BEIRUT: Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said on Friday he was committed to holding a parliamentary election as scheduled on May 10, despite calls from some politicians to postpone the vote.
Several politicians have called for a delay, citing security concerns in southern Lebanon, where Israel has carried out air strikes targeting Hezbollah.
Berri, a Shiite leader allied with Hezbollah, said in a statement carried by the state-run National News Agency that he had informed President Joseph Aoun and the government of his position.
“It is not permissible that, at the start of a new era, we obstruct its launch by disrupting, postponing or extending the most important constitutional entitlement, which is the foundation for forming authorities and producing political life,” Berri said.
Berri has opened the candidacy registry for the election and submitted the first nomination request for the Tyre-Zahrani district in southern Lebanon.
Lebanon last held a parliamentary election in May 2022, a vote marked by low turnout and deep public anger over a financial collapse. The election saw some gains by reformist candidates emerging from the 2019 protest movement, while the Iran-backed Hezbollah and its allies lost their parliamentary majority. (Reporting by Laila Bassam; Writing by Tala Ramadan; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
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Lebanon’s Berri says parliamentary election must be held on time
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Lebanon’s Berri says parliamentary election must be held on time
- Several politicians have called for delaying May10 election, citing security concerns in southern Lebanon
Oman navy rescues crew of ship hit by missiles in Hormuz Strait
- Vessel was en route from the UAE’s Ghantoot port to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia
- Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that they had ‘complete control’ over the vital waterway
MUSCAT: The Omani navy rescued 24 crew members of a Malta-flagged container ship struck by missiles while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, state media said, as Iran pressed its Gulf retaliation campaign.
The cargo ship was “hit by two missiles” and Oman’s royal navy rescued its “crew of 24 people” who are now in good health, the Oman News Agency said.
Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the ship was two nautical miles north of Oman, “transiting eastbound in the Straits of Hormuz” when it was “hit by an unknown projectile just above the water line causing a fire in the engine room.”
Private maritime security agency Vanguard Tech said the vessel was the Malta-flagged Safeen Prestige. Information from shipping activity tracker Marine Traffic shows the vessel was en route from the UAE’s Ghantoot port to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
It was the fourth reported attack in regional waters within 24 hours, after projectiles struck or landed near three other vessels off the Emirati and Omani coasts.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday said they had “complete control” over the vital waterway, through which around 20 percent of global seaborne oil passes, and warned that any vessels seeking to pass risked damage from missiles or stray drones.
With energy prices already spiking, US President Donald Trump had said the US Navy was ready to escort oil tankers through the crucial shipping route.
The cargo ship was “hit by two missiles” and Oman’s royal navy rescued its “crew of 24 people” who are now in good health, the Oman News Agency said.
Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the ship was two nautical miles north of Oman, “transiting eastbound in the Straits of Hormuz” when it was “hit by an unknown projectile just above the water line causing a fire in the engine room.”
Private maritime security agency Vanguard Tech said the vessel was the Malta-flagged Safeen Prestige. Information from shipping activity tracker Marine Traffic shows the vessel was en route from the UAE’s Ghantoot port to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
It was the fourth reported attack in regional waters within 24 hours, after projectiles struck or landed near three other vessels off the Emirati and Omani coasts.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday said they had “complete control” over the vital waterway, through which around 20 percent of global seaborne oil passes, and warned that any vessels seeking to pass risked damage from missiles or stray drones.
With energy prices already spiking, US President Donald Trump had said the US Navy was ready to escort oil tankers through the crucial shipping route.
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