Lebanon’s economy and basic services have reached ‘precipice of collapse,’ warns US ambassador

US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea. (AFP file photo)
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Updated 16 August 2021
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Lebanon’s economy and basic services have reached ‘precipice of collapse,’ warns US ambassador

  • President refuses to bow down to political and popular calls for his resignation
  • Hezbollah leader urges formation of new government at ‘any price’

BEIRUT: Lebanon's economy and basic services have reached the “precipice of collapse,” US ambassador Dorothy Shea warned on Monday, as President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati engaged in dialogue to reach an acceptable formula for a new government.

Speaking after her meeting with Aoun and Mikati, the ambassador said the Lebanese were suffering and that every day without an “empowered government committed to and able to implement urgently needed reforms” was a day in which the already dire situation slid further into humanitarian catastrophe.

“We urge those who continue to block government formation and reform to put aside partisan interests,” she added.

The US welcomed the EU’s new sanctions framework to promote accountability and reform in Lebanon, with the ambassador also saying her country would “continue to coordinate” with its partners on appropriate measures.

“Lebanon needs its leaders to take urgent rescue actions, and that can't happen without an empowered, rescue-focused government that begins to address the needs of the people and begins the hard work of economic recovery.”

On Monday, information spread about French and US pressure on all parties in Lebanon to form a government.

The exchange rate dropped at the beginning of the week to LBP18,500 to the dollar despite the ongoing crises.

Consultations to form a government appear to have reached the stage of choosing ministers after an agreement to distribute portfolios to sects and political parties.

An agreement was reached last week between Aoun and Mikati to keep the sovereign portfolios in line with their previous distribution, with the Ministry of Finance going to the Shiites, the Ministry of Interior going to the Sunnis, and the Ministry of Justice going to the Maronites.

But Future Bloc MP Mohammed Al-Hajjar tempered the prevailing optimism.

“We will see how things play out at the end,” he told Arab News. “There is internal and external pressure on Aoun to facilitate the formation of the government.”

He expressed concern about Aoun's attempt to “absorb these pressures by spreading an atmosphere of optimism and then going back on his promises.”

On Monday, Aoun responded to political and popular demands for him to step down by stating that he would not resign.

He said he would carry out his duties until the end and that the president of the republic — “despite the powers that he had lost” — was a partner in the formation process with the prime minister-designate. The president had the right to choose from among the suggested names “in light of his moral authority.”

“No one will shake my stance or keenness to carry on what I have started in the fight against corruption.”

Aoun accused some of seeking to obstruct the formation of the government, saying that strikes had disrupted trade, industry and production. He insisted on a criminal audit into Banque du Liban.

“The closer we get to the audit, the greater the pressure to prevent it. Corruption is the product of the mafia mentality, as facts have proven over the ages.”

His remarks came as the Lebanese flag was lowered at the presidential palace in mourning for the victims of Sunday’s fuel tanker explosion in the Akkar region.

The Lebanese Red Cross found yet another charred body at the site of the incident, bringing the death toll to 29.

Efforts to agree on a new government have been spurred on by a fuel crisis that has brought much of the country to a standstill.

The tanker tragedy and the desperate fight for basic supplies such as fuel have exposed the deterioration of the state’s health and security sectors, with Hezbollah warning the extent of the chaos could worsen and calling for a government to be put together “in any form and at any price.”

The party's secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah said on Sunday night: “The solution to the issue of lifting subsidies is to form a government that takes the appropriate decision. The situation in the country is intolerable. Let the formation take place within days.”

Hezbollah has been blamed for not seriously pressuring its ally Aoun to form a government, but Nasrallah seemed to be addressing the president in his speech: “Enough. Give up your quotas. Form a government at any cost. Everyone must sacrifice.”

 


Explosion occurs at Turkish oil refinery during drills

Updated 53 min 21 sec ago
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Explosion occurs at Turkish oil refinery during drills

  • A fire was quickly brought under control by the privately owned company’s own emergency crews

ANKARA: An explosion occurred at an oil refinery in northwestern Turkey on Tuesday, an official said, adding the situation was “under control” and there were no reports of any casualties.
Mayor Tahir Buyukakin told private NTV television that the blast occurred at the Turkish Petroleum Refineries company, Tupras, in Izmit provicince during “routine drills.”
A fire was quickly brought under control by the privately owned company’s own emergency crews and no request for help was made, he said.
Video footage from the site showed smoke rising from the refinery.
It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion.


Lebanon media reports strike on residential building south of Beirut

Updated 05 November 2024
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Lebanon media reports strike on residential building south of Beirut

BEIRUT: Lebanese state media reported a strike on an apartment in the Jiyeh coastal area south of Beirut on Tuesday, more than a month into the Israel-Hezbollah war.
The official National News Agency said “a raid targeted a residential apartment in a building in the town of Jiyeh,” where an AFP correspondent said a large plume of grey smoke covered the area.


Iran says killed eight militants since attack on police in province bordering Pakistan

Updated 05 November 2024
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Iran says killed eight militants since attack on police in province bordering Pakistan

  • Militants from the Jaish Al-Adl group killed 10 police officers during a raid in Sistan-Baluchistan province on October 26
  • Sistan-Baluchistan, which straddles border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, is one of Iran’s most impoverished provinces

TEHRAN: Iran’s military has killed eight militants in an operation in the restive southeast since a deadly attack last month on a police station, state media reported Tuesday.
Militants from the Pakistan-based Jaish Al-Adl group killed 10 police officers during a raid on October 26 in Sistan-Baluchistan province — one of the deadliest attacks in the region in recent months.
Sistan-Baluchistan, which straddles the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, is one of Iran’s most impoverished provinces.
It has long been a flashpoint for cross-border attacks by separatists and extremists, opposed to the authorities in Iran.
Revolutionary Guards commander Ahmad Shafahi said “a total of eight terrorists have been killed” since the beginning of operations in the province, according to the official IRNA news agency on Tuesday.
“Fourteen other terrorists have been arrested,” including key figures involved in the attack, he said, adding security forces seized weapons and ammunition.
Shortly after the attack in Taftan county, some 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) southeast of the capital Tehran, a report on the Tasnim news agency said four militants had been killed and four others arrested.
Late on Monday, IRNA quoted Guards ground forces commander Mohammad Pakpour as saying the attackers “were not Iranian,” though he did not specify their nationalities.
In early October, at least six people including police officers were killed in two separate attacks in the province.
Jaish Al-Adl said on Telegram they had carried out the attacks.
Formed in 2012 by Baluch separatists, the group is proscribed as a “terrorist organization” by both Iran and the United States.
 
 


Over 100 patients to be evacuated from Gaza, WHO says

Updated 05 November 2024
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Over 100 patients to be evacuated from Gaza, WHO says

  • The patients will travel in a large convoy on Wednesday via the Kerem Shalom crossing

GENEVA: More than 100 patients including children suffering from trauma injuries and chronic diseases will be evacuated from Gaza on Wednesday in a rare transfer out of the war-ravaged enclave, a World Health Organization official said.
“These are ad hoc measures. What we have requested repeatedly is a sustained medevac (medical evacuation) outside of Gaza,” said Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, adding that 12,000 people were awaiting transfer.
The patients will travel in a large convoy on Wednesday via the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel before flying to the United Arab Emirates, he added, and then a portion will travel to Romania.


Iran says two French detainees held in good conditions

Updated 05 November 2024
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Iran says two French detainees held in good conditions

  • In recent years, Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on charges related to espionage and security

DUBAI: Two French citizens detained in Iran since May 2022 are in good health and being held in good detention conditions, Iran’s judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir said on Tuesday, according to state media.
Last month, France’s foreign ministry said the conditions that three of its nationals were being held in by Iran were unacceptable.
“According to the relevant authorities, these two people have good conditions in the detention center and are in good health, so any claim regarding their conditions being abnormal is rejected,” Jahangir said.
The spokesperson was referring to Cecile Koehler and Jacques Paris, who he said were arrested on charges of espionage and will have their next court hearing on Nov. 24.
Jahangir did not mention the third French national detained in Iran. French media have disclosed only his first name, Olivier.
In recent years, Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on charges related to espionage and security.
Rights groups have accused Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests.