UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday he was worried that Lebanese militias were arming to prepare for a "constitutional void" if parliament cannot agree on a new president.
The presidential election was delayed for the second time until Nov. 12 to allow time to find a compromise candidate to succeed pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, whose term expires on Nov. 23.
Agreement on a new president is seen as vital to resolving Lebanon's most serious political crisis since the 1975 to 1990 civil war. It pits the Western-backed, anti-Syrian government against the opposition, led by pro-Syrian Hezbollah. If no president is elected before Lahoud's term expires, there are fears that the country could end up with two rival governments and even slide back into armed conflict.
"There must not be a constitutional void at the level of the presidency, nor two rivaling governments," Ban said in a report for the UN Security Council distributed on Wednesday, urging Lebanese leaders to engage in dialogue on a president.
Many Lebanese lawmakers have been holed up in a Beirut hotel for weeks for fear of joining a growing list of anti-Syrian parliamentarians assassinated in the past two years.
Ban said Lebanese security forces reported that militias, including Hezbollah, were conducting military training around the country, and handing out weapons to their supporters.
"The re-emergence of militias is certainly one of the most disturbing developments over the past six months," Ban said.
Meanwhile, Lebanese troops opened fire yesterday on Israeli warplanes flying low over southern Lebanon, but no hits were reported, Lebanese officials said.
A security official said a total of 150 rounds were fired as soldiers opened up at two planes that flew by just east of Marjayoun town.
A senior military officer said the army "confronted" the planes.
Romania’s electoral commission on Saturday excluded a second far-right hopeful, Diana Sosoaca, from May’s presidential election, amid rising tension in the run-up to the May rerun of the poll. Earlier this month, Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau barred Calin Georgescu, an independent who was polling at about 40 percent ahead of the rerun election. Georgescu, a fierce EU and NATO critic, shot to prominence in November last year when he unexpectedly topped a first round of presidential voting. However, Romania’s constitutional court annulled the election after claims of Russian interference and a “massive” social media promotion in his favor. On Saturday, an electoral commission statement
Chinese authorities increased pressure on CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd over its plan to sell its Panama ports stake by sharing a second newspaper commentary attacking the deal. The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office on Saturday reposted a commentary originally published in Ta Kung Pao, saying the planned sale of the ports by the Hong Kong company had triggered deep concerns among Chinese people and questioned whether the deal was harming China and aiding evil. “Why were so many important ports transferred to ill-intentioned US forces so easily? What kind of political calculations are hidden in the so-called commercial behavior on the
‘DOWNSIZE’: The Trump administration has initiated sweeping cuts to US government-funded media outlets in a move critics said could undermine the US’ global influence US President Donald Trump’s administration on Saturday began making deep cuts to Voice of America (VOA) and other government-run, pro-democracy programming, with the organization’s director saying all VOA employees have been put on leave. On Friday night, shortly after the US Congress passed its latest funding bill, Trump directed his administration to reduce the functions of several agencies to the minimum required by law. That included the US Agency for Global Media, which houses Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Asia and Radio Marti, which beams Spanish-language news into Cuba. On Saturday morning, Kari Lake, a former Arizona gubernatorial and US
Indonesia’s parliament yesterday amended a law to allow members of the military to hold more government roles, despite criticisms that it would expand the armed forces’ role in civilian affairs. The revision to the armed forces law, pushed mainly by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s coalition, was aimed at expanding the military’s role beyond defense in a country long influenced by its armed forces. The amendment has sparked fears of a return to the era of former Indonesian president Suharto, who ex-general Prabowo once served and who used military figures to crack down on dissent. “Now it’s the time for us to ask the
RSS