Lebanon must fight corruption after Beirut blast, says German foreign minister

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BEIRUT (Reuters) - Germany’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that Lebanon needed a government able to fight corruption and enact reforms as he toured Beirut port, scene of the devastating explosion that has kindled protests and led the government to resign. The Aug. 4 blast at a warehouse storing highly explosive material killed at least 172 people, injured some 6,000, left around 300,000 without habitable housing and wrecked swathes of the Mediterranean city, compounding a deep economic and financial crisis. “It is impossible that things go on as before,” Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said. “The international community is ready to invest but needs securities for these investments. It is important to have a government that fights the corruption. “Many in Europe have a lot of interest for this country. They want to know that there are economic reforms and good governance,” Maas added.

The resignation of Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s government has deepened uncertainty. His cabinet’s talks with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout had already stalled over internal differences about the scale of financial losses. Forming a new government could be daunting amid factional rifts and growing public discontent with a ruling class that many Lebanese brand as responsible for the country’s woes. The foreign ministers of Russia and Saudi Arabia agreed on Wednesday on the importance of creating “beneficial external conditions” for the formation of a new Lebanese government, the Russian foreign ministry said. Humanitarian aid has poured in but foreign countries have made clear they will not provide funds to help pull Lebanon from economic collapse without action on long-demanded reforms to tackle systemic graft, waste, mismanagement and negligence.

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Beirut: Officials warned of disaster in July

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Lebanese security officials warned the prime minister and president of catastrophic danger only two weeks before the explosion which left much of the capital in ruins, according to documents seen by Reuters and senior security sources.

Lebanese actress Nadine Njeim reveals plans to leave country after Beirut explosion

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by arabnews.com -- DUBAI: Lebanese actress Nadine Nassib Njeim revealed this week, she has decided to leave her home country after a massive explosion ripped through the city of Beirut, killing over 135 people and injuring thousands. Last week, the star, who lives close to the port area where the explosion happened, underwent six hours of surgery. “In this moment, from the hospital, I made a decision: I will leave the country and live in safety in another country that respects its people,” she wrote to her one million twitter followers. “It is better than staying and dying in a country ruled by bullies.” The former Miss Lebanon then addressed the rulers in her tweet saying: “When you are buried underground, we will come back to our country. Otherwise, there is no need to speak any further, and thank you.” After the tragic incident, the star shared a video – shot by someone else – of her damaged apartment on Instagram. “Half my face and my body were covered in blood,” said Njeim. “I thank God first, who saved my life.

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Lebanese call for downfall of president, other officials over Beirut blast

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BEIRUT (Reuters) - Angry and grieving protesters on Tuesday read aloud the names of at least 171 people killed in last week’s explosion at Beirut port and called for the removal of Lebanon’s president and other officials they blame for the tragedy. Gathered near “ground zero”, some carried pictures of the victims as a large screen replayed footage of the mushroom cloud that rose over the city on Aug. 4 after highly-explosive material stored for years detonated, injuring some 6,000 people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. “HE KNEW” was written across an image of President Michel Aoun on a poster at the protest venue. Underneath, it read: “A government goes, a government comes; we will continue until the president and the parliament speaker are removed.” Container lines resume calls to Beirut as terminal restarts operations Reuters reported that the president and prime minister were warned in July about the warehoused ammonium nitrate, according to documents and senior security sources.

Aoun, who has pledged a swift and transparent investigation, tweeted on Tuesday: “My promise to all the pained Lebanese is that I will not rest until all the facts are known.” Residents of Beirut were still picking up the pieces as search operations continued for 30 to 40 people still missing and security forces fired tear gas at stone-throwing protesters in the fourth such day of unrest. “Our house is destroyed and we are alone,” said Khalil Haddad. “We are trying to fix it the best we can at the moment. Let’s see, hopefully there will be aid and, the most important thing: hopefully the truth will be revealed.” Lebanese have not been placated by Monday’s resignation of Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s government and are demanding the wholesale removal of what they see as a corrupt ruling class they brand as responsible for the country’s woes. “We will not forget until nooses are erected (for the leaders),” one man said at Tuesday’s demonstration after he read out some of the victims’ names shown on the screen.

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Couple seen posing for sexy photos near Beirut explosion site

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by foxnews.com -- Cortney Moore -- An unidentified couple ventured out to a bridge near the Beirut explosion site in Lebanon and snapped modelesque photos of themselves mere yards from where 220 people were killed and thousands were injured on Tuesday. Photos of the pair were captured by Nabil Mounzer of the European Pressphoto Agency this weekend and showed the couple’s antics caught the eye of seemingly confused locals, a report from the New York Post revealed. The woman of the duo sported a cobalt blue ensemble that included a sports bra, leopard print shorts, peep-toe heels, oversized sunglasses and purse. Her male travel companion, on the other hand, opted for a simpler outfit that included a short-sleeved shirt and a pair of matching shorts and sneakers. Both visitors reportedly took turns to snap photos of each other near the destroyed Beirut port from the overlooking bridge while Lebanese flags waved in the wind.

It is not clear if the pair are Lebanese nationals or have an influential social media following. Twitter users slammed the couple for the disrespecful move, with many claiming this shows "people don't care." Instagram influencers have been criticized in the past for posing in locations with painful histories. In 2018, a model was called out for taking a selfie while visiting a Holocaust memorial.

Hassan Diab, Lebanon's fallen 'technocrat' premier

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by Hussein Dakroub -- The Daily Star -- BEIRUT: Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned Monday under mounting public pressure in the wake of a devastating explosion that rocked Beirut last week, in a move effectively clearing the way for a national unity government backed by France, the US, and Arab countries, an official source said. “The resignation of Diab’s Cabinet is bound to smooth the path for a political settlement to resolve Lebanon’s multiple political, economic and financial crises, and cope with the aftermath of the Beirut blast,” the official source told The Daily Star. “Sponsored by France and backed by the United States and Arab countries, this settlement calls basically for the formation of a national unity government embracing all the main parties in the country,” the source said.

In a televised speech to the Lebanese announcing his government’s resignation, Diab lashed out at what he called the “system of corruption” that is controlling the country. “We want to open the door to national salvation, a salvation that the Lebanese will participate in achieving. Therefore, today I announce the resignation of this government,” Diab said. “May God protect Lebanon ... ” Without identifying corrupt politicians largely blamed for the country’s worst economic and financial crisis in decades, Diab said: “I previously said that the system of corruption is deeply rooted in all the functions of the state; nevertheless I discovered that the system of corruption is bigger than the state, and that the latter is constrained by this system and cannot confront it or get rid of it.” “We are still under the shock of the tragedy that struck Lebanon. This disaster which has hit the Lebanese at the core occurred as a result of chronic corruption in politics, administration and the state,” he added.

Diab said one of the many examples of corruption exploded in Beirut Port, and the calamity befell Lebanon. “But corruption cases are widespread in the country's political and administrative landscape; other calamities hiding in many minds and warehouses, and which pose a great threat, are protected by the class that controls the fate of the country, threatens the lives of people, falsifies facts, survives on seditions and trades in people’s blood during periods of relinquishment which have become a pattern that repeat itself according to interests, impulses, calculations and fluctuating dependencies,” he said. Calling the Beirut blast an “earthquake” that struck the country, with all its humanitarian, social, economic and national repercussions, Diab said: “Today we are appealing to the people, to their demand to hold accountable those responsible for this disaster that has been concealed for seven years, to their desire for real change, for a shift from the state of corruption, waste, brokerage and thefts, to a state based on the rule of law, justice, and transparency, a state that respects its citizens.”

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