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BAGHDAD: Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani on Monday called for an urgent meeting of Arab leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly after Israel intensified its strikes on Lebanon.
Iraq “calls on and works to convene an urgent meeting of the leaders of Arab delegations... to review the repercussions of the Zionist (Israeli) aggression on our peaceful people in Lebanon and to work jointly to stop its criminal behavior,” Sudani said in a statement.
ALGIERS: Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Thursday removed his prime minister, Nadir Larbaoui, according to a statement that provided no reason for the decision.
Larbaoui, a former lawyer, held the post since November 2023 following a diplomatic career that saw him represent Algeria as ambassador to several countries as well as to the United Nations.
His absence from a recent meeting to discuss a bus accident that had killed 18 people in the North African country has drawn attention and criticism on social media.
The presidency statement said Industry Minister Sifi Ghrieb was appointed interim prime minister.
Ghrieb, who will keep his ministerial portfolio, has served in various senior positions including as board chairman at the Algerian Qatari Steel company.
TRIPOLI: The UN Support Mission in Libya said Tuesday that it was “gravely alarmed” over new military mobilizations by rival groups in the Libyan capital.
In recent days, armed vehicles have reportedly moved into Tripoli from Misrata, around 200 kilometers (125 miles) away, and on Monday night gunfire was heard in the capital, according to witnesses and videos circulated online.
UNSMIL said the recent “rapidly escalating tensions and military mobilization” in Tripoli “could lead to armed confrontation.”
Sabiha Mohamad, a resident in western Tripoli, told AFP she had heard the gunshots but said “there was more fear than harm.”
There were no official reports of casualties, and it remained unclear who fired the shots.
“We stay cautious when going out, because anything could break out at any moment,” Mohamad said.
Libya is split between the UN-recognized government in Tripoli, led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, and a rival administration in the east.
The North African country has remained divided since a NATO-backed revolt toppled and killed longtime leader Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.
UNSMIL urged “all actors to cease any preparations for violence,” warning they could spiral into a “’lose-lose’ war.”
In May, Tripoli was rocked by days of deadly fighting between rival armed groups that left at least eight people dead, according to the UN.
The fighting came after Dbeibah announced a string of executive orders seeking to dismantle armed groups that he said had “become stronger than the state.”
Tensions have been flaring between government-aligned groups and Radaa, a powerful rival faction that controls Mitiga airport and other parts of eastern Tripoli.
Last month, UNSMIL chief Hanna Tetteh proposed a roadmap for “general elections and the unification of institutions” in the divided country.
The plan looks to implement a “politically viable electoral framework” and “a new unified government,” the UN said.
JERUSALEM: Israel on Tuesday launched its latest spy satellite into space from an undisclosed site, the Defense Ministry said.
The Ofek 19 satellite was built by state-run Israel Aerospace Industries.
“Ofek 19 is a highly advanced SAR (synthetic aperture radar) observation satellite with enhanced capabilities. Upon entering Earth’s orbit, the satellite will undergo a series of designated tests to assess its integrity and performance,” the ministry said in a statement.
Israel has launched Ofek observation satellites since 1988 for monitoring and intelligence gathering for the military.
TEHRAN: Security chief Ali Larijani said on Tuesday that Iran was open to nuclear talks with the US but ruled out any restrictions on its missile program.
“The path for negotiations with the US is not closed; yet these are the Americans who only pay lip service to talks and do not come to the table; and they wrongly blame Iran for it,” said Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
“By raising unrealizable issues such as missile restrictions, they set a path which negates any talks,” Larijani wrote on X.
The remarks came days after the US welcomed a move by European powers to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran but said it remained “available for direct engagement with Iran.”
On Thursday, Britain, France and Germany triggered a “snapback” clause in the deal between Iran and major powers that allows for UN sanctions to be reimposed in the event of non-compliance with its provisions.
LONDON: The recognition of a Palestinian state by leading Western nations will trigger a sprint toward a two-state solution, the head of the Palestinian mission in London said on Tuesday.
Britain, France, Canada, Australia and Belgium have all said they will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, although London could halt the process if Israel eased the humanitarian crisis in war-shattered Gaza and committed to a long-term peace process.
The moves are designed to put pressure on Israel to end its assault on Gaza and curtail the building of new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, but some question whether recognition is merely symbolic.
“I think it will be the starting gun for what we hope to be a sprint, not even a march, toward implementing the two-state solution, and we are hoping for an active, effective, meaningful role by the United Kingdom,” Husam Zomlot, the head of the Palestinian Mission in London, told Reuters.
Israel, facing a global outcry over its conduct in the Gaza war, has reacted angrily to recognition gestures, saying they would reward Hamas. The Palestinian militant group’s gunmen attacked southern Israeli communities near the border on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking 251 hostages into Gaza, according to Israeli figures. A two-state solution is the idea that the two sides could co-exist in peace alongside each other — a Palestinian state on territory Israel captured in a 1967 war, with the Gaza Strip and West Bank linked by a corridor through Israel.
But the proposal has become less viable over time, as Israel has accelerated the building of Jewish settlements in occupied territory, while the two sides stick to uncompromising positions on core issues including borders, the fate of Palestinian refugees, and the status of Jerusalem.
Zomlot said the move by Britain was significant due to its role in endorsing a “national home for the Jewish people in Palestine” in 1917. He said it was not too late to achieve a two-state solution, and that he hoped the momentum being built at the UN would lead Israel to dismantle its settlements.
“Once we create sufficient pressure — meaningful pressure — I assure you, it is absolutely possible,” he said.
The United Nations’ highest court said in 2024 Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and its settlements there are illegal and should be withdrawn as soon as possible.
Israel’s right-wing government rules out a Palestinian state and says the territories where settlements have expanded are not occupied in legal terms because they are on disputed lands. It cites biblical and historical ties to those lands.
