A UN peacekeeper of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) stands at his post in the village of Markaba, near the border with Israel on Aug. 31, 2023. (Credit: Aziz Taher/Reuters)
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A Mount Lebanon judge investigating the death of 6-year-old Lynn Taleb indicted the girl’s uncle for rape and intentional homicide, as well as her mother and maternal grandparents for intentional homicide, according to court documents seen by L’Orient Today. The indictment cites two forensic doctors linking Lynn Taleb’s death to an infection and severe anemia caused by her violent sexual assault. The indicted family members are accused of attempting to cover up the rape. The family continued to deny guilt, despite the discovery of traces of the uncle's DNA on the girl's clothes. The uncle continues to claim his innocence. If convicted of intentional homicide, Taleb’s relatives could be sentenced to death.
The United Nations Security Council voted in favor of renewing the UN Interim Force in Lebanon’s (UNIFIL) mandate hours before its expiration. The text of Resolution 2695 “did not reflect all of our concerns,” Lebanon’s representative said after 13 members voted in favor of the renewal, while China and Russia abstained. The vote was postponed by one day as Lebanon sought to amend an article granting the UNIFIL freedom of movement without the Lebanese Army’s authorization. The resolution also voices UN concerns regarding “the continued Israeli presence in northern Ghajar and an adjacent area north of the Blue Line.” In July, Lebanon filed a complaint with the UN over Israel’s annexation of northern Ghajar. Manifold incidents have occurred on the Lebanese-Israeli border, including reciprocal border breaching allegations and rocket crossfire.
Caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayad announced the cancellation of a contract to purchase fuel from Coral Energy DMCC. The decision followed funding difficulties preventing the unloading of the company’s ship, Ardmore, after it docked on the Lebanese coast. Coral Energy DMCC relinquished its right to a $2.7 million delay fee in return for a similar concession from the ministry, Fayad said. Ardmore was the first shipment, valued at $30 million, of the $80 million fuel procurement deal after a tendering process between June and August.
The Qatar Fund For Development announced Wednesday that it will “provide the Lebanese Army with fuel for six months,” which is expected to arrive “within a month,” an army source told L’Orient Today. Earlier this month, Army Commander-in-Chief Joseph Aoun warned of fuel shortages faced by the army which would prevent them from conducting patrols. The Qatar Fund For Development previously provided support to Lebanon's Health Ministry by covering the expenses of diesel for several health facilities in Lebanon. The Lebanese Army regularly receives financial aid from several countries, most notably the US, Qatar, Italy, France and Turkey.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian arrived in Beirut for a series of meetings with Lebanese officials aiming to resolve the presidential deadlock, the state-run National News Agency reported. Amir-Abdollahian made a similar visit in April, in the wake of Saudi-Iranian rapprochement, during which he expressed his country’s support for “any candidate” elected by consensus. The international community’s attempts to end the vacuum also included repeated visits from French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, who is scheduled to return to Beirut this month — after a lukewarm reception to an initiative profiling an ideal candidate — to hold a dialogue with different political parties. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri yesterday called for participation in this dialogue, days after he told Al-Joumhouriya he would not call for another election session before consensus is reached. Amir-Abdollahian’s visit coincides with a follow-up visit by US envoy Amos Hochstein, who mediated the Lebanese-Israeli indirect maritime border deal signed last October.
The parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee is scheduled to meet on Monday to continue discussing draft laws on bank restructuring and financial losses, committee chief MP Ibrahim Kanaan told L’Orient Today yesterday. Kanaan was responding to criticism from caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Saade Chami who claimed the committee was deliberately delaying the examination of the two draft laws. Chami particularly objected to the committee waiting for figures “certified by audit firms” to begin examining the laws, which could take more time than Lebanon has the “luxury of waiting.” Kanaan, for his part, claimed the committee was waiting to receive the cabinet’s reworking of the bank restructuring draft law.
Barbie’s release date, initially scheduled for yesterday, has been delayed “until further notice,” an employee with Grand Cinemas told L'Orient Today. Carly Ramia, head of marketing at Selim Ramia & Co Sal (Grand Cinemas), added that Barbie’s release date has been pushed until Sept. 7 “tentatively.” Earlier this month, a source with knowledge of the Film Censorship Committee in Lebanon’s proceedings said the supervisory body found no reason to request that Barbie be banned. Caretaker Culture Minister Mohamad Mortada called for the movie to be banned, claiming that it “goes against moral and religious values in Lebanon, as it encourages perversity and gender transformation while calling for the rejection of patriarchy and ridiculing the role of mothers.”
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “‘When you go legally, everything is harder’: Lack of bank accounts stymies many Lebanese seeking travel visas”
Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz
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