Lebanon went back on lockdown this weekend. (Photo: Nabil Ismail)
Lebanon is on lockdown this week. The two-week countrywide shutdown is intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus and allow hospitals time to ramp up ICU capacity. On Sunday, the second day of lockdown, streets across the country were empty in accordance with a blanket ban on vehicles and delivery services. But a new grim record of daily COVID-19 deaths was broken on Saturday, when 21 people died from the virus. Including Sunday’s report of 11 new deaths, the total death toll now stands at 817.
A French envoy’s visit late last week did not result in further movement on government formation over the weekend. In stark contrast to the first days after his nomination, Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri did not hold meetings with President Michel Aoun over the weekend, suggesting cabinet formation efforts have hit a wall. Patrick Durel, a top advisor to French President Emmanuel Macron, had reminded Lebanon’s leaders during his official visit that there will be no international aid without a government.
FPM MP Ibrahim Kanaan entered into a Twitter spat with caretaker Justice Minister Marie-Claude Najm over the legality of the forensic audit of the central bank. Najm, an FPM appointee, has criticized attempts to obstruct the audit of Banque du Liban using the banking secrecy law, which she and other legal experts have said does not apply to public accounts. Kanaan, the head of Parliament’s Finance and Budget Committee, hit back, saying Najm “didn’t achieve anything as minister.” FPM leader Gebran Bassil weighed in on Sunday, saying the party was in favor of the audit and that any debate is the product of a desire to ensure the audit is conducted.
Crude oil that spilled out from the Kirkuk-Tripoli pipeline was the source of a large fire that erupted in the Akkar town of Abdeh on Saturday. Aurore Feghaly, the director-general of oil, told L’Orient Today that the fire had been set intentionally. While the NNA originally reported that the holes were made deliberately, the head of the Higher Relief Committee, Mohammad Kheir, said during a site inspection that the leak was the result of wear and tear. Efforts are now underway to clear the oil slick that has polluted the nearby coastline.
Independent candidates won a resounding victory in student elections at the American University of Beirut. AUB’s Secular Club won nine of 19 seats in the student faculty committee, and 33 of 81 seats in the student representative committee after candidates representing traditional political parties boycotted elections. Non party-affiliated candidates already enjoyed success in student elections at the Lebanese American University and the Rafik Hariri University, in what has been hailed as a new win for the Oct. 17 uprising against the political elite.
