The silos at the Beirut port stand devastated in the aftermath of the Aug. 4, 2020 explosion. (Credit: João Sousa/L’Orient Today)
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Today is the third anniversary of the Aug. 4, 2020, Beirut port explosion. A march from the Karantina Fire Brigade to the Beirut port is scheduled for this afternoon. “We are forced to take to the streets to demand that the investigations resume,” said activist William Noun, whose brother, Joe, was a firefighter killed while responding to the blast. Noun and other activists have repeatedly been summoned for alleged vandalism during protests calling for the probe to resume. Ahead of the commemoration, the Australian, German and Dutch ambassadors called on Lebanese authorities to “stop the obstruction and delays in the investigation” and guarantee its completion independently and free from interference. Meanwhile, Lebanese and international organizations, along with survivors and families of the victims, urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to establish an “independent and impartial fact-finding mission” to investigate the explosion. Last night, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah extended his condolences to victims’ relatives while criticizing allegations of his party’s involvement in the blast. The port blast killed over 220 people, caused more than 6,500 injuries and destroyed swathes of the capital.
The cabinet approved a sevenfold increase to state telecom operator Ogero’s fixed-call and internet tariffs, caretaker Telecoms Minister Johnny Corm announced after a government meeting on the 2023 budget. Corm told L'Orient Today that this increase is essential to enable Ogero to cover all of its operating costs, excluding salaries. This is the second rate increase in just over a year. Despite the sevenfold increase, Corm last month said the hiked tariffs “will be 25 to 27 percent lower” than pre-crisis prices, in dollar terms. On July 1, 2022, the Telecoms Ministry raised all telecom tariffs— fixed and mobile. Until then, they remained aligned on the former official parity of LL1,507.5 to the dollar, which was already outdated on the parallel market. Mobile telecoms prices continue to top year-on-year inflation figures after surging upwards last year.
Israeli bulldozers began landscaping activities near the southern Lebanese border yesterday, a day after Israel submitted a complaint over alleged border violations by Hezbollah. A United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) spokesperson denied that Israeli bulldozers had crossed the Blue Line, as claimed by Hezbollah-affiliated TV channel al-Manar correspondent Ali Cheaib. A day earlier, Israel filed a complaint with the UN calling for the removal of tents allegedly set up by Hezbollah beyond Lebanon’s southern border. The Lebanese Army has repeatedly stood on alert facing alleged border violations during Israeli construction works over the past months. In June, Israel fired tear gas toward protesters rallying in support of a Lebanese farmer who stood off an Israeli bulldozer allegedly encroaching on his land. Israel’s deployment of non-lethal weapons along the border also separately injured a Lebanese journalist and MP and Hezbollah members. Border tensions peaked with rocket crossfire between Israel and unidentified parties in South Lebanon following the Israeli annexation of the northern part of the Ghajar village, which the UN-drawn Blue Line considers Lebanese territory. Lebanon filed a complaint to the UN over the annexation last month.
Lebanon extradited a wanted alleged Italian mafia member, Bartolo Bruzzaniti, weeks after his arrest in Jounieh, north of Beirut, judicial sources told AFP. Bruzzaniti was flown to Rome by an “Italian security delegation” yesterday. Last month, cooperation between General Security and the Italian Guardia di Finanza led to Bruzzaniti’s arrest in a Jounieh restaurant, Italian prosecutor Giovanni Bombardieri told L’Orient Today. Bruzzaniti was the 76th person arrested abroad in the Interpol Cooperation Against ‘Ndrangheta program (I-CAN), targeting Italy's wealthiest and most powerful mafia. A security source last month told L’Orient Today that Bruzzaniti, an alleged key intermediary in the ‘Ndrangheta cocaine trade, traveled from Côte d'Ivoire to Lebanon with the help of Lebanese diaspora in the African country.
State legal department head Helene Iskandar filed an appeal against the release of former Banque du Liban governor Riad Salameh following his hearing Wednesday in an ongoing probe into alleged embezzlement of public funds, a senior judicial source told L’Orient Today. Judge Charbel Abou Samra concluded his interrogation of Salameh on Wednesday asking the former governor to remain at the judiciary’s disposal, a judicial source then-told L’Orient Today. Iskandar, who was assigned to the case to protect the Lebanese state’s interests, reportedly asked Abou Samra to request, via the Court of Cassation, judicial cooperation between Lebanon and France in the Salameh case. France, one of at least five European jurisdictions investigating the governor, issued an international arrest warrant for Salameh after he skipped a Paris hearing in May. The French judiciary also seized tens of millions of euros worth of assets from Salameh, suspecting they were acquired through allegedly embezzled funds.
The Lebanese Red Cross confirmed the launch of an investigation into one of its members, amid allegations circulating on social media accusing him of harassment. The Lebanese Red Cross said the investigation is being conducted by a “neutral and independent entity,” adding that it “strictly adheres to a zero-tolerance policy” towards harassment. In December 2020, Parliament passed a landmark law criminalizing sexual harassment and approved amendments intended to strengthen the country’s existing law on domestic violence.
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “Aline Salloum: Embracing inner peace, rebuilding hope after Beirut blast”
Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz
