Lebanon Calls for Clarifications on Suspension of Voting Rights at UN

Abdallah Bou Habib. (National News Agency)  
Abdallah Bou Habib. (National News Agency)  
TT
20

Lebanon Calls for Clarifications on Suspension of Voting Rights at UN

Abdallah Bou Habib. (National News Agency)  
Abdallah Bou Habib. (National News Agency)  

Lebanese caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Abdallah Bou Habib has asked for clarifications from the United Nations on the suspension of Lebanon’s rights to vote before the expiry of the extended deadline to pay its contribution to the UN.

Bou Habib met on Monday with the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka, and her deputy Imran Riza, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon.

They followed up on the issue of Lebanon paying its dues to the operating budget of the international organization.

Bou Habib said that "the Lebanese mission in New York had previously been informed by the Contributions Office to the United Nations of extending the payment deadline, in which Lebanon would maintain its voting rights until the end of January 2023."

He called for "clarifications on the reason for the change that occurred and the suspension of voting rights before the expiry of the period referred to above."

Bou Habib added that Lebanon is bearing the burden of the Syrian refugees on behalf of the international community and expects a different attitude from those who praise it for hosting the displaced.



At Least 45 Palestinians Killed While Waiting for Aid Trucks in Gaza, Health Officials Say 

Smoke billows amid reported building detonations by Israeli forces to the east and north of Jabalia city in the northern Gaza Strip at dawn on June 17, 2025. (AFP)
Smoke billows amid reported building detonations by Israeli forces to the east and north of Jabalia city in the northern Gaza Strip at dawn on June 17, 2025. (AFP)
TT
20

At Least 45 Palestinians Killed While Waiting for Aid Trucks in Gaza, Health Officials Say 

Smoke billows amid reported building detonations by Israeli forces to the east and north of Jabalia city in the northern Gaza Strip at dawn on June 17, 2025. (AFP)
Smoke billows amid reported building detonations by Israeli forces to the east and north of Jabalia city in the northern Gaza Strip at dawn on June 17, 2025. (AFP)

At least 45 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip while waiting for UN and commercial trucks to enter the territory with desperately needed food, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry and a local hospital.

The circumstances of the killings were not immediately clear.

Palestinians say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on crowds trying to reach food distribution points run by a separate US and Israeli-backed aid group since the centers opened last month.

Local health officials say scores have been killed and hundreds wounded.

In those instances, the Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots at people it said had approached its forces in a suspicious manner.