by NADIA AL-FAOUR — arabnews — DUBAI: Two years ago, on Aug. 4, 2020, Ghassan Hasrouty walked into his office at the port of Beirut where he had worked a steady job for the past 38 years. He would not return home that day. At 6:07 p.m. local time, hundreds of tons of hazardously stored ammonium nitrate ignited in Warehouse 12 where Hasrouty was working. He and several of his colleagues were killed instantly. The third biggest non-nuclear explosion ever recorded in history devastated the port and a whole district of the Lebanese capital. At least 220 people were killed, more than 7,000 wounded, and a city already in the throes of economic and political crisis was left paralyzed under a mushroom cloud of pink smoke. “The investigation of the port explosion will be transparent. Take five days, and any officials involved will be held accountable,” Mohammed Fahmi, Lebanon’s interior minister at the time, said after the blast. And yet, two years on, as families still reel from the loss of their homes, businesses and loved ones, the official Lebanese state’s investigation remains stagnant.

On July 31, part of the port’s now grimly iconic grain silos collapsed, sending a cloud of dust over the capital, reviving traumatic memories of the blast. The Lebanese Cabinet recently approved plans for the controlled demolition of the silos, which were badly damaged but miraculously survived the 2020 blast, having sustained much of its force. The decision has sparked outrage among Beirut residents and victims’ support groups who have called for the silos to be preserved until a full and proper investigation into the blast is concluded. Many place the blame for the blast and its aftermath on corruption and mismanagement within the Lebanese government. With a status quo originating from the days of the 1975 to 1990 civil war, which has rendered those in power effectively untouchable, the inquiry has descended into little more than a finger-pointing match as it moves from one presiding judge to the next. With that, politicians have effectively ensured the complete impunity of officials who have long been wanted for questioning, arrest and prosecution.

By Najia Houssari — BEIRUT: The celebration of the 77th Lebanese Army Day on Monday witnessed over 40 female officers graduating from the Lebanese Army Military Academy. Female officer Lt. Angie Khoury was the top cadet in this year’s graduating class. She read out the oath and all graduates repeated it after her. The gender split reflects “the progress of Lebanese society and the change in the stereotypical picture of women,” said the National Commission for Lebanese Women in a statement. “It also shows that the Lebanese Army appreciates women’s capabilities and qualifications, and opens the door for them to reach decision-making positions in the fields of security and defense,” the commission added.

Women’s access to senior positions in state security is one of the envisaged objectives in the national plan to implement the UN Security Council decision 1325 on women, peace and security. A ministerial decree was issued in 1989 including applicable provisions related to the recruitment and service of Lebanese women in the army, in line with women’s rights to equality, in addition to a defense law that grants all Lebanese the right to volunteer to serve in their country’s military. Over time, women’s roles were no longer limited to administrative work. According to the Lebanese Army’s Orientation Directorate, today “women occupy many positions in combat units and they proved their success in all tasks assigned to them.” The total number of women who graduated from the academy reached 46 out of 121 graduates — 40 from the ground forces, four from the air forces, and two from the maritime forces.

BEIRUT, (Reuters) – The World Bank accused Lebanese politicians of being cruel by asserting that deposits in the country’s collapsed banking sector are sacred, saying such slogans “flagrantly contradict the reality” in a report on Wednesday. Lebanon is in the third year of a financial meltdown that has left eight in ten people poor and which the World Bank says is deliberate and may be one of the three worst in modern times. The new report marked the second time this year the World Bank has berated Lebanon’s ruling politicians, having accused them in January of “orchestrating” the country’s catastrophic economic meltdown through their exploitative grip on resources.

The collapse has frozen depositors out of savings in the paralysed banking system, and led the local currency to lose more than 90% of its value. “Political slogans for the sacrosanct of deposits are hollow and opportunistic; in fact, the constant abuse of this term by politicians is cruel,” the World Bank said in a report. “Not only does it flagrantly contradict reality, it prevents solutions to protect most, if not all small and medium depositors, in dollars and in cash,” the report said. Lebanese politicians often say depositors’ rights must be preserved in any plan to address losses of some $70 billion in the financial system, even as their savings have lost around 80% of their value due to the collapse. “Losses should have been accepted and carried by bank shareholders and large creditors, who have profited greatly over the last 30 years from a very unequal economic model,” the World Bank said. “This should have occurred at beginning of the crisis … to limit the economic and social pain.”

by thenationalnews.com — Almost two years ago, an explosion at Beirut’s port ripped through the Lebanese capital, killing more than 200 people. It was the largest non-nuclear explosion in history. It was caused by a stock of ammonium nitrate – mostly used as a fertiliser – that caught fire. In the aftermath of the explosion, it became clear that failings by senior officials, who should have known about the dangerous, large and poorly stored stockpile, paved the way for the blast. Two years on, the twisted remains of grain silos at the port, which became a symbol of the blast, are still there, as are much of the contents they stored, now rotting. On Sunday, footage emerged online showing clouds of smoke across the port as parts of the facility fell down. They had been on fire for three weeks before their ultimate demise.

Silos at Beirut port begin to crumble after week-long fire. The state of the silos mirrors the wider circumstances of Lebanon today. Severe, sudden shocks might happen from time to time, but the main problem for the country is still a long-recognised and seemingly unstoppable decline. It is the result of corruption, inaction and mismanagement from political elites, as well as destabilising foreign influence. The silos should have been torn down already, let alone rebuilt. Instead, nature is completing a dangerous job that should be the responsibility of the state, which has become ineffective through a total breakdown in governance and an absence of accountability. The content of the silos, hazardous rotting grain, is also symbolic, this time of the critical food crisis facing the country.

BEIRUT, (Reuters) By Timour Azhari – Lebanon’s top prosecutor has lifted his seizure order on a ship accused by Ukraine of carrying stolen flour and barley, allowing it to sail after finding “no criminal offence committed”, a senior judicial source told Reuters. The ship, the Laodicea, remains unable to sail for the time being due to another seizure order issued by a judge in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, where the ship is docked, on Monday, the source said. That seizure order was only valid for 72 hours, the judge who issued it previously told Reuters.

However, the Laodicea cannot immediately leave the port of Tripoli because a judge ordered Monday that it may not sail for 72 hours at the request of Ukrainian authorities. If the judge does not extend the order, the ship could sail in two days, a move likely to anger Ukraine. A Lebanese port official confirmed that the ship is still in Tripoli and will only sail if its gets clearance from the judge of urgent matters by Thursday. The Russian Embassy has told Lebanese media that the Ukrainian claim was “baseless.” The U.S. Treasury Department had sanctioned the Laodicea in 2015 for its affiliation with the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad, an ally of Russia. According to the Ukraine Embassy, the Laodicea is among scores of vessels that Kyiv alleges have transported grain stolen by Russia.

An official at the Ukrainian Embassy in Beirut said he could not immediately comment, and that the embassy would hold a news conference on Wednesday. Ukraine has said that the Syrian-flagged ship was carrying some 10,000 tonnes of flour and barley plundered by Russia from Ukrainian stores following its February invasion of the country. The Russian Embassy in Lebanon has said it had no information on the cargo. Moscow has previously denied stealing Ukrainian grain. An official from the company that owns the cargo previously denied it was stolen and said that the ship would sail to nearby Syria should it be allowed to leave Tripoli. The Laodicea arrived in Lebanon on July 27 and two days later top prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat ordered it seized pending investigations following a protest from the Ukrainian embassy and other Western nations.

by presidency.gov.lb — President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, asserted that the celebration of Army Day comes this year in difficult circumstances the country is going through, under the weight of the accelerating regional and international developments in light of the widening life and economic difficulties faced by the military, and a large segment of the Lebanese. The President also stressed that he spares no effort to alleviate these difficulties within the available capabilities, and strives to keep Lebanon away from all interactions and influences. President Aoun noted that in parallel with Lebanon’s keenness to maintain calm and stability on its southern borders and stressed “Concern for our rights in our territorial waters and natural resources, which are rights that cannot be tolerated under any consideration”.

The President stated that “The on-going indirect negotiations to demarcate southern maritime borders’ first and last goal, is to preserve Lebanon’s rights, and to reach, through cooperation with the American mediator, conclusions that protect our rights and wealth, and achieve, upon the conclusion of negotiations, an opportunity to restore the economic situation in the country. “From my position, and as a reflection of my assumption of my constitutional responsibilities, I reiterate that, as I committed to holding the parliamentary elections, I will work with all my might, in order to provide the appropriate conditions for the election of a new president who will continue the arduous reform process that we have begun” President Aoun said. On the other hand, President Aoun indicated that “This national achievement can only be achieved if the new parliament, president and members, assumes its responsibilities in choosing whom the Lebanese find the personality and the appropriate qualifications to assume this responsibility”. In this context, President Aoun hoped that “The fate of the presidential elections will not be similar to the fate of forming the new government”, stressing that “The failure to form a government exposes the country to further turmoil and deepens economic and financial difficulties. The responsibility of those concerned is essential in preventing the country from further deterioration and slack”.

NNA – The US mediator tasked to hold indirect negotiations to demarcate the southern maritime border, Mr. Amos Hochstein, confirmed that the talks held with President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, and Prime Minister Najib Mikati, were very important, expressing his optimism in additional progress in the file of demarcating the southern maritime borders. Hochstein also hoped to return to the region soon to reach desired results. Mr. Hochstein’s positions were expressed in the one and a half hour meeting held with the President of the Republic, the Speaker of Parliament and the Prime Minister. The meeting was attended by: US Ambassador in Beirut, Ms. Dorothy Shea, Senior Adviser to the American Mediator, Mrs. Nadine Zaatar, the Director of Transnational Affairs of the Middle East and North Africa at the US National Security Council Ms. Lindsey Merrill and US Embassy diplomat Harald Olchen. On the Lebanese side, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Elias Bou Saab, Director General of the Presidency of the Republic, Dr. Antoine Choucair, Director General of General Security Major General Abbas Ibrahim, Advisor to the Speaker of Parliament Dr. Ali Hamdan and diplomatic advisor to the President of the Republic, Ambassador Osama Khashab, attended.

Mr. Hochstein presented the outcome of the consultations held with Israeli officials regarding the issue of demarcating the southern maritime borders, and listened to a unified Lebanese position in accordance with the declared Lebanese constants. After the meeting, Speaker Berri was asked whether the meeting was positive, and he replied “God willing, all is good”. For his part, Premier Mikati, did not make any statement as he left Baabda Palace, making a positive hand gesture. On the other hand, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Elias Bou Saab said “The atmosphere is positive. The gap in the differences in this file has narrowed and the time period that separates us from the return of the American mediator to Beirut it will be short”. MP Bou Saab also pointed out that “Everyone was satisfied, and we are waiting to achieve what was discussed during the meeting, and God willing, we will see results in the next few weeks in this field”. In response to a question, Deputy Parliament Speaker Bou Saab indicated that “No one asked us to cut down the blocks and extend the pipes. Lebanon demanded its entire blocks and nothing changed in its position. Hochstein never offered us any sharing of wealth, blocks or profits with the Israeli enemy”.

NNA – Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, presided this morning over Sunday Mass service in Diman. In his religious homily, the Patriarch underlined that “dropping the new government formation issue cannot be accepted as it if were just a detail in the structure of the Lebanese state system, knowing that the Taif Agreement made the Council of Ministers, along with the Presidency of the Republic, the pivotal pillar and the center of the executive authority.” He added: “There is no value for appointing a new prime minister if it is not followed by cabinet formation…We are surprised that those involved in forming the government are belittling this matter, contrary to the Constitution and the Taif Agreement.” Al-Rahi stressed that “the formation of a new government is a sign of respect for the democratic system, ensuring the completion of the contract of constitutional institutions, the functioning of governance and the separation of powers, and the continuation of legitimacy through a government with full powers in the event of an obstacle, God forbid, with regards to electing a new President of the Republic.”

The Patriarch continued to consider that “the existence of a legitimate government gives the state the ability to negotiate with the Arab and international communities, to take decisions and sign treaties,” adding, “What we fear is that if the political forces are unable today to form a government, then tomorrow they will be unable to elect a new president…and hence the huge fall!” “But we hope and pray that it won’t happen…” he said.

Referring to the incident involving Archbishop Moussa al-Hajj, Patriarch al-Rahi considered that it constitutes a test of the extent of separating between religion and state. “Some were complaining about the interference of sects in the state, while the state attacked a constituent sect and a religious cleric, known for his piety and service to the people, who ought to have been respected by the state by preserving his movement between Lebanon and his parish…Instead, they fabricated an incident, turned it into a case, and organized media campaigns to distort the image of the Archbishop and the Church’s humanitarian and national mission…” He added: “We reaffirm that working with an ‘enemy country’ was never part of our culture, our spirit and our dignity. We are the first to respect and defend the laws, so we ask the authority to respect and abide by them. We are the first to respect and defend the judiciary, but we ask judges and judicial officials to respect the sanctity of the judiciary and liberate it from maliciousness and dependence on political and sectarian forces.”

by adw.org — Three United States Cardinals, who serve as Honorary Chairs of the Religious Advisory Board for In Defense of Christians, express fraternal solidarity WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the three (3) U.S. Cardinals who lead the Roman Catholic Archdioceses of Washington, D.C., New York and Galveston-Houston join with their Middle Eastern counterparts in a statement of support for the Maronite Bishops and Archbishop Moussa el-Hage, O.A.M., Maronite Archbishop of the Archeparchy of Haifa and the Holy Land, and Patriarchal Exarch of Jerusalem, Palestine and Jordan. Archbishop El-Hage was recently arrested, detained and interrogated by Lebanese authorities upon returning from his Episcopal See in Haifa. Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory, Galveston-Houston Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, and New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan currently serve as Honorary Chairs of the Religious Advisory Board for the organization, In Defense of Christians. In Defense of Christians is the nonpartisan human rights and advocacy organization advocating for a Middle East in which the rights of every person are protected and respected regardless of religious creed, and in which ancient and diverse Christian and other religious minority communities of the Middle East thrive peacefully in their native lands.

Today, the three Cardinals, as the In Defense of Christians Religious Advisory Board Honorary Chairs, issue the following statement in support of the Maronite Bishops: “We join with His Eminence Béchara Boutros Cardinal Raï, the Maronite people, and others in the international community; we stand in fraternal solidarity with Archbishop Moussa el-Hage, O.A.M., Maronite Archbishop of the Archeparchy of Haifa and the Holy Land, and Patriarchal Exarch of Jerusalem, Palestine and Jordan.

by english.alarabiya.net — US envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in Beirut Sunday to push talks to resolve a bitter maritime border dispute between Lebanon and Israel over Mediterranean waters with offshore gas fields. “Reaching a resolution is both necessary and possible, but can only be done through negotiations and diplomacy,” the US State Department said in a statement ahead of Hochstein’s visit. Washington’s envoy for global infrastructure and investment is “facilitating negotiations between Lebanon and Israel on the maritime boundary”, the statement added.

Hochstein met with Lebanon’s Energy Minister Walid Fayad on Sunday, and was scheduled to meet with President Michel Aoun and prime minister Najib Mikati the following day. The maritime border dispute between Lebanon and Israel escalated in early June, after Israel moved a production vessel to the Karish offshore field, which is partly claimed by Lebanon. The move prompted Beirut to call for the resumption of US-mediated negotiations on the demarcation dispute. Lebanon and Israel have no diplomatic relations and are separated by a UN-patrolled border. They had resumed maritime border negotiations in 2020 but the process was stalled by Beirut’s claim that the map used by the United Nations in the talks needed modifying. Lebanon initially demanded 860 square kilometres (330 square miles) of territory in the disputed maritime area but then asked for an additional 1,430 square kilometres, including part of the Karish field. Israel claims that the field lies in its waters and is not part of the disputed area subject to ongoing negotiations.