A fire at the Beirut port silos' northern end on Aug. 11, 2022. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
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Another portion of the port silos’ northern bloc collapsed last night, a Lebanese Army spokesperson told L’Orient Today. Before the collapse, caretaker Public Works Minister Ali Hamieh warned of the northern side’s imminent collapse and told local media yesterday, “All employees have been evacuated from the vicinity of the port silos, including the Civil Defense centers and the fire brigade.” The silos were damaged during the Aug. 4, 2020 Beirut port blast, causing the grain stored inside the structure to ferment and “ignite spontaneously,” caretaker Environment Minister Nasser Yassin had said. Fires ignited continuously throughout July at the northern block, expediting the collapse of four silos on July 31 and another four on Aug. 4, the second anniversary of the Beirut explosion. The health and environment ministries had preemptively issued safety measures to be followed in case the silos collapsed; however, Yassin later said no toxic substances were found in the air around the silos following the collapses. Officials announced last Wednesday following a meeting presided over by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati that the government would order the demolition of the already collapsing northern block of the grain silos while preserving the more stable southern side. The decision included amending a decree issued by the cabinet in March approving the demolition of the entire Beirut’s port silos, Forces of Change MP Melhem Khalaf told L’Orient Today.
“[Raising customs tariffs serves] the interest of a small population at the cost of the general public who earn [a] limited income,” Forces of Change MP and member of the Finance and Budget parliamentary committee Ibrahim Mneimneh said in a statement Friday. Last Tuesday, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati met with several ministers, including caretaker Finance Minister Youssef Khalil, and reportedly decided to raise the customs tariff exchange rate to LL20,000 to the dollar. Mneimneh also said the delayed 2022 draft budget being reviewed by the committee does not “reflect a practical economic vision to the path for financial recovery.” Finance and Budget Committee head MP Ibrahim Kanaan had issued a deadline to the Finance Ministry asking them to report “the numbers of [fiscal] incomes and expenses” in order to proceed with budget discussions. Kanaan had said on Tuesday that there were only 20 articles pending approval in the 147-item budget, which has yet to be reviewed and voted on since its approval by the cabinet in February. Caretaker Economy Minister Amin Salam said Friday that he will meet today with Khalil to discuss the proposed customs tariff hike, with special consideration to taxes on food goods. The International Monetary Fund signed a staff-level agreement with Lebanon in April, ordaining a list of reforms, which include an approved budget, the government must implement to unlock an aid package many see as crucial to alleviating the economic crisis.
A large Israeli military and civilian convoy was reported yesterday near the Lebanese border yesterday morning opposite the town of Kfar Kila, in the district of Marjayoun. Tensions rose between Lebanon and Israel after the latter deployed on June 5 a floating production storage and offloading vessel to the Karish field, an area disputed by Lebanon as part of its exclusive economic zone. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said Friday that if the Lebanese government’s maritime border demands are met, the country would head to “a stage of calm,” after warning in earlier speeches against infringement on Lebanon’s maritime resources, promising to retaliate and prompting the UN to caution against inflammatory statements. During the same speech, Nasrallah denied any connection between the negotiation of a nuclear deal between the United States and Iran and the indirect maritime border negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, adding an accusation that American mediator Amos Hochstein “is wasting time.” Hochstein had received the Lebanese government’s proposal for the maritime border on Aug. 2 and expressed “optimism” regarding the negotiations.
Free Patriotic Movement head Gebran Bassil, Lebanese Forces head Samir Geagea and Forces of Change MPs weighed in over the weekend on the upcoming presidential election. “[The Lebanese Forces’] only project is to bring down Aoun, Gebran and the FPM," Bassil said, in response to Geagea’s earlier statement calling for the election of a “president of challenge” to the ruling majority. Geagea had also said that with the exception of Iran, the international community is not concerned about the organization and results of the upcoming presidential election in Lebanon. Both Geagea and Bassil are widely anticipated to be candidates for the presidency despite neither having officially announced they will run for the office. The timeframe for electing a new president runs from Aug. 31 to Oct. 31, when the term of current Lebanese President Michel Aoun, founder of the FPM, expires. Meanwhile, Forces of Change MPs said on Friday that they are preparing to launch a political initiative to define the profile of the future Lebanese president, which includes having “a clear position on the subject of sovereignty and the monopoly of the carrying of arms,” a reference to Hezbollah. The initiative, along with one or two names of presidential candidates that the Forces of Change bloc of 13 MPs would support, will be announced at a press conference, bloc member MP Paula Yacoubian said.
Former Deputy Speaker of Parliament Farid Makari was laid to rest during a funeral Friday morning in northern Lebanon attended by caretaker Prime Minister Mikati and other officials. Makari had occupied the Greek Orthodox seat for Koura (North Lebanon) in the country’s 1992 Parliament. He was re-elected in 1996, 2000, 2005 and 2009 and was also appointed minister of information under Rafik Hariri in 1995 and 1996.
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from over the weekend: “Gold coast — Lebanon’s expensive summer beaches.”