Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Meets Sudan’s Burhan, Discusses Russian Paramilitaries

In this handout photograph taken and released by Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on September 23, 2023, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (R) speaks with President of the Sudanese Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (L) during their meeting at Shannon Airport, in Shannon, western Ireland. (Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)
In this handout photograph taken and released by Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on September 23, 2023, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (R) speaks with President of the Sudanese Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (L) during their meeting at Shannon Airport, in Shannon, western Ireland. (Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)
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Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Meets Sudan’s Burhan, Discusses Russian Paramilitaries

In this handout photograph taken and released by Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on September 23, 2023, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (R) speaks with President of the Sudanese Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (L) during their meeting at Shannon Airport, in Shannon, western Ireland. (Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)
In this handout photograph taken and released by Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on September 23, 2023, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (R) speaks with President of the Sudanese Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (L) during their meeting at Shannon Airport, in Shannon, western Ireland. (Handout / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday he held an impromptu meeting in Ireland's Shannon airport with the head of the Sudanese Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and that they discussed Russia-funded armed groups.

"We discussed our common security challenges, namely the activities of illegal armed groups financed by Russia," Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram.

He thanked Sudan, which is currently in the midst of a deadly civil war, for its support of Ukraine's territorial integrity.

Russia's Wagner mercenary group has operated in Ukraine throughout Moscow's invasion. Western diplomats and media have said the group is also present in Sudan, although Wagner denied this.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.