Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani speaks at the Presidential Palace in Baabda. (Credit: Dalati & Nohra)
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On a visit to Beirut, Qatar’s foreign minister said that his country will only provide aid once Lebanon forms a government. Following his meeting with President Michel Aoun, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told reporters his country stood ready to provide assistance to Lebanon, but that this “requires the existence of a stable government.” Thani also met with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Premier Hassan Diab, but not with Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, who had traveled to France. Diab’s government resigned six months ago today.
COVID-19 claimed 60 lives Tuesday, partly the result of a surge in infections after authorities loosened restrictions over the holidays. After implementing a strict lockdown on Jan. 14, officials are once again loosening the rules, but not quickly enough for businesses and those who rely on daily wages to survive. The head of the Beirut Traders Association, Nicolas Chammas, will announce merchants’ demands regarding the lockdown at a press conference at noon today.
Protesters are set to gather at 11 a.m. today in front of the secretive Military Tribunal in Beirut to demand the release of those detained following demonstrations in Tripoli. At the end of January, protesters took to the streets in Tripoli against the economic consequences of the ongoing countrywide lockdown. Demonstrators surrounded the serail for a week, hurling Molotov cocktails and rocks and attempting to break down the entrance to the building, which serves as the seat of the North Lebanon governorate. Omar Farouk Tayba, a young man who went to Al Nour Square to watch the protests, died after being shot, while dozens were wounded in confrontations with security forces.
Borders with Syria will temporarily reopen today and next Wednesday to Lebanese wishing to return. General Security announced it will reopen the Abboudieh and Masnaa border crossings on Feb. 10 and 17 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Returnees will need a negative PCR test, and will be tested a second time at the border.