Deputy foreign ministers from Russia, Syria, Türkiye and Iran will meet in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, on June 21, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency said on Wednesday. The four countries have been discussing Syria's future after 12 years of civil war, during which Russia and Iran supported President Bashar al-Assad while NATO member Türkiye backed political and armed opposition to him.
By Maya Gebeily and Laila Bassam BEIRUT (Reuters) - The powerful Hezbollah group and its allies thwarted a bid by their rivals to elect a top IMF offi.
The powerful Hezbollah group and its allies thwarted a bid by their rivals to elect a top IMF official as Lebanon's president on Wednesday, sharpening sectarian tensions and further dimming prospects for preventing a collapse of the state. Four years since Lebanon went into a financial meltdown that marks its worst crisis since the 1975-90 civil war, parliament failed for a 12th time to elect someone to fill the post reserved for a Maronite Christian under the country's sectarian system. The standoff has opened a fresh sectarian fault line, pitting the Iran-backed, heavily armed Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah against Christian factions including its own ally, Gebran Bassil, who endorsed IMF official Jihad Azour for president.
Hezbollah and allies thwart bid by rivals to elect Lebanon s president middle-east-online.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from middle-east-online.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.