Graffiti in Beirut. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today/File photo)
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Two men were found shot dead Saturday on Qornet al-Sawda, Lebanon’s highest mountain peak, after an armed dispute between nearby residents, the army said in a statement, adding that it had arrested several suspects. The funeral for the two men – Haitham Tok and Malek Tok – is expected to take place today. Residents of nearby Bsharri said seven other civilians were also wounded in the conflict. Political and religious leaders condemned the incident and called for calm pending the results of the investigation. Faysal Karameh, an MP for the region, urged the media not to "portray this affair as a dispute between the inhabitants of Dinnieh and [nearby] Bkaasafrine, on the one hand, and Bsharri on the other.” Land disputes and water supply issues have been linked to past conflicts between the residents of Bsharri and Bkaasafrine in the Dinnieh region of North Lebanon.
The French judiciary charged Banque du Liban (BDL) governor Riad Salameh’s former assistant, Marianne Hoayek, with criminal conspiracy and money laundering, AFP reported on Friday. Hoayek’s lawyer told AFP she denies the allegations. Hoayek is the third of Salameh’s associates to face charges in France, along with his former paramour Anna Kosakova and AM Bank Chairman Marwan Kheireddine. Kheireddine is suspected of providing Salameh with doctored bank documents that concealed alleged BDL embezzlement, the discovery of which led to French charges and an Interpol Red Notice targeting the central bank chief. A French court is scheduled to issue a ruling tomorrow on a restitution request for tens of millions of euros in assets linked to Salameh. Hoayek, Salameh and his brother Raja face a slew of charges in Lebanon for allegedly colluding to defraud BDL of hundreds of millions of dollars. Last month, the Lebanese government approved the appointment of two lawyers representing Lebanon in the French investigation into Salameh.
A wildfire broke out on Sunday in Ain al-Safssaf, Akkar, northern Lebanon, burning a number of trees, a member of the environmental group Akkar Trail told L'Orient Today. Members of the group’s firefighting team managed to extinguish the fire and prevent its expansion. On June 24, a massive wildfire broke out in the Sinn region of Akkar, burning at least 90 hectares of forest, ravaging centuries-old trees and affecting homes. In a press release, Akkar Trail said last week's wildfire was just the beginning. Lebanon is still at the start of its wildfire season, and the country has limited capacity and resources to fight such flames.
"All fees for services offered by the General Security have increased," a General Security source told L'Orient Today on Friday. Renewing a 10-year passport in Lebanon will now cost LL10 million, or $108 at the current parallel market exchange rate. The same operation, meanwhile, costs hundreds of dollars if done abroad. Last month, General Security announced that passport renewal requests would be processed with a maximum delay of one month. Crowds formed at General Security centers across Lebanon since they reverted to a walk-in system for passport renewals, after a monthslong travel document shortage coupled with an overloaded online appointment system left the majority of citizens unable to make renewal requests.
The World Bank on Friday announced $200 million in investments estimated to reach half of Lebanon’s farmers to improve productivity and market access in the agricultural sector. The project must first be approved by the Lebanese authorities and Parliament. The World Bank’s GATE (Green-Agri Food Transformation for Economic Recovery) project will finance “integrated support packages” to help targeted farmers and SMEs cope with the effects of the economic crisis in Lebanon. The investments will be deployed across 110 municipalities, the World Bank said, targeting 80,000 farmers and creating 2,200 jobs. The World Bank pointed out that the agri-food sector supports around 20 percent of the population and contributes to the country's food security.
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from over the weekend: “In Lebanon, polluted air quietly kills”
Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz