Beirut blast judge issues subpoena for PM Diab after no-show

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Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, August 10, 2020. (Reuters)
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Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Hassan Diab speaks to reporters at the presidential palace in Beirut, November 10, 2020. (AFP)
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Updated 26 August 2021
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Beirut blast judge issues subpoena for PM Diab after no-show

  • Tarek Bitar, a Lebanese judge leading the probe into last year’s explosion at Beirut’s port, made the decision after weeks of delay by Hassan Diab
  • Security forces have been ordered to bring in Diab by force, 24 hours before the date of the next questioning session, which Bitar set for Sept. 20

BEIRUT: A subpoena for Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister was issued on Thursday after he failed to show up for questioning in a growing case surrounding last year’s Beirut blast.

Tarek Bitar, a Lebanese judge leading the probe into last year’s explosion at Beirut’s port, made the decision after weeks of delay by Hassan Diab.

Last month, Bitar confirmed charges filed by his predecessor against Diab and three former ministers.

Security forces have been ordered to bring in Diab by force, 24 hours before the date of the next questioning session, which Bitar set for Sept. 20.

A judicial source told Arab News: “This step will be followed by similar ones. Judge Bitar may issue similar subpoenas, based on Article 106 of the Code of Criminal Procedures, against other defendants, including former ministers and security officials.”

Bitar and judicial investigator Fadi Sawan — who handled the case before him —  charged former ministers and current MPs in addition to Diab, namely Ali Hassan Khalil, Ghazi Zeaiter, Nohad Machnouk and former minister Youssef Fenianos.

Hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive material used in fertilizers that had been improperly stored in the port for years, exploded on Aug. 4 last year, killing 215 people, injuring more than 6,500 and devastating nearby neighborhoods.

“The failure of the political class to facilitate Bitar’s judicial work in a crime that took place a year and three weeks ago without accountability is the reason for him to take this path in order to reach the truth,” the judicial source added.

On Wednesday, Bitar simulated the circumstances that preceded the explosion, which occurred after a gap was welded in the structure of a warehouse in which the ammonium nitrate was stored.

The simulation was attended by several lawyers representing the concerned parties, a joint committee of army officers and the Information Division of the Internal Security Forces, while members of the Civil Defense supervised field preparations.

The Lebanese Meteorological Department was also present to link the simulation with climatic conditions on the day of the explosion.

The simulation took four to five hours and was documented without a media presence.

A detailed reenactment of the welding was carried out to verify whether it had a direct effect in causing the fire that preceded the explosion.

A model similar to the original warehouse was constructed for the purposes of the simulation, just meters away from the hole created by the explosion.

Bitar assigned technical experts to draw up a report showing whether the welding caused the explosion after investigators previously ruled out the potential of an aerial bombardment.

He is expected to issue an indictment at the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Bitar is struggling with a lack of harmony with the Public Prosecution in the Beirut blast probe.

In December 2020, Public Prosecutor Judge Ghassan Oweidat stopped pursuing the investigation as a judicial prosecutor in the case because he is related to MP Ghazi Zeaiter, who was later charged.

The families of fire brigade members who died in the blast have also met Bitar. William Noun, whose brother Joe was one of the victims, said: “The families of all the victims will take action next week and organize a sit-in in front of the Justice Palace in Beirut to support the investigation’s progress. History will prove that politicians are failures.”

Meanwhile, three people have been charged for the Aug. 15 explosion of a fuel tank that killed 31 people in the town of Al-Tleil in the Akkar region.

Military Court Judge Fadi Akiki accused detainees George Rashid Ibrahim and Ali Sobhi Faraj of “unsafely storing flammable materials, despite their knowledge of the danger they pose to the lives of citizens, and causing the death of 31 soldiers and civilians.” He charged another detainee Jerji Elias Ibrahim with “setting the fire with a lighter.”


Pope Francis set to visit Turkiye for Council of Nicaea anniversary in 2025

Updated 8 sec ago
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Pope Francis set to visit Turkiye for Council of Nicaea anniversary in 2025

  • The pope had already expressed in June the desire to go on the trip despite international travel becoming increasingly difficult for him
ROME: Pope Francis said on Thursday he planned to visit Turkiye’s Iznik next year for the anniversary of the first council of the Christian Church, Italian news agency ANSA reported.
The early centuries of Christianity were marked by debate about how Jesus could be both God and man, and the Church decided on the issue at the First Council of Nicaea in 325.
“During the Holy Year, we will also have the opportunity to celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the first great Ecumenical Council, that of Nicaea. I plan to go there,” the pontiff was quoted as saying at a theological committee event.
The city, now known as Iznik, is in western Anatolia, some 150km southeast of Istanbul.
The pope had already expressed in June the desire to go on the trip and the spiritual head of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, had said the two men would celebrate the important recurrence together but no official confirmation had been made yet.
Despite international travel becoming increasingly difficult for him because of health issues, Francis, who will turn 88 on Dec. 17, completed in September a 12-day tour across Asia, the longest of his 11-year papacy.

Israel wants India’s Adani Group to continue investments after US bribery allegations

Updated 44 min 37 sec ago
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Israel wants India’s Adani Group to continue investments after US bribery allegations

  • Adani Group holds a 70 percent stake in Haifa port in northern Israel and is involved in multiple other projects with firms in the country
  • US last week accused Adani Group of being part of scheme to pay bribes of $265 million to secure contracts, misleading US investors 

HYDERABAD, India: Israel wants India’s Adani Group to continue to invest in the country, Israel’s envoy to India said on Thursday, affirming the nation’s support for the ports-to-media conglomerate whose billionaire founder is facing bribery allegations in the United States.

“We wish Adani and all Indian companies continue to invest in Israel,” Ambassador Reuven Azar said in an interview with Reuters, adding that allegations by US authorities were “not something that’s problematic” from Israel’s point of view.

The Adani Group holds a 70% stake in Haifa port in northern Israel and is involved in multiple other projects with firms in the country, including to produce military drones and plans for the manufacture of commercial semiconductors.

US authorities last week accused Gautam Adani, his nephew, and Adani Green’s managing director of being part of a scheme to pay bribes of $265 million to secure Indian power supply contracts and misleading US investors during fund raising efforts there.

Adani Group has denied all the accusations, calling them “baseless.”

Still, shares and bonds of Adani companies were hammered last week and some partners began to review joint projects.

“I am sure Adani Group will resolve its problems,” Azar said on the sidelines of an event in the southern city of Hyderabad.


Lebanon to hold parliament session on Jan. 9 to elect president

Updated 51 min 13 sec ago
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Lebanon to hold parliament session on Jan. 9 to elect president

  • State news agency: ‘Speaker Nabih Berri called a parliament session to elect a president of the republic on January 9’

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s parliament will hold a session in January to elect a new president, official media reported on Thursday, a day after an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire began and following more than two years of presidential vacuum.
“Speaker Nabih Berri called a parliament session to elect a president of the republic on January 9,” the official National News Agency reported.


Israel says ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon violated

Updated 13 min 37 sec ago
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Israel says ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon violated

  • Lebanese security sources and state media report tank fire struck Markaba, Wazzani and Kfarchouba
  • Lebanon’s military deployed troops and tanks across the country’s south on Thursday

BEIRUT: Israel’s military announced on Thursday that it had detected the presence of suspects in several areas of southern Lebanon, calling it a violation of the ceasefire with Hezbollah.

Earlier on Thursday Israeli tank fire targeted three towns along Lebanon’s southeastern border with Israel, according to Lebanese security sources and state media. The strikes came a day after the ceasefire, which prohibits “offensive military operations,” had officially taken effect.

The tank fire hit Markaba, Wazzani, and Kfarchouba, all located within two kilometers of the Blue Line that marks the border between Lebanon and Israel. One security source reported that two people were wounded in Markaba.

A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday under a deal brokered by the US and France, intended to allow people in both countries to start returning to homes in border areas shattered by 14 months of fighting.

But managing the returns have been complicated. Israeli troops remain stationed within Lebanese territory in towns along the border, and on Thursday morning the Israeli military urged residents of towns along the border strip not to return yet for their own safety.

The three towns hit on Thursday morning lie within that strip.

There was no immediate comment on the tank rounds from Hezbollah or Israel, who had been fighting for over a year in parallel with the Gaza war.

Lebanon’s military deployed troops and tanks across the country’s south on Thursday as a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war largely held for a second day.

A Lebanese army source said its forces were “conducting patrols and setting up checkpoints” south of the Litani River without advancing into areas where Israeli forces were still present.

In the border village of Qlaaya, residents threw rice and flowers to celebrate the arrival of Lebanese soldiers.

“We only want the Lebanese army,” chanted the residents of the Christian-majority village, as they clapped and cheered for the troops and waved the Lebanese red, white and green flag.

Since the ceasefire took effect on Wednesday, tens of thousands of Lebanese who fled their homes have headed back to their towns and villages, only to find scenes of devastation.

“Despite all the destruction and the sorrow, we are happy to be back,” said Umm Mohammed Bzeih, a widow who fled with her four children from the southern village of Zibqin two months ago.

“I feel as if our souls have returned,” she said, visibly exhausted as she swept up the shattered glass and pieces of stones that carpeted the floor.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said his group was cooperating on the army’s deployment in the south.

There is “full cooperation” with the Lebanese state in strengthening the army’s deployment, he said, adding the group had “no visible weapons or bases” but “nobody can make residents leave their villages.”

The agreement, a rare diplomatic feat in a region racked by conflict, ended the deadliest confrontation between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group in years. But Israel is still fighting its other arch foe, the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in the Gaza Strip.

Under the ceasefire terms, Israeli forces can take up to 60 days to withdraw from southern Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the military not to allow residents back to villages near the border.

Lebanon’s speaker of parliament Nabih Berri, the top interlocutor for Lebanon in negotiating the deal, had said on Wednesday that residents could return home.


Syria war monitor says more than 130 dead in army-militant clashes in north

Updated 28 November 2024
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Syria war monitor says more than 130 dead in army-militant clashes in north

  • Clashes followed “an operation launched by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said
  • The air forces of both Syria and its ally Russia struck the attacking militants

BEIRUT: A monitor of Syria’s war said on Thursday that more than 130 combatants had been killed in clashes between the army and militant groups in the country’s north, as the government also reported fierce fighting.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the toll in the clashes which began a day earlier after the militants launched an attack “has risen to 132, including 65 fighters” from Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, 18 from allied factions “and 49 members of the regime forces.”