tag

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) affirmed that the UN's decision to reduce its peacekeeping forces by a quarter in 11 operations worldwide in the coming months due to budget shortfalls will impact the force's activities in southern Lebanon. In her remarks to Qatar News Agency (QNA), UNIFIL Spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said: "We are still studying what the peacekeeping budget shortfalls will mean for UNIFIL, but we know we will have to make some difficult decisions. We are finalizing our plans, but we know this will directly impact our activities and require adjustments." "Nonetheless, we will do everything possible to mitigate the effects and will work closely with Lebanese authorities and our troop-contributing countries to implement any changes in the least disruptive way possible," she added. Concluding her remarks to QNA, she affirmed the commitment to continuing to implement the core tasks stipulated in UN Security Council Resolution 1701, and to continuing coordination with the Lebanese authorities and contributing countries to limit the repercussions of the resolution on the mission's work. The United Nations is preparing to reduce the number of peacekeeping forces worldwide by 25 percent over the coming months, or between 13,000 and 14,000 soldiers and police, due to funding shortfalls following the US halving of its contribution. The reduction includes missions in countries including the Congo, Lebanon, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic.

Lecornu faces divided parliamentBudget draft must be presented by MondayLecornu pledges cabinet of 'renewal and diversity'Sebastien Lecornu began his second stint as French prime minister under a cloud of uncertainty on Saturday, forced to pick a new cabinet to present a budget by a Monday deadline as rivals pledged to topple his government.French President Emmanuel Macron reappointed his staunch supporter late on Friday, just days after Lecornu had resigned from the post, saying there was no way to form a government capable of passing a slimmed-down 2026 budget through a deeply divided parliament.Lecornu's 27 days in office made him the shortest serving prime minister in modern French history, but there is no guarantee he will last any longer this time round.Macron's decision to reappoint Lecornu enraged some of his fiercest opponents who have argued the only way out of France's worst political crisis in decades is for the president to call fresh legislative elections or resign. Leftist, hard-left and far-right parties all said they would vote to topple Lecornu, leaving him reliant on the Socialists, whose leaders have so far kept mum on their plans.Lecornu's inbox is pressing. By Monday, he must present a draft budget bill - first to cabinet, and then on the same day to parliament. That means, at a minimum, the ministers responsible for finance, budget, and social security must be appointed by then.Neither the Elysee palace nor Lecornu's office, Matignon, gave immediate indication on when he could name his cabinet, or who could be in it.In an X post on Friday, Lecornu said that whoever joined his government would have to renounce their personal ambitions to succeed Macron in 2027, a contest that has injected instability into France's weak minority governments and fractious legislature. He pledged a cabinet of "renewal and diversity".Lecornu has not disclosed any details about what is in the draft, but he did say after he resigned that the budget deficit must be reduced to between 4.7% and 5% of economic output next year, a bigger gap than the 4.6% targeted by his predecessor. The deficit is forecast at 5.4% this year.It remains to be seen what he will do about repealing Macron's pensions reform and adding a billionaires' tax - two measures the Socialists had made their price to support his weak minority government.

Irish budget airline Ryanair Wednesday said it would slash more than 1mn winter seats in Spain over "excessive airport fees", sparking "extortion" accusations from the national airport operator.The row is the latest clash in an ongoing spat between the carrier and Spanish authorities that erupted last year after the leftist government fined Ryanair €107.8mn for "abusive practices" such as charging for hand luggage.Ryanair said in a statement that the cuts, which affect destinations including the popular Atlantic holiday island of Tenerife, were "due to excessive and uncompetitive airport fees" applied by state-owned airport operator Aena."These cuts will harm already vulnerable Spanish regional airports even more, and inevitably lead to a loss of investment, connectivity, tourism and jobs," Ryanair added, warning "many routes will be economically unviable".Aena chief executive Maurici Lucena retorted in a scathing statement that Spanish airports would "cease to function well" if they "evolved to the tune of the demands, whining, swindling and intolerable strategy of extortion of Ryanair".In January, the airline announced it was scrapping 800,000 seats on seven regional Spanish routes in response to Aena's airport fees.It has also dropped several French airports over a tax hike on air travel.In the past two years, the company has "tried to intimidate the public authorities of Germany, France, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark and the United Kingdom", Lucena added.In response to last year's fine in Spain, Ryanair's group chief executive Michael O'Leary slammed Spain's far-left consumer rights minister Pablo Bustinduy as a "crazy communist".The firm then launched an advertising campaign that depicted the minister as a clown.Bustinduy has said "no pressure, no blackmail and no insult will stop me" in his defence of Spanish consumers against multinationals.