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Lebanon’s cabinet welcomes army plan to disarm Hezbollah, gives no timeline

Lebanon’s cabinet welcomes army plan to disarm Hezbollah, gives no timeline

Five Shia ministers walk out of cabinet debate as Hezbollah remains adamant it will hold onto its weapons. Published On 5 Sep 20255 Sep 2025 Lebanon’s army has presented a plan to the government’s cabinet to disarm Hezbollah, saying the military will begin executing it, as some ministers staged a walkout before the session began. On Friday, Lebanon’s cabinet met for three hours, which included the plan’s presentation by army commander Rodolphe Haykal. The plan did not set a timeframe for implementation and cautioned that the army had limited capabilities. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos told reporters after the session that the government welcomed the plan, but stopped short of saying the cabinet had formally passed it. He said the army would begin implementing the plan according to its logistical, material and personnel capabilities, which might require “additional time [and] additional effort”. Morcos said the plan’s details would remain secret. A national divide over Hezbollah’s disarmament has taken centre stage in Lebanon since last year’s devastating war with Israel, which upended a power balance long dominated by Hezbollah. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (centre), Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and members of the cabinet stand as they attend a cabinet session to discuss the army’s plan to disarm Hezbollah, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon [Mohamed Azakir/Reuters] Five Shia ministers, including those from Hezbollah and its ally the Amal Movement, walked out of the cabinet meeting, with the Lebanese armed group adamant it will hold onto its weapons. The walkout happened as Lebanon’s army chief Haykal entered the meeting to present a plan for disarming the group, local media reported. Advertisement Hezbollah and Amal ministers have now walked out of cabinet meetings three times over the disarmament issue. Hezbollah-aligned Labor Minister Mohammad Haidar told local media before the cabinet’s session had concluded that any decision taken in the absence of Shia ministers would be null and void, as it would be considered in contravention of Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system. Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem last month raised the spectre of civil war, warning the government against trying to confront the group and saying street protests were possible. Military and political analyst Elijah Magnier says it is not possible for the Lebanese army to confront Hezbollah, adding that it did not “have the appetite to start a civil war”. “It [also] doesn’t want a partition in the army, because the Shia members within the army would not side by the Lebanese army if it attacks Shia strongholds,” he told Al Jazeera. Calls grow to disarm The United States and Saudi Arabia, along with Hezbollah’s primarily Christian and Sunni opponents in Lebanon, have ramped up calls for the group to give up arms. US Senators Jim Risch and Jeanne Shaheen, members of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued a joint statement in support of Hezbollah’s disarmament on Friday. “Lebanon deserves a free, prosperous, and secure future. That will only be possible if Lebanon is freed from the influence of Hezbollah and the Iranian regime,” the senators said. “We recognize that Lebanon’s government has made important progress in the past year, and we applaud the recent decision by Lebanon’s Council of Ministers to approve disarming militias in Lebanon. This commitment must be carried out to its full conclusion, including approving the Lebanese Armed Forces’ disarmament plan for Hezbollah.” The bipartisan statement underscores growing pressure from Washington on Beirut to curb Hezbollah’s influence, a longstanding demand of both the US and international partners. However, Hezbollah has pushed back, saying it would be a serious misstep to even discuss disarmament while Israel continues its air strikes on Lebanon and occupies swathes of territory in the south. Four people were killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Wednesday. Israeli forces have continued to carry out air attacks across Lebanon in near-daily violations of the November truce, causing deaths and injuries among civilians, including Syrian refugees, and destruction of properties and infrastructure. Adblock test (Why?)

Air Canada flight attendants reject wage offer

Air Canada flight attendants reject wage offer

Canada’s biggest air carrier offered a 12 percent wage hike for those with five years on the job or less, and 8 percent for those with more than six. Published On 5 Sep 20255 Sep 2025 Air Canada’s flight attendants and its regional unit have voted against ratifying the carrier’s wage offer. The union announced the decision on Friday. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Many of the flight attendants at Canada’s largest carrier were dissatisfied with wage increases in a tentative agreement that they had arrived at last month and that had helped end a crippling strike at the time. Air Canada had proposed a 12 percent first-year wage hike for Rouge flight attendants and mainline staff with five years of service or less, and an 8 percent increase for those with six years or more, the union said. The tension between the Montreal-based carrier and its flight attendants’ union comes only weeks after its roughly 10,500 flight attendants hit the picket line for three days. Disruptions led to cancellations impacting nearly half a million customers flying on Air Canada. It was the first time any union had defied a long-obscure “industrial peace” clause in Canada’s 40-year-old labour code — one that has been used to end strikes a half dozen times in just the past year and force workers back to their jobs. Several flight attendants had been unhappy both with the content of the offer and the way it was achieved under “duress”, Al Jazeera reported previously. Adblock test (Why?)

Belgium asks US not to destroy millions in contraceptives bound for Africa

Belgium asks US not to destroy millions in contraceptives bound for Africa

The Trump administration has confirmed it plans to destroy the already purchased supplies, preventing their distribution. Published On 5 Sep 20255 Sep 2025 Belgium has called on the administration of United States President Donald Trump to abandon a plan to destroy a massive stockpile of contraceptives for women as part of its rollback on foreign aid. In an interview on Friday, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said the stockpile was mostly bound for sub-Saharan Africa. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list The Trump administration confirmed last month that it planned to destroy the supplies, which are unexpired and had been purchased by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) under former President Joe Biden. “We continue through diplomatic channels to vigorously advocate against such waste,” Prevot told the Agence France Presse (AFP) news agency. The stockpile is estimated to be worth about $10m. It includes implants and intrauterine devices, long cornerstones for the humanitarian community’s birth control drives. Prevot said a portion of the supplies had already been moved from their original warehouse and were being kept in poor storage conditions. The Belgian diplomat also doused reports that suggested the contraceptives had been sent to France for incineration. “Whether here at the US Embassy or directly in Washington, we have intervened to say, ‘OK, you are changing your policy. We regret it, but please at least allow what has already been purchased to reach the appropriate recipients,’” he said. For its part, Flanders, the self-governing, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium, told the Reuters news agency that the contraceptives are currently being stored in a warehouse in Geel, a municipality in the province of Antwerp. Advertisement Even if the supplies were sent to another country, they could not be incinerated without a “formal derogation” from the region’s ban on destroying medical waste, the Flemish spokesperson explained. “To date, we have not received any such request,” the spokesperson said, adding the Flemish government was open to engaging with US authorities on the matter. The Trump administration has overseen a massive overhaul of US foreign aid since taking office in January. That has included dismantling USAID and cleaving billions of dollars in humanitarian funding. As a result of the US aid cuts, humanitarian organisations and United Nations officials have warned of shortages in critical supplies used to address hunger, staunch disease and prevent unwanted pregnancies. Earlier this week, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from allowing $4.9bn in congressionally approved aid funding to expire without being spent. Adblock test (Why?)