Former five-time Lebanese prime minister Salim Hoss dies at 94

Former Lebanese prime minister Salim El-Hoss died on August 25, 2024, at the age of 94, local media reported. (File/AFP)
Former Lebanese prime minister Salim El-Hoss died on August 25, 2024, at the age of 94, local media reported. (File/AFP)
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Updated 25 August 2024
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Former five-time Lebanese prime minister Salim Hoss dies at 94

Former Lebanese prime minister Salim El-Hoss died on August 25, 2024, at the age of 94, local media reported. (File/AFP)
  • Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati described Hoss, who was also a former government minister and member of parliament, as the “conscience of Lebanon”

BEIRUT: Five-time former Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Hoss, who served during some of the most tumultuous years of his country’s modern history, died Sunday at age 94, the current premier said.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati described Hoss, who was also a former government minister and member of parliament, as the “conscience of Lebanon” in a statement announcing his death. He added that Hoss “passed away at the most difficult and delicate stage in which Lebanon needs its conscience.”

Mikati was referring to fears that Lebanon could be pulled into a full-on war with Israel. Lebanese militant group Hezbollah began attacking Israel a day after the start of the war in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel. Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire almost daily since then, displacing tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.

Hoss “was a prominent economist and a role model for his expertise, ethics and knowledge,” Mikati said. “He placed the country’s supreme interest and the interest of citizens above all considerations.”

Hoss was often described as a technocrat and widely respected as a rare statesman in a country marked by political and sectarian divisions.

He served as prime minister for four terms during the country’s 15-year civil war that lasted from 1975 to 1990. His final term in office was from 1998 to 2000.

At one point, he presided over one of two dueling governments. After the term of President Amin Gemayel ended in 1988 with no successor elected, Lebanon became ruled by two governments, one headed by Michel Naim Aoun in Christian east Beirut and another by Hoss in Muslim west Beirut.

By convention the prime minister of Lebanon is always a Sunni Muslim, the president a Maronite Christian and the speaker of Parliament a Shiite Muslim.


Egypt provides free train rides for Sudanese refugees returning home

Sudanese families displaced by conflict wait to board a train as they return home voluntarily from Egypt to Sudan.
Sudanese families displaced by conflict wait to board a train as they return home voluntarily from Egypt to Sudan.
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Egypt provides free train rides for Sudanese refugees returning home

Sudanese families displaced by conflict wait to board a train as they return home voluntarily from Egypt to Sudan.
  • Egypt hosts the largest number of Sudanese refugees from the war with over 1.5 million people who fled north across the border

CAIRO: Hundreds of people who have been displaced by fighting in Sudan gathered Monday at the central train station in Cairo to begin a free journey home.

The Egyptian government is funding train rides to Khartoum, Sudan's capital, which recently was recaptured by the Sudanese Armed Forces from its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF.

Sudan has been in the throes of civil war since April 2023. The battle for power between the military and the RSF has caused a humanitarian crisis. Over 40,000 people have been killed and the war has caused one of the world’s largest displacement emergencies.

Egypt hosts the largest number of Sudanese refugees from the war with over 1.5 million people who fled north across the border. Over 7 million have been displaced internally as the war engulfed much of the country. The RSF took Khartoum at the start of the fighting in 2023 and held the capital until the government declared its recapture on May 20.

Khartoum was largely destroyed, including the presidential palace and the airport, but is experiencing a slow rebirth as residents return and markets reopen. Electricity and basic services are not fully operational around the city.

The journey from Cairo to Khartoum is about 2,080 kilometers (1,292 miles) and will include a train ride of about 12 hours to the southern Egyptian city of Aswan, where riders will change to ferries and buses to cross into Sudan.

People packed their lives in small suitcases as they as they filled the train Monday. Some cried with “overwhelming emotions” including sadness and joy about leaving Egypt and returning home, said Sudanese journalist Asem al-Taieb, one of the train riders.

“I am happy because I am finally going back to my family and my children,” said Awatef al Hassan, originally from Omdurman, Sudan, who is returning with her daughter.


UK must recognize Palestine: Senior Labour MP

UK must recognize Palestine: Senior Labour MP
Updated 44 min 18 sec ago
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UK must recognize Palestine: Senior Labour MP

UK must recognize Palestine: Senior Labour MP
  • Head of House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee: Two-state solution is the ‘only way’
  • Emily Thornberry: ‘The Israelis can’t continue just to say no and not have any credible alternative’

LONDON: Former Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry has called on the UK government to recognize an independent Palestinian state.

Thornberry told the BBC on Monday that there needs to be an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a long-term political solution to the crisis.

“The only way through this is for there to be an Israeli state that’s safe and secure, alongside a Palestinian state that’s recognized,” she told BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program.

Thornberry, who heads the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, was speaking following the state visit of Emmanuel Macron to London.

France’s president, whose country will co-host an international conference on Palestine at the UN, told British MPs that a two-state solution is the “only way” forward. The UK is expected to attend the conference.

Thornberry said the UK and France “are the two parties to that ancient treaty more than 100 years ago, the secret Sykes-Picot agreement that carved up the Middle East in the first place.

“I think there is some kind of political significance to those two countries coming together again.”

She added: “If we recognize a Palestinian state, I think we show ourselves to be a country that wants to be involved, that wants to be an honest broker, that wants to be a force for good, and we think a way forward is two states and we’ve always thought that.”

The war in Gaza has been raging since October 2023, with health authorities in the Palestinian enclave saying around 60,000 people have died.

Thornberry said: “Too many people have been killed. There has to be peace. Peace can only be achieved through political conversation, through negotiations.”

The UK Foreign Office has refused to be drawn on when or if the government will recognize a Palestinian state, but Thornberry said: “It’s just a question of when.”

She added that the UK needs to use its relationship with the US to move the situation on Palestinian statehood forward, and clarify to Israel that continued settlement expansion in the West Bank is illegal, and individuals responsible would be sanctioned.

“We’ve been a force for good when it comes to Ukraine, but I do think we should also be saying to (US) President (Donald) Trump: ‘We need you. You have the power of 100 presidents. You can do what all the other presidents couldn’t do,’” Thornberry said.

“But the Israelis have to come onboard, and they can’t continue just to say no and not have any credible alternative.”


UN chief warns development goals will fail if wars continue to rage, condemns killings in Gaza

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. (File/AFP)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. (File/AFP)
Updated 21 July 2025
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UN chief warns development goals will fail if wars continue to rage, condemns killings in Gaza

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. (File/AFP)
  • Speaking at High-Level Political Forum on Monday, UN secretary-general calls on nations to transform ‘sparks of progress into a blaze of transformation’
  • Only 35% of SDG targets are on track, while nearly half are moving too slowly, 18% regressing

NEW YORK: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday condemned Israel’s killing of civilians seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza over the weekend, calling it “an atrocious and inhumane act,” and demanded an immediate ceasefire along with the release of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas and unimpeded aid access to the starving enclave.

“These were people seeking UN assistance for their families,” Guterres said in remarks opening the High-Level Political Forum in New York.

“We need an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate release of all hostages, and full humanitarian access as a first step toward achieving a two-state solution,” he added.

Guterres also called for the fragile ceasefire between Iran and Israel to hold and reiterated his call for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, rooted in the UN Charter, international law, and UN resolutions. He urged an end to the conflict in Sudan and pointed to continued violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, the Sahel and Myanmar, warning that war and instability are “pushing the Sustainable Development Goals further out of reach.”

The secretary-general linked these conflicts directly to the core development agenda, stressing that “sustainable peace requires sustainable development.” He warned that the world is far off track to meet the SDGs by 2030 and said the erosion of peace and rising geopolitical tensions are among the biggest threats to that progress.

The UN chief’s address came at a time of growing frustration among developing nations and civil society groups over the lack of progress toward the SDGs, a set of 17 global targets adopted in 2015 to end poverty, protect the planet, and promote peace and prosperity by 2030.

While the world has seen gains, such as increased access to electricity, internet, and education, only 35 percent of SDG targets are on track or making moderate progress, according to UN data. Nearly half are moving too slowly, and 18 percent are regressing.

“We cannot sugarcoat these facts,” Guterres said. “But we must not surrender to them either.”

He linked peace and development, arguing that sustainable peace is impossible without sustainable development. Despite multiple setbacks, Guterres pointed to recent multilateral breakthroughs as evidence that international cooperation can still deliver results.

He cited three key achievements: the adoption of a Pandemic Agreement in Geneva aimed at building a fairer global health system; new ocean protection commitments made in Nice to fight pollution and illegal fishing; and the so-called Seville Commitment, a financial pact aimed at expanding fiscal space for developing countries, improving access to capital, and reforming the global financial architecture.

“This shows that transformation is not only necessary — it is possible,” he said.

The HLPF, held annually at UN headquarters, is the central platform for reviewing progress toward the SDGs. This year’s forum spotlights five interconnected goals: health, gender equality, decent work, marine ecosystems, and global partnerships.

On health, Guterres urged governments to invest in universal care and prevention, particularly for the most vulnerable. On gender equality, he acknowledged persistent barriers but noted growing grassroots momentum, and called for real financing, accountability, and rights-based policies to drive systemic change.

On decent work, he warned that over 2 billion people remain in informal employment and youth joblessness is high. But he cited the UN’s Global Accelerator initiative as helping countries create jobs and expand social protections, especially in green industries.

Guterres also emphasized the need to reform the global financial system, which he said no longer reflects current geopolitical or economic realities. The Seville Commitment, he said, sets out concrete steps: strengthening domestic resource mobilization through tax reform, improving debt relief frameworks, and tripling the lending capacity of multilateral development banks.

Guterres urged greater investment in science, data, and digital tools, including artificial intelligence, as well as deeper partnerships with civil society, the private sector, and local governments.

With five years remaining to meet the 2030 deadline, he called on nations to transform “sparks of progress into a blaze of transformation,” saying: “Let’s deliver on development — for people and for the planet.”


Iran’s capital, surrounding province will shut for a day due to heat wave

A man crosses an intersection on a hot summer day in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 21, 2025. (AP)
A man crosses an intersection on a hot summer day in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 21, 2025. (AP)
Updated 21 July 2025
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Iran’s capital, surrounding province will shut for a day due to heat wave

A man crosses an intersection on a hot summer day in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 21, 2025. (AP)
  • With temperatures in the capital exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), the government has advised citizens to stay indoors during peak heat hours

TEHRAN: Iranian government offices, banks and businesses in the capital province of Tehran will shut down on Wednesday due to an intense heat wave and the need to conserve energy, state-run media reported.

With temperatures in the capital exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), the government has advised citizens to stay indoors during peak heat hours.

IRAN daily on Monday quoted government spokesperson Fatemeh MoHajjerani urging residents to take measures to reduce electricity and water consumption. The report said that all governmental offices, banks and businesses in Tehran province will be closed on Wednesday.

In July 2024, Iran ordered one-day national holiday due to high temperatures, following a two-day holiday in 2023.

Borazjan in southern Bushehr province was the hottest city in the last 24 hours with a maximum temperature of 50 C (122 F).


UNRWA says some Gaza staff starving as malnutrition soars

Mother of Yahya Fadi Al-Najjar, an infant who died due to malnourishment, mourns as she holds his body during the funeral.
Mother of Yahya Fadi Al-Najjar, an infant who died due to malnourishment, mourns as she holds his body during the funeral.
Updated 21 July 2025
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UNRWA says some Gaza staff starving as malnutrition soars

Mother of Yahya Fadi Al-Najjar, an infant who died due to malnourishment, mourns as she holds his body during the funeral.
  • UNRWA said that shortages in the Palestinian territory had caused food prices to increase by 40 times
  • Aid stockpiled in its warehouses outside Gaza could feed “the entire population for over three months,” agency says

GAZA CITY: The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said on Monday that it was “receiving desperate messages of starvation” from its Gaza staff, as the Palestinian territory experiences surging levels of hunger.

Gaza’s population of more than two million people are facing severe shortages of food and other essentials, with doctors, the civil defense agency and medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reporting a spike in malnutrition cases in recent days.

In a post on X, UNRWA said that shortages in the Palestinian territory had caused food prices to increase by 40 times, while the aid stockpiled in its warehouses outside Gaza could feed “the entire population for over three months.”

“The suffering in Gaza is manmade and must be stopped,” it wrote. “Lift the siege and let aid in safely and at scale.”

After talks to extend a six-week ceasefire broke down, Israel imposed a full blockade on Gaza on March 2, allowing nothing in until trucks were again permitted at a trickle in late May.

The civil defense agency on Sunday reported at least three infant deaths from “severe hunger and malnutrition” in the past week.

Eighteen reportedly died of starvation within 24 hours between Saturday and Sunday, the ministry said.

“Infants under one year of age suffer from a lack of milk, which leads to a significant decrease in their weight and a decrease in their immunity that makes them vulnerable to diseases,” said Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the director of Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital.

Israel on Monday said there was “no ban or restriction on the entry of baby formula or baby food into Gaza.”

COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body that oversees civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, said that “over 2,000 tons of baby food and infant formula were delivered into Gaza,” without specifying the time frame.

“We urge international organizations to continue coordinating with us to ensure the entry of baby food and formula without delay. Our commitment remains firm: to support humanitarian aid for civilians — not for Hamas,” COGAT wrote on X.

The war was sparked by Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed 59,029 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.