Lebanon to Study Kuwait Initiative, Respond by Saturday

A delegation headed by Kuwaiti FM Sheikh Ahmad Nasser al-Mohammed Al Sabah meets with Lebanese President Aoun on Sunday. (Dalati & Nohra)
A delegation headed by Kuwaiti FM Sheikh Ahmad Nasser al-Mohammed Al Sabah meets with Lebanese President Aoun on Sunday. (Dalati & Nohra)
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Lebanon to Study Kuwait Initiative, Respond by Saturday

A delegation headed by Kuwaiti FM Sheikh Ahmad Nasser al-Mohammed Al Sabah meets with Lebanese President Aoun on Sunday. (Dalati & Nohra)
A delegation headed by Kuwaiti FM Sheikh Ahmad Nasser al-Mohammed Al Sabah meets with Lebanese President Aoun on Sunday. (Dalati & Nohra)

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib announced on Monday that the authorities will study the Arab initiative delivered by Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nasser al-Mohammed Al Sabah last week.

The initiative is aimed at setting straight Lebanon's ties with Arab countries and achieving political and economic recovery.

Bou Habib met with President Michel Aoun on Monday, saying a response to the initiative will be announced by Saturday.

Ministerial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Bou Habib will draft the preliminary response to the proposal and it will be discussed with Aoun, Prime Minister Najib Mikati and parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

The majority of the replies to the initiative are already available in the government's policy statement, added the sources.

On initiative's article related to Hezbollah's weapons, the sources said a response to this point will focus on the implementation of international resolutions, while stressing that this issue does not solely lie in Lebanon's hands, but it is tied to the current regional situation.

Former PM Fuad Saniora hailed the Arab initiative, saying it addresses the causes of Lebanon's current plight and goes to the root of the problems suffered by the people.

It therefore, paves the way to ending Lebanon's crisis, leads the way to national, political and economic recovery and mends ties between Lebanon and its Arab brothers and the international community, he stated.

The initiative is a serious Arab and international effort to help Lebanon out of its collapse, he continued.

One of the major problems suffered by Lebanon is the usurping of its foreign policy and hegemony by Iran that go against the interests of the Lebanese people and the Arab world, Saniora said.



Yemen's Houthis Shoot Down What Witnesses Say Was a US Drone, American Military Investigates

Supporters of Yemen's Houthis attend an anti-Israel rally in solidarity with Gaza and Lebanon in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa on November 1, 2024. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)
Supporters of Yemen's Houthis attend an anti-Israel rally in solidarity with Gaza and Lebanon in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa on November 1, 2024. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)
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Yemen's Houthis Shoot Down What Witnesses Say Was a US Drone, American Military Investigates

Supporters of Yemen's Houthis attend an anti-Israel rally in solidarity with Gaza and Lebanon in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa on November 1, 2024. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)
Supporters of Yemen's Houthis attend an anti-Israel rally in solidarity with Gaza and Lebanon in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa on November 1, 2024. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

Yemen's Houthi militants shot down what bystanders described as an American drone early Friday, potentially the latest downing of a US spy drone as the militants continue their attacks on the Red Sea corridor.
The US military acknowledged the videos circulating online showing what appeared to be a flaming aircraft dropping out of the sky and a field of burning debris in what those off-camera described as an area of Yemen's al-Jawf province. The military said it was investigating the incident, declining to elaborate further.
It wasn't immediately clear what kind of aircraft was shot down in the low-quality night video, The Associated Press said.
The Houthis have surface-to-air missiles capable of downing aircraft such as the Iranian missile known as the 358. Iran denies arming the group, though Tehran-manufactured weaponry has been found on the battlefield and in seaborne shipments heading to Yemen for the Shiite Houthis despite a United Nations arms embargo.
The Houthis have been a key component of Iran's self-described “Axis of Resistance" during the Mideast wars that includes Lebanon's Hezbollah, Hamas and other militant groups.
The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for downing the aircraft. However, it can take their fighters hours or even days after an incident before they acknowledge it.
Since the Houthis seized the country’s north and its capital of Sanaa in 2014, the militants have shot down MQ-9 Reaper drones in Yemen in 2017, 2019, 2023 and 2024. The US military has declined to offer a total figure for the number of drones it has lost during that time.
Reapers, which cost around $30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes up to 50,000 feet (15,240 meters) and have an endurance of up to 24 hours before needing to land. The aircraft have been flown by both the US military and the CIA over Yemen for years.
The Houthis have targeted more than 90 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that has also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a US-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have included Western military vessels as well.
The militants maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran. The tempo of the Houthi sea attacks also has waxed and waned over the months.
In October, the US military unleashed B-2 stealth bombers to target underground bunkers used by the Houthis.