This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency shows Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (center right) meeting with former Lebanese President Michel Aoun (center left) in Damascus on June 6, 2023. (Credit: Syrian Presidency/AFP)
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William Noun and Peter Bou Saab, whose respective brothers Joe Noun and Joe Bou Saab were killed in the Aug. 4, 2020, Beirut port blast, are scheduled to appear for questioning over alleged vandalism during a protest calling for the probe into the explosion to resume. Noun and Bou Saab were at a protest held by the blast victims’ relatives last Thursday outside the Beirut Justice Palace. Another activist, lawyer Wassef Harakeh, announced yesterday that he would not appear at a July 4 hearing, linked to a complaint over his participation in a Jan. 26 protest decision taken by Attorney General at the Court of Cassation Ghassan Oueidat the day before — to prosecute the judge leading the investigation into the port blast, Tarek Bitar, and to release all the detainees in the case. Yesterday, a source close to the Higher Judicial Council confirmed to L’Orient Today the appointment of First President of the Beirut Court of Appeal Habib Rizkallah to rule on the lawsuit.
Former President Michel Aoun met with Syrian President Bachar al-Assad during a visit to Syria yesterday. This is Aoun’s first visit to Syria since 2009. Assad claimed that the recent Syrian-Arab rapprochement will have “a positive impact” on Lebanon, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported. In May, Syria reintegrated into the Arab League after more than a decade of regional isolation over its deadly crackdown on street protests against Assad. The visit also comes after the start of aggressive policing of Syrian refugee communities in Lebanon and a rise in deportations.
The Internal Security Forces announced the arrest of 15 people allegedly involved in dozens of electrical cable thefts in Downtown Beirut since April. The ISF said it seized over 70 tons of copper cables and materials, allegedly acquired during nightly thefts and intended for resale to scrap merchants. The police are continuing their investigation in order to dismantle the entire network involved in these thefts, the ISF statement concluded. On May 24, the state-owned electricity provider Electricité du Liban (EDL) reported the theft of electrical cables from tunnels in the shopping area of Downtown Beirut, resulting in major damage to the power grid. EDL estimated the cost of repairs needed as a result of the theft at more than $2 million.
A generator malfunction at state telecom provider Ogero’s central station in Sour caused landline and internet outages in the area yesterday, coinciding with a one-day strike by the operator’s employees, the state-run National News Agency reported. A number of transmission stations went offline last week due to fuel shortages, which were set to be resolved by this week. Ogero employees are also scheduled to hold a one-day strike tomorrow to demand improved compensation.
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “Long-overdue pension reform, coming soon?”
Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz
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