Under pressure from the opposition and the street, Lebanon's pro-Syrian prime minister Omar Karameh produced a spectacular surprise with the announcement of his government's resignation despite the certainty of victory in a vote of no-confidence.
Karameh resigned on Monday in the face of mass protests, bringing to a head a political crisis sparked by the murder two weeks ago of his predecessor Rafiq Hariri.
The announcement was greeted with loud applause in the national assembly in Beirut, where the opposition had been seeking a vote of no-confidence in Karameh's four-month-old government.
The surprise resignation occurred on the first day of a general debate in parliament demanded by the opposition and devoted to the assassination.
This is the second time since 1992 that 70-year-old Karameh has been forced to resign in the face of pressure from the streets.
On the first occasion he had to step down in the teeth of public discontent over social and economic problems.
This time round what is at stake is nothing less than the future of the Syrian army presence in Lebanon.
The withdrawal of the 14,000 Syrian troops on Lebanese soil is being demanded both by the opposition and by the international community at large. The demand has become greater and greater following the death of Hariri.
"The Damascus regime has collapsed in Beirut," said one observer.
The announcement of Karameh's resignation came as a surprise not only to parliamentary deputies, but above all to the pro-Syrian speaker of parliament Nabih Berri.
Visibly shaken, he said in public: "I might at least have been told in advance."
Surprise was also palpable at the presidential palace, where President Emile Lahoud accepted the resignation, requesting Karameh to expedite unfinished business.
Interior Minister Soleiman Frangie was prompted to remark that he felt glad about stepping down, "because we've shown we're democrats."
Only a few days previously Karameh had made his departure conditional on an alternative government being ready to take over to avoid a constitutional void.
The opposition last week called for a transitional government to prepare spring parliamentary elections and supervise the Syrian withdrawal. The elections must take place before the end of May, according to the constitution.
The opposition also called for continuing rallies on Martyrs' Square in Beirut pending the dismissal of security officials and the Syrian withdrawal.
Karameh justified his government's resignation on the grounds of considerations of moral order.
He said he did not wish to be an obstacle to what was considered by some to be the country's welfare, an allusion to street demonstrations and opposition anger over Hariri's death.
He said he had also ceded to the wishes of Hariri's sister, parliamentary deputy Bahia Hariri, who had called for the government's resignation as a matter of priority.
Karameh said he was submitting his resignation despite the assurance of surviving a vote of no-confidence.
Following applause in the assembly, the vast crowd outside on Martyrs' Square, now unofficially renamed Liberty Square, chanted exultantly: "Your turn will come Lahoud, yours too Bashar," a reference to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Syria has not clearly announced its intentions yet, although both the US and the UN have urged it to withdraw its forces from Lebanon.
"Technically we can withdraw our troops before the end of the year," Assad said in an interview Monday with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. "Strategically, that will happen only if we obtain serious guarantees. In other words -- peace."
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number