Lebanese Red Cross ambulances are seen near the crash site of a training aircraft in the town of Ghosta, north of the capital, Beirut. (Credit: Issam Abdallah/Reuters)
Three people were killed when a small recreational plane crashed in Kesrouan. The Cessna aircraft, owned and operated by the aviation company Open Sky, came down close to residential buildings on a wooded mountainside in the town of Ghosta, killing the pilot and his two passengers. The single-engine plane crashed 20 minutes after takeoff, having deviated from its preapproved flight path. The Transportation Ministry has launched an investigation into the causes of the crash.
Parliamentarians will meet today to discuss a request from Judge Tarek Bitar to lift immunity from three sitting MPs in connection with the Beirut port explosion. A source previously told L’Orient Today that Bitar, who is leading investigations into the blast, is going after Ali Hassan Khalil, Ghazi Zeaiter and Nohad Machnouk, who are also former ministers, for “probable intent to murder” and criminal negligence. Parliament’s Secretariat and the Administration and Justice Committee will meet at Speaker Nabih Berri’s Ain al-Tineh residence to discuss lifting their parliamentary immunity, which is granted by Article 40 of the Constitution. Families of the victims of the Aug. 4 catastrophe are planning to hold a sit-in in front of Berri’s houses, saying in a statement, “We will not allow immunity for the blood of our children.”
The Health Ministry is running two COVID-19 vaccine campaigns this weekend. Today and Saturday, 25–29-year-olds who registered for the vaccine before March 1 will be able to take their first Pfizer-BioNTech shot by booking an appointment on the ministry’s GrabAJab website. Also on Saturday, hospitals across the country are offering walk-in AstraZeneca jabs for anyone aged 30 to 49. The inoculation drive comes amid repeated warnings over the spread of the highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant and steep increases in daily cases. On Thursday, caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan warned that with rising numbers of tests coming back positive and the country opening up, Lebanon could witness a wave like that of early 2021.
Pharmacies will shut today as they begin an open-ended strike to protest the unclear fate of medicine subsidies. The pharmacy owners’ association announced the strike late Wednesday night after the Health Ministry missed a deadline the association had given it to provide a list of medications that will continue to be subsidized by the state. Pharmacies’ shelves have been emptied in recent months allegedly due to the central bank’s alleged failure to pay importers’ invoices, with importers refusing to sell stock at a subsidized price without a guarantee they will be refunded.
People arriving to Lebanon from 11 countries will now have to undergo hotel quarantine as part of the government’s efforts to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases being brought into Lebanon from overseas. Starting July 12, arrivals from Brazil, Ethiopia, Gambia, India, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Sierra Leone, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Zambia will have to pay for a three-night, four-day stay in one of seven ministry-approved hotels. Meanwhile, the caretaker transportation minister announced a U-turn on a ban on meet and greets inside the Beirut airport, saying the policy had caused overcrowding at entrances and severe traffic congestion.
Residents of Beirut and Mount Lebanon should expect interruptions to water supply over the weekend, the water utility covering the areas warned. The Beirut and Mount Lebanon Water Establishment issued a statement apologizing to service users that because of shortages of diesel, which is needed to run generators to power water pumps, the utility has no choice but to increase rationing. Water authorities had warned last month that Lebanon’s water network would likely fall victim to ongoing fuel shortages this summer.
The lira continued its downward slide yesterday, defying officials’ hopes that a summer influx of expats bearing fresh dollars would temper its rapid depreciation. For the second consecutive day, the lira fell to a new record low, with parallel market exchangers selling US dollars for more than LL18,500. The plummet persists against a backdrop of prolonged essential goods shortages as the central bank, faced with dwindling foreign currency reserves, reportedly continues delaying payments to importers.
