by arabnews.com/node — NAJIA HOUSSARI — BEIRUT: Reconstruction is progressing slowly in the area of Beirut devastated by the Aug. 4 explosion in the Lebanese capital’s port. “The first obstacle hindering restoration work is financial. All private and official international bodies have no confidence in the Lebanese government so they’ve refrained from giving aid,” Jad Thabet, head of the Engineers Syndicate, told Arab News. “Any plan assumes the existence of a government, and the international campaign we saw when the explosion happened has withdrawn due to the political situation in Lebanon. Unfortunately there’s total chaos,” he said, adding that winter will make matters worse. “There are people who’ll be displaced and buildings that will collapse. The rain will wash away stones and soil, and block roads and sewers. There will be subsequent disasters for the people.”

The explosion of some 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been stored in Beirut’s port since 2013 killed 195 people, injured about 6,500, displaced 300,000 and caused billions of dollars’ worth of damage. Thabet said he intends to travel to Paris in an attempt to urge UNESCO to provide assistance to Lebanon, but he does not expect much in light of his country’s political situation. Many residents in Beirut are complaining about the lack of repairs to their damaged homes, and have no faith in the government. There is also a lack of progress on the judicial front, with Judge Fadi Sawan saying he “hasn’t yet received any report from any security service that was carrying out investigations in the explosion site.” Among the teams that helped with the investigations were a French one and an American one.

By KHALED ABOU ZAHR — Arabnews.com — On June 18, 1940, Gen. Charles de Gaulle made his famous radio appeal from London after the French Army was defeated at the start of the Second World War. It was the beginning of the French Resistance against Nazi occupation. He stood against the French Vichy government, which collaborated with the Nazis and became a client state. Today, any government in Lebanon is a “Vichy government” and the politicians have all become collaborators with the Iranian regime and its “high commissioner” in Lebanon: Hezbollah. As the country is being ravaged by the current occupation by Hezbollah and Iran following decades of Syrian occupation, I cannot help but wonder that shouldn’t it be time for a Lebanese leader to call for true resistance as De Gaulle did? Isn’t it time, as on the ground nothing can change, for a government in exile to be formed and an appeal made for all Lebanese to resist this occupation and its destruction of their country?

It is now clear, with the disappointing failure of the latest French initiative, that Hezbollah will not allow the formation of any government that has the capacity to question its actions — or, more precisely, that it does not completely control. Lebanon will continue to disintegrate into chaos while Iran gambles on a Joe Biden administration to formalize and legitimize its occupation. On the ground, no influential political voice will be left standing if it acts against Hezbollah’s plan. Yet, as we always wonder in election years, how will the next US president impact the Middle East? It is also time to understand that the US looks for strong allies. It cannot save Lebanon unless there are voices ready to fight and to resist. It is also important for the Lebanese not to be a tool or an accessory to any foreign influence. As a small country, it cannot be taken hostage as global powers and Middle Eastern powers fight. Our interests are in our citizens and the prosperity of the country — nothing more and nothing less. In this sense, former French President Jacques Chirac, who loved Lebanon and had pure intentions for the country, misguided Saad Hariri on France’s capacity to impose regional changes and this miscalculation accelerated Hezbollah’s control of the country in 2008. The Lebanese should not make the same mistake twice.

by catholicherald.co.uk — Thomas Caddick — Speaking in a dimly lit church, alongside a crucifix and the opening swell of the Allegretto from Beethoven’s 7th Symphony, a Wisconsin priest makes his case for why “you cannot be Catholic and be a Democrat” when voting in the US elections. Fr James Altman says in his video, which has reached many hundreds of thousands, that he has “crunched the numbers” to get an “approximation of how many Catholics voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012. Zero”. He tells “people masquerading as Catholics” who vote for pro-choice Democrats to “repent of your support of that party and its platform or face the fires of hell”, because there “will be 60 million aborted babies standing at the gates of heaven barring your Democrat entrance, and nothing you can ever say will ever excuse you for your direct or indirect support of that diabolical agenda”. He also condemns the Church hierarchy for “ripping on Trump”, the “best pro-life President and his Catholic wife”, and instead offering support to “criminal illegal aliens” and “godless communists”.

Needless to say, the message caused quite a stir. The priest’s local bishop, William Callahan of La Crosse, said he had begun the process of fraternally correcting Fr Altman: “Not in the bright light of the public arena, but as the Gospel dictates, in private.” Bishop Callahan briefly added that, whilst there was some “underlying truth” to Fr Altman’s video, the priest’s tendency towards “generalisation and condemnation” was wrong because Catholics “must never seek to divide, isolate and condemn”. But six days after the video’s release, Bishop Joseph Strickland weighed in with a very different message. “As the Bishop of Tyler I endorse Fr Altman’s statement in this video,” he tweeted. “My shame is that it has taken me so long.”

by rferl.org — Lebanon has asked Interpol to issue arrest warrants for the Russian captain and owner of the vessel that brought a shipment of ammonium nitrate behind a massive explosion at Beirut port in August. Lebanon’s state news agency NNA said October 1 that public prosecutors have asked Interpol to issue warrants against the […]

by cyprus-mail.com — Jonathan Shkurko — Cypriot coast guard forces summarily pushed back, abandoned, expelled or returned more than 200 migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers coming from Lebanon during the first week of September 2020 without giving them the opportunity to lodge asylum claims, a Human Rights Watch report released on Wednesday said. People involved reported they were threatened by both Greek and Turkish Cypriot coast guards and claimed that Greek Cypriot coast guard vessels circled them at high speeds, swamping their boats, and in at least one case abandoned them at sea without fuel and food. They also said their asylum claims were ignored and that in some cases Greek Cypriot marine police officers beat them. “Lebanese nationals are now joining Syrian refugees on boats to flee Lebanon and seek asylum in the EU, due to the severity of the crisis facing that country,” said Bill Frelick, refugee and migrant rights director at Human Rights Watch. “Cyprus should consider their claims for protection fully and fairly and treat them safely and with dignity instead of disregarding the obligations to rescue boats in distress, and not to engage in collective expulsions.”

The report saud Human Rights Watch interviewed 15 Lebanese and Syrian nationals who left Lebanon and entered or attempted to enter Cyprus or its territorial waters on one of seven boats between August 29 and September 7. UN peacekeepers in Lebanon rescued them on September 14, after at least 13 people had died or been lost at sea. According to Reuters, Cypriot authorities returned 230 people to Lebanon between September 6 and 8, a claim substantiated by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, who reported that people left Lebanon irregularly on 18 boats between August 29 and September 14, with five of them intercepted by the Lebanese naval forces while in Lebanese territorial waters.

The Daily Star BEIRUT — Lebanese leaders offered their condolences Tuesday to Kuwait after the death of its ruling Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah. “He was a great brother to Lebanon and an example of chivalry, moderation and wisdom,” President Michel Aoun tweeted. “He stood by the Lebanese in the difficult circumstances they went through, […]

by thenational.ae — Sunniva Rose — Former Nissan and Renault head turned fugitive Carlos Ghosn wants to serve the interests of his debt-ridden home country Lebanon by collaborating with a new $20,000 three-month business programme at a local university, he said in a rare public appearance on Tuesday. The move has grabbed the former executive headlines, but experts say that the impact of the unusual initiative could be limited. “The objective is…serving the country and the society, because if today there is one specific thing that Lebanon needs, it is to create jobs,” explained Mr Ghosn during a press conference on Tuesday at the Université Saint-Esprit de Kaslik (USEK) near Beirut as he presented three new business programmes.

Costing $20,000, the main three-month “Business strategies and performance programme” due to start in March 2021 is aimed at executives from Lebanon and the region and will include a one-on-one consultancy session with Carlos Ghosn as well as guest speakers such as Jaguar and Land Rover Chief Executive Thierry Bolloré, former Goldman Sachs vice-chairman Ken Curtis and venture capitalist Raymond Debbane. The online version of the course will cost $15,000. This programme will subsidise two others, said USEK’s President, Father Talal Hachem: a “training and upscaling programme for local businesses” and an “investment and advisory board for start-ups”. Lebanon is reeling from one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions in history at the Beirut port on August 4 that killed nearly 200 people and worsened its economic crisis which has pushed half the population under the poverty line. “Carlos Ghosn is capitalising his networks and on Lebanon’s strength, which is its education system. But the limits are clear. Who in Lebanon will be able to pay for such a programme in the middle of a financial and economic meltdown?” asked Sahar Al Attar, editor-in-chief at the Lebanese economic magazine Le Commerce du Levant.

By AFP — A quarter of school-age children in Lebanon’s capital risk missing out on school after last month’s deadly port explosion, the International Rescue Committee aid group warned Monday. “With 163 schools damaged by the Beirut explosion, at least 1 in 4 children in the city are now at risk of missing out on […]

by Nick Newsom — The Daily Star — BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities said Monday they would introduce a new zonal approach to containing coronavirus as the number of cases climbed ever higher, with 1,018 people confirmed to have caught the disease within the past 24 hours and four more deaths. Just one of the people who caught the virus during that period had come from abroad. Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s media office said the ministerial committee to follow up on coronavirus agreed on introducing the “zonal system,” also known as the “traffic light system,” as a way to determine the containment measures to be implemented in different areas. White areas with fewer than five total cases are considered “very low risk,” and mask wearing and social distancing are recommended, according to a table based on the US Department of Health’s system that was published by Diab’s media office. “Low risk” or green areas have fewer than four cases per 100,000 residents over 14 days. Testing of contacts, contract tracing and isolation are additional measures to be taken in these zones.

Yellow areas where there are between four to eight new cases per 100,000 people over 14 days are considered “moderate risk.” Intensive testing and contact tracing efforts are to be taken in those areas and not just targeted at contacts of cases. There will be a curfew after 7 p.m. In red areas where there is “high risk,” or more than eight cases per 100,000 people over 14 days, residents will be required to stay at home and there will be a local lockdown. It was unclear if travel restrictions would be applied between the zones, as is the case in other places where this “traffic light” color-coding system is implemented, such as the European Union. A soon to be launched digital platform run by Cabinet’s Disaster Risk Management center will publish data on each area’s classification, the statement from Diab’s media office said. Implementation will be carried out in collaboration with the Health and Interior ministries. Public health expert Sara Chang told The Daily Star that she “commends continued efforts to address the spread of COVID-19” but that she approached the proposal “with concern and caution.”

By NAJIA HOUSSARI — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Two Lebanese soldiers were killed early Sunday at their barracks, hours after security forces had attacked a terror cell on the border with Syria. The Lebanese army said that on Sunday at 1 a.m. terrorists in a car had opened fire on guards at an army post in Arman-Miniyeh, which is north of Beirut. The guards responded by returning fire. The gunfight killed two soldiers and one of the attackers, while the remaining assailants fled.

The army, in another statement, said: “The terrorist Omar Burais, who was on a motorcycle, attempted to enter an army post in Arman in Miniyeh and the guards stopped him, which led to his immediate death. Upon examination of the terrorist’s body, hand grenades and an explosive belt, which he intended to detonate inside the post, were found in his possession. A military expert worked to dismantle the explosive belt and detonate it.” Army units raided places that Burais used to visit and they arrested five of his relatives, including uncles and cousins. The army mourned the soldiers killed in the attack: Cpl. Mohammed Khaled Al-Nashar and Cpl. Ahmed Khaled Saqr. The attack followed an operation from the Information Division of the Internal Security Forces against terrorists in the northern border region of Wadi Khaled. The division said it had identified and tracked down the people responsible for last month’s Kaftoun-Koura assault, which killed three municipal guards in the town, and it emerged that the perpetrators were part of a cell working for Daesh in Lebanon. “As a result of the efforts, the Information Division managed to identify all the terrorist group’s members, who were more than 15 and worked under the command of a Syrian (M.H.), and arrested three of them,” it added. “On Sept. 26, the Information Division identified the whereabouts of the terrorist group’s members in Wadi Khaled, and they were in a secluded house. A security operation was carried out by the division’s Strike Force to besiege the house.”