmony and unity.
The Thai ruler expressed his country’s eagerness to strengthen cooperation and relations with Al-Azhar by increasing the number of incoming students and Al-Azhar emissaries, expanding the accreditation of religious institutes that teach the Al-Azhar curriculum, and stepping up coordination between Al-Azhar and Islamic centers in Thailand.
Al-Azhar serves as a guiding light for Thai Muslims, and a worldwide symbol of progressive and moderate thinking, he said.
The king highlighted the keen interest of all Muslim families in Thailand to send their children to study at Al-Azhar, adding that its graduates hold significant positions in Thai society.
He expressed confidence that the grand imam’s historic visit will lead to the launch of inspiring initiatives and projects in Thailand.
Thai Muslims will gain from the public meetings held by Al-Azhar institutions during the grand imam’s stay, the king said.
The grand imam expressed his happiness with his visit to Thailand and appreciation for the warm welcome.
He added that Thai students studying at Al-Azhar have set an example in ethics and diligence, and made notable social contributions in various faculties of Al-Azhar University.
Al-Tayeb said that Al-Azhar strives to maintain communication with its alumni worldwide, making them ambassadors of peace, tolerance, coexistence, and human fraternity.
He confirmed Al-Azhar’s readiness to establish centers for teaching the Arabic language in Thailand, serving Muslims in learning the language of the Qur’an, intensifying training courses for Thai imams at Al-Azhar Academy, and increasing scholarships for Thai Muslims to continue their studies at Al-Azhar.
Iran’s naval destroyer has sunk, state media says
- State-run IRNA news agency reported that the Sahand destroyer, being repaired at a wharf lost its balance due to water infiltration into the tanks
- The agency added that due to the low depth in the waters, it is possible to bring back the destroyer to balance
TEHRAN: Iranian naval destroyer has sunk while it was being repaired in a port near the Strait of Hormuz, state media reported Sunday.
State-run IRNA news agency reported that the Sahand destroyer, being repaired at a wharf lost its balance due to water infiltration into the tanks.
The agency added that due to the low depth in the waters, it is possible to bring back the destroyer to balance.
It also reported that injured people were transferred to hospital. It did not elaborate.
Sahand, named after a mountain in northern Iran, took six years to build and launched into the Arabian Gulf in December 2018. The 1,300-ton vessel was equipped with surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft batteries and sophisticated radar and radar-evading capabilities.
In January 2018, a naval destroyer, Damavand, sank in the Caspian Sea after crashing into a breakwater.
Iran detains outspoken lawyer who criticized 2022 crackdown following Mahsa Amini’s death
DUBAI: An outspoken Iranian lawyer who has publicly criticized how the government handled the 2022 protests has been arrested, state media reported Sunday.
The unrest at the time followed the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini who was detained by the police for allegedly not properly wearing her mandatory hijab. Her death triggered massive protests that quickly escalated into calls to overthrow Iran’s four-decade-old Islamic theocracy.
The judiciary’s Mizan news agency said Sunday that Mohsen Borhani had been previously sentenced but did not give further details on his case or jail time issued.
Borhani, also a university professor, became popular on social media for his critical views of the Iranian government during the 2022 demonstrations that shook the Islamic Republic and sparked a security crackdown that killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000 detained. UN investigators said Iran is responsible for the physical violence that led to her death,
The arrest came a day after reformist president Masoud Pezeshkian was elected to lead the country.
Pezeshkian promised to ease enforcement of the country’s mandatory headscarf law and reach out to the West after years of sanctions and protests squeezing the Islamic Republic.
Erdogan says may invite Syria’s Assad to Turkiye ‘at any moment’
- Erdogan has long said he could reconsider ties with Assad
- Tensions have mounted over the past week against Syrian refugees in Turkiye
ISTANBUL: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said he might invite his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad to Turkiye “at any moment,” in a sign of reconciliation after the 2011 war broke ties between Ankara and Damascus.
“We may send an invitation (to Assad) at any moment,” Erdogan told journalists aboard a plane from Berlin where he watched Euro 2024, the official Anadolu news agency and other media reported.
Turkiye originally aimed to topple Assad’s regime when the Syrian conflict erupted with the violent suppression of peaceful protesters in 2011.
But after backing various insurgent groups, Ankara has more recently shifted focus to preventing what Erdogan in 2019 dubbed a “terror corridor” from opening up in northern Syria.
Erdogan has long said he could reconsider ties with Assad.
Speaking to journalists, he said some leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested a meeting with Assad in Turkiye.
“Now we have come to such a point that as soon as Bashar Assad takes a step toward improving relations with Turkiye, we will show him the same approach,” Erdogan said.
Erdogan’s comments come after tensions have mounted over the past week against Syrian refugees in Turkiye, with a mob attacking properties and vehicles owned by Syrians in central Anatolian city of Kayseri.
Turkiye, which hosts some 3.2 million Syrian refugees according to UN data, has been shaken several times by bouts of xenophobic violence in recent years, often triggered by rumors spreading on social media and instant messaging applications.
The fate of Syrian refugees is also a burning issue in Turkish politics, with Erdogan’s opponents in last year’s election promising to send them back to Syria.
Pope deplores state of democracy, warns against ‘populists’
- Without naming any countries, the pope warned against “ideological temptations and populists” on the day that France holds the second round of parliamentary vote
VATICAN: Pope Francis decried the state of democracy and warned against “populists” during a short visit to Trieste in Italy’s northeast on Sunday ahead of a 12-day trip to Asia — the longest of his papacy.
“Democracy is not in good health in the world today,” Francis said during a speech at the city’s convention center to close a national Catholic event.
Without naming any countries, the pope warned against “ideological temptations and populists” on the day that France holds the second round of a snap parliamentary vote that looks set to see the far-right National Rally (RN) party take the largest share of the vote.
“Ideologies are seductive. Some people compare them to the Pied Piper of Hamelin: they seduce but lead you to deny yourself,” he said in reference to the German fairytale.
“The culture of rejection creates a city where there is no place for the poor, the unborn, the fragile, the sick, children, women, the young,” he regretted, urging facilitation of social participation from childhood.
Ahead of last month’s European parliament elections, bishops in several countries also warned about the rise of populism and nationalism, with far-right parties already holding the reins to power in Italy, Hungary and the Netherlands.
Francis also urged people to “move away from polarizations that impoverish” and hit out at “self-referential power.”
After Venice in April and Verona in May, the half-day trip to Trieste, a city of 200,000 inhabitants on the Adriatic Sea that borders Slovenia, marked the third one within Italy this year for the 87-year-old pontiff, who has suffered increasing health problems in recent years.
Since traveling to the French city of Marseille in September 2023, the Argentine Jesuit has limited himself to domestic travel.
But he plans to spend nearly two weeks in Asia in September visiting Indonesia, Singapore and the islands of Papua New Guinea and East Timor.
He arrived in Trieste shortly before 9:00 am (0600 GMT) and embarked on meetings with various groups from the religious and academic spheres, along with migrants and the disabled.
Pope Francis concluded his visit with a mass in front of some 8,500 worshippers in the city’s main public square before heading back to the Vatican in the early afternoon.
