Son of late Libyan ruler Moammar al-Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, denied all allegations that he had entered an agreement for the release of his brother, Hannibal, who has been jailed in Lebanon for six years. Khaled al-Zaidi, the lawyer of Saif al-Islam, denied allegations of the deal that was reported by the French Pan-African news site Jeune Afrique. Khaled al-Zaidi stressed that the report was baseless. The report quoted Suha al-Badri, an alleged aide to Saif al-Islam, stating that Hannibal’s release was imminent after a bail of $150.000 was paid to Lebanese authorities. “No understanding or deal has been reached…
Author: Signe Jacobsen
President of the Lebanese University (LU), Bassam Badran, announced that “there is a university academic year ahead, and the state is required to secure funds quickly for a number of decrees issued in order to secure the minimum for a professor to finish the academic year.” In an interview with ‘Voice of Lebanon’, Badran confirmed that “the university will not close its doors, and there is a meeting with donors in the near future.” Badran asserted that “the state is required to be convinced that the university can be an advisor to it in all ministries.” In relation to the…
Deputy Parliament Speaker Elias Bou Saab announced on Tuesday that the parliament has suspended the long ongoing discussions of the capital control law. The discussions are paused until the cabinet reaches an agreement on a complete reform plan. Bou Saab noted that the Parliament will be awaiting reform laws from the government, saying: “Today’s session was fruitful, and we are working to reach results. The ball is now in the government’s court to provide what it has so we can get back to work.” The reform laws in question include a bank restructuring law. The purpose of the capital control…
The project of cooling the Beirut port silos, which have been burning for several weeks, continues. The first phase ended Sunday, August 28th, and was set by the Beirut Fire Brigade. Firefighters managed to reduce temperatures in the silos to below 50 degrees after it was initially around 450 degrees. The second phase begins today, Monday, August 29th, in collaboration with the contractor responsible for clearing the site of rubble. Authorities expect the project to be successful, although it is not the first attempt to extinguish the fire. Related: Lebanese Civil Defense Completed First Stage Of Fire Extinguishment At Beirut…
The Hadath municipality has decided to ban motorcycles between 7 pm and 7 am every day of the week. The ban, which became effective last Saturday, is reportedly aiming to confront “the proliferation of theft, drugs, and security incidents.” The ban applies to all motorcycles, registered and unregistered, throughout the municipality, on main and secondary streets. This affects all residents of the area who commute to and from it by motorcycle, including all delivery workers and restaurants that depend on delivery services. Several other municipalities in the Baabda district have tightened security measures at night, without banning motorcycles, such as…
The Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF) announced today, Wednesday, that they arrested a father after investigating intel that he brutally abused his minor son in Shawaliq-Jezzine. The ISF raided the family’s house, arresting the father M. B. (a Syrian national, born 1985), and documented with pictures the traces and effects of torture and abuse on the 13-year-old son (A.B., born 2009) The father confessed during his interrogation to flogging his son with a water hose. The legal requirement was carried out against the father based on the reference of the pertinent judiciary. Child abuse cases, as well as domestic violence,…
Lebanese judges met in a General Assembly at the Beirut Palace of Justice on Tuesday, August 23rd, at the request of the Higher Judicial Council. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the work stoppage announced by a large number of judges. On August 17th, 370 out of 550 judges declared they would go on strike and suspended all judicial work, including urgent matters. At the meeting, over 400 judges announced they would continue their strike. The assembly agreed that the purpose of the strike was still valid, being that salaries are not calculated according to the $1 = 8.000…
A fire broke out Tuesday morning in a plastics factory in Minyeh, North Lebanon. With help from volunteers, the Civil Defense managed to control the fire. According to local news, the fire left the factory completely destroyed and caused “big material losses.” Luckily, no injuries have been reported as the factory was empty at the time the fire broke out early. The black fumes from the fire filled the area, compelling nearby residents to close all their windows and doors and all surrounding buildings to evacuate. The cause of the fire is not yet clear, but the factory owners are…
Depositor Bassam al-Sheikh Hussein took several bank employees hostage at Federal Bank in Hamra on August 11th. At a press conference for The Cry of Depositors Association on Thursday, he said that he will begin negotiations with the bank and resort to the judiciary to withdraw his money, and otherwise, he “will do it again.” The remainder of his deposit is valued at $137.000. He states that he needed the money to pay for his father’s medical bills. According to Banque du Liban Circular No. 158, Lebanese banks should release $400 monthly to depositors. Hussein said the bank had failed…
Lebanese-American Hadi Matar, who stabbed author Salman Rushdie several times on August 12th, said he “was surprised” to learn that the writer had survived the attack. Matar was interviewed from his jail cell when he justified his crime saying that Rushdie “is someone who attacked Islam, he attacked their beliefs, the belief system.” He denies charges of attempted murder and assault but, when speaking to the New York Post from his cell in Chautauqua County Jail, he said: “When I heard he survived, I was surprised, I guess.” The 75-year-old Salman Rushdie has lived with death threats for decades since…
