Israel threatened on Tuesday to return to war in Lebanon if its truce with Hezbollah collapses and said this time its attacks would go deeper and target the Lebanese state itself, after the deadliest day since the ceasefire was agreed last week.

In its strongest threat since the truce was agreed to end 14 months of war with Hezbollah, Israel said it would hold Lebanon responsible for failing to disarm militants who violated the truce.

“If we return to war we will act strongly, we will go deeper, and the most important thing they need to know: that there will be no longer be an exemption for the state of Lebanon,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said.

“If until now we separated the state of Lebanon from Hezbollah… it will no longer be (like this),” he said during a visit to the northern border area.

Despite last week’s truce, Israeli forces have continued strikes in southern Lebanon against what they say are Hezbollah fighters ignoring the agreement to halt attacks and withdraw beyond the Litani River, about 30 km (18 miles) from the frontier.

On Monday, Hezbollah shelled an Israeli military post, while Lebanese authorities said at least 12 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon.

Katz called the Hezbollah attack “the first test” and described Israel’s strikes as a strong response.

The Beirut government must “authorise the Lebanese army to enforce their part, to keep Hezbollah away beyond the Litani, and to dismantle all the infrastructure,” Katz said.

“If they don’t do it and this whole agreement collapses then the reality will be very clear.”

Top Lebanese officials urged Washington and Paris to press Israel to uphold the ceasefire, after dozens of military operations on Lebanese soil that Beirut has deemed violations, two senior Lebanese political sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

The sources said caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, a close Hezbollah ally who negotiated the deal on behalf of Lebanon, spoke to officials at the White House and French presidency late on Monday.

Mikati, quoted by the Lebanese news agency, said that diplomatic communications had intensified since Monday to stop Israeli violations of the ceasefire.

He also said a recruitment drive was under way by the Lebanese army to strengthen its presence in the south.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matt Miller told reporters on Monday that the ceasefire “is holding” and that the U.S. had “anticipated that there might be violations”.

Neither the French presidency nor the foreign ministry were immediately available to comment.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot spoke to his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar on Monday, saying both sides should adhere to the ceasefire.

The truce came into effect on Nov. 27 and prohibits Israel from conducting offensive military operations in Lebanon, while requiring Lebanon to prevent armed groups including Hezbollah from launching attacks on Israel.

It gives Israeli troops 60 days to withdraw from south Lebanon.

A mission chaired by the United States is tasked with monitoring, verifying, and helping enforce the truce, but it has yet to begin work.

Berri on Monday called on the mission to “urgently” ensure Israel halts its breaches, saying Beirut had logged at least 54 Israeli violations of the ceasefire so far.

Israel has said its continued activity in Lebanon is aimed at enforcing the ceasefire.

Lebanon’s Mikati met in Beirut on Monday with U.S. General Jasper Jeffers, who will chair the monitoring committee.

Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that France’s representative to the committee, General Guillaume Ponchin, would arrive in Beirut on Wednesday and that the committee would hold its first meeting on Thursday.

“There is an urgency to finalise the mechanism, otherwise it will be too late,” the source said, referring to Israel’s gradual intensification of strikes even with the truce in place. (Reuters/NAN)

 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ruled out calling another general election, but said he is “not surprised” some people who did not support his party, Labour, might want a second poll.

A petition on Parliament’s website calling for another election has now been signed by more than two million people.

“I would like there to be another general election,” it reads.

“I believe the current Labour Government have gone back on the promises they laid out in the lead-up to the last election.

Asked about the petition on ITV’s “This Morning” programme on Monday, Starmer said: “Look, I remind myself that very many people didn’t vote Labour at the last election.

“I’m not surprised that many of them want a re-run. That isn’t how our system works.

“There will be plenty of people who didn’t want us in the first place.

“So, what my focus is on is the decisions that I have to make every day.”

He characterized decisions taken so far by his government as “tough but fair.”

Starmer and his ministers have faced a particularly strong backlash for limiting winter fuel payments to only the poorest pensioners.

Farmers have also protested over changes to inheritance tax which they claim could affect the future of their businesses.

As he marks five months as prime minister, Starmer acknowledged the job has been difficult, but added: “I wouldn’t swap a single day in opposition for a day in power.

“It’s much better to be in power to do things, rather than the frustration, as I found it, in opposition for all of those long years where we were just able to say what we would do.”

The petition calling for another general election is open for signatures until May 2025.

While the vast majority of those signing it are from the UK, it has also gained support from other countries.

More than 1,200 people from the U.S. have added their names to it, with similar a number from France doing the same.

American signatories may have been made aware of the petition by Elon Musk, the businessman and ally of President-elect Donald Trump.

He shared the petition on X, the social media site he owns formerly known as Twitter, claiming “the people of Britain have had enough of a tyrannical police state”.

Starmer’s office sought to avoid being drawn into a war of words with Mr Musk.

The prime minister’s official spokesman added Starmer was “focused on the issues that matter most to the British people.”

Although it has garnered media attention and millions of signatures, it is far from the largest petition received through the Parliament website, or the one which has seen the most rapid take-up.

In 2019, some 6.1 million people signed a petition calling for the revocation of Article 50 and for the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union, four million of whom did so in 48 hours.

The second most-signed petition gained 4.1 million signatures.

The 2016 petition called for a second referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union following the Brexit vote.

Because the election petition has received 10,000 signatures, ministers will issue a response to it.

MPs may consider it further in a Westminster Hall debate because it has been signed by more than 100,000 people, although this is not guaranteed.

A petition which has successfully made it to debate is one calling for social media companies to ban under 16-year-olds from their platforms after it received more than 110,00 signatures.

Another calling for the law around school term-time holidays to be relaxed, which received 250,000 signatures, was due for debate on Monday afternoon.

Michael Westwood, the man who started the petition, has confirmed he voted Conservative at the summer election.

But he told Talk TV he did not know if this would be the case again, adding: “One thing’s for certain, I wouldn’t be voting Labour.”

Among those sharing the petition online was retired actor Sir Michael Caine, who has been critical of Labour governments in the past. (PA Media/dpa/NAN)

As the curtains were drawn on the 19th G20 Leaders Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Nov. 19, the collective aspiration of the participants was the implementation of key resolutions that would change the face of the world.

The G20 leaders, in their final declaration, called for a ceasefire in Gaza, advocating taxing the super-rich, promoting Artificial Intelligence (AI) and gender equality.

The global eggheads reaffirmed that all states must act consistently with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter in its entirety.

They stated that all states must refrain from threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state.

“We are united in support of a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza, in compliance with the UN Security Council Resolution No. 2735, and in Lebanon, allowing citizens to safely return home on both sides of the Blue Line,” the G20 leaders declared.

They affirmed the Palestinian right to self-determination, and reiterated their commitment to a two-state solution, where Israel and a Palestinian state lived side by side in peace.

For an equitable world, the G20 leaders drew the gauntlet against the super rich, proposing that ultra-high-net-worth individuals are “effectively taxed,” even though respecting their fiscal sovereignty.

They said this would be achieved through cooperation, which may involve exchanging best practices, stimulating debate on tax principles, and developing mechanisms against tax evasion, including addressing potentially harmful tax practices.

In the face of multifaceted crises, where political and geopolitical tensions threaten the ability to tackle challenges such as promoting growth, reducing poverty, and combating climate change, the G20 leaders advocated multilateral solutions for a better tomorrow and strengthening global governance for present and future generations.

In their final declaration, they stated that “there will be no sustainability or prosperity without peace” and recalled that the G20 was born out of financial and economic crises.

The G20 leaders were also concerned about the rapid advancement of AI, which promises prosperity and the expansion of the global digital economy.

The global leaders urged safe, secure, and trustworthy development, deployment and use of AI, insisting that such deployment should guaranty human rights protection, transparency and explainability, fairness, accountability, regulation and safety.

The group added that appropriate human oversight, ethics, biases, privacy, data protection, and data governance must be addressed.

The G20 leaders also cited their total commitment to gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls by promoting equality in paid and unpaid care work to ensure the full and meaningful participation of women in the economy.

They said this would promote social and gender co-responsibility, encourage and facilitate the equal involvement of men and boys in care work, and challenge gender norms that hindered equitable distribution and redistribution of care responsibilities.

The summit highlighted the 2024 motto: “Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet,” focusing on reducing inequalities and fostering socially just and environmentally sustainable actions.

The G20 leaders were also keen on protecting the environment, declaring their renewed commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century and to significantly increase renewable energy and global energy efficiency by 2030.
The summit also launched the Global Task Force for Climate Change Mobilisation to strengthen climate financing, especially in developing countries.
The declaration states that countries will strive to mobilise new and additional financing from all sources for forests, including concessional and “innovative” financing for developing countries.
Fittingly, the G20 leaders inaugurated the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, to promote strategies like income transfers, school feeding programmes, and access to microcredit for the poor and vulnerable.
The G20 leaders’ declaration reinforced the need to modernise the World Trade Organisation (WTO), to promote a rule-based, fair, and sustainable multilateral trading system.
“The G20 supports a reform in the dispute resolution system accessible to all members and highlighted the role of trade in inclusive economic growth.
“Ensuring level playing fields and fair competition consistent with the WTO rules is essential to guarantee prosperity and foster a conducive environment for trade and investment for all.
“We reiterate the centrality of the WTO’s development dimension,” the leaders stated.
The G20 countries advocated an expanded composition of the Security Council to enhance the representation of underrepresented and unrepresented regions and groups, such as Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
They also highlighted the need for resilient health systems, sustainable financing, and equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments, especially for neglected diseases.
President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria could not agree any less. He said the G20, having admitted the African Union as a group member, should expand its permanent and non-permanent member categories to reflect the world’s diversity and plurality.
“The Security Council should expand its permanent and non-permanent member categories to reflect the world’s diversity and plurality better.
“Africa deserves priority in this process, and two permanent seats should be allocated to it with equal rights and responsibilities. Nigeria stands ready and willing to serve as a representative of Africa in this capacity,” said Tinubu.

Indeed, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil believes that the G20 members have the power and responsibility to transform many lives across the world.

He enjoined members to foster entrepreneurship and economic autonomy for women, as championed by the Women’s Empowerment Working Group.

If the declarations of the G20 leaders, rising from their just concluded summit in Rio de Janeiro are implemented, the world may not remain the same again. (NAN)