Tag Archives: corruption

The judge leading Lebanon’s probe into last year’s massive port explosion has renewed his summonses of two former ministers for questioning, a judicial official said. The decision by Judge Tarek Bitar came despite intense criticism from the country’s powerful Hizbullah of the direction of the long-running investigation. Hizbullah leader Sayyed …

 Lebanon’s parliament voted on Tuesday to hold legislative elections on March 27, giving Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s government only a few months to try to secure an IMF recovery plan amid a deepening economic meltdown. Lebanon’s financial crisis, which the World Bank labelled one of the deepest depressions of modern …

Prime Minister Najib Miqati has noted that he does not intend to resign and that Cabinet will not convene before a solution is found for the dispute over Beirut port blast investigator Judge Tarek Bitar. “The security situation is stable and there are no fears,” Miqati said in an interview, …

The stance of Hizbullah and Amal Movement is “a righteous demand that serves the higher national interest as to security and stability and thwarts the strife scheme whose threads are American and is being implemented with domestic Lebanese tools,” sources close to the Shiite duo said. “Some of these tools …

Russia’s foreign ministry on Friday called on all sides in Lebanon to “show restraint” after deadly clashes rocked its capital Beirut as tensions rise over last year’s port explosion. Six people were killed and dozens wounded on Thursday when violence erupted following a rally by Shiite protesters demanding the removal …

The lead judge investigating last year’s catastrophic Beirut port blast issued an arrest warrant on Tuesday for former finance minister Ali Hassan Khalil after he failed to show up for questioning, a judicial source and local media said. Khalil, a senior member of the Shiite Amal movement and an ally …

King Abdullah of Jordan said on Monday (Oct 4) he had nothing to hide following leaks of financial documents that showed he used offshore accounts to buy expensive properties abroad. Earlier, a palace statement reacting to the leak of what major news outlets called a secret trove of documents about …

Lebanon’s top Christian cleric said on Sunday the government should put an end to any meddling in the judiciary after the probe into last year’s vast Beirut port blast was halted by the latest of a series of complaints against the lead investigator. The investigation was frozen on Monday when …

Hundreds of Iraqis marched in the center of Baghdad on Friday to mark two years since mass anti-government protests erupted in the Iraqi capital and southern provinces calling for reforms. Around 1,000 protesters took part in the event, including a significant number of women, many carrying photos of loved ones …

The Lebanese Interior Ministry is planning to hold parliamentary elections on March 27, 2022, which is nearly six weeks before the end of the current parliament’s mandate. However, the final date for the elections has not been confirmed yet, which has added to the uncertainty many Lebanese people have felt …

A senior official in the Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah told the judge investigating the disastrous Beirut port blast that it would remove him from the probe, according to a journalist who says she conveyed the message and a judicial source. Judge Tarek Bitar described the message in a letter to …

Former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who fought for independence from France, reconciled his conflict-ravaged nation and was then ousted amid pro-democracy protests in 2019 after two decades in power, has died at age 84, state television announced Friday. The report on ENTV, citing a statement from the office of current President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, did not …

Lebanon’s finance minister Youssef Khalil on Friday signed a new contract with restructuring consultancy Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) to carry out a forensic audit at the country’s central bank, the ministry said in a statement. A&M will give an initial report to the ministry within 12 weeks of its team …

Iraqi populist Shi’ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Friday that he and his supporters would take part in an October general election, reversing a decision last month to stay out. Sadr’s bloc is part of a coalition that holds the most seats in parliament now, and is likely to …

The judge leading the investigation into last summer’s Beirut port blast issued a subpoena for caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Thursday after he failed to show up for questioning, Lebanon’s state news agency reported. Judge Tarek Bitar, who is leading the inquiry into the explosion, issued requests in July …

Saudi Arabia reiterated on Tuesday its solidarity with the Lebanese people, but said any assistance to current or future government depends on serious reforms, state news agency SPA reported, citing a statement by the Saudi Cabinet. “Any assistance provided to the current or future government depends on it carrying out …

A report released by Human Rights Watch on Tuesday concluded there was strong evidence to suggest some Lebanese officials knew about and tacitly accepted the lethal risks posed by ammonium nitrate stored at Beirut port before the fatal blast there on Aug. 4 last year. The explosion, caused by the chemicals stored unsafely at the port for …

Raging wildfires have burned large swathes of Lebanon’s pine forests in the mountainous north of the country, killing at least one firefighter and forcing some residents to flee, the National News Agency said on Wednesday. The country’s fire brigade and army are trying to control the fires fueled by strong …

 Riots left more than two dozen people injured in Tripoli on Friday, including 10 soldiers, as tensions continued to rise in Lebanon. “The situation seems to be getting worse, and things are about to escalate because we are facing a difficult political and social fate,” said Lebanese Armed Forces Commander …

Lebanon’s prime minister-designate Saad Al-Hariri said on Wednesday he had presented a cabinet proposal to President Michel Aoun and is awaiting his response on Thursday, in a move that could end almost nine months of political deadlock amid an economic collapse. “Now is the moment of truth,” Hariri, who has …

Police fired tear gas to try to disperse relatives of victims of last year’s Beirut port blast protesting outside the home of the caretaker interior minister on Tuesday over his refusal to let the lead investigator question Lebanon’s security chief. Nearly a year after the Aug. 4 explosion, which killed …

The death toll from a fire that tore through a coronavirus hospital in southern Iraq rose to 92, health officials said on Tuesday, as authorities faced accusations of negligence from grieving relatives and a doctor who works there. More than 100 people were injured in the blaze on Monday night …

The European Union said on Monday it wanted to agree by the end of July the legal framework for a sanctions regime targeting Lebanese leaders, but cautioned that the measure would not be immediately implemented. Led by France, the EU is seeking to ramp up pressure on Lebanon’s squabbling politicians …

Lebanon’s most senior Christian cleric said on Thursday he hoped for an improvement in ties with Saudi Arabia, which has withheld support for the crisis-torn Lebanese economy because of the rising influence of its arch-enemy Hezbollah. Lebanon is battling an economic meltdown that poses the worst threat to its stability …

A Palestinian activist who died in the custody of President Mahmoud Abbas’s security forces took blows to the head, a Palestinian rights group said after conducting an autopsy, adding the wounds indicated “an unnatural death”. According to relatives, Nizar Banat was severely beaten during his arrest by Palestinian security forces …

The European Union’s foreign policy chief said on Sunday a fight among Lebanese leaders to secure power is at the heart of its government crisis and he urged them to set their feud aside and form a cabinet or risk a total financial crash and sanctions. Speaking after talks with …

Josep Borrell, the high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy, has criticized Lebanese officials and conveyed a “severe” message for “not forming the government after nine months of the resignation of Hassan Diab’s government and nomination of Saad Hariri as prime minister-designate.” Borrell, who is also …

Criteria for European Union sanctions being prepared for Lebanese politicians are likely to be corruption, obstructing efforts to form a government, financial mishandling and human rights abuses, according to a diplomatic note seen by Reuters. Led by France, the EU is seeking to ramp up pressure on Lebanon’s squabbling politicians …

A Jordanian MP expelled from parliament for inciting riots, has been arrested Jordan News Agency reported on Wednesday. Jordanian MPs voted earlier this month to remove Osama Al-Ajarmeh from the lower house after violence erupted in the suburb of Naour, a stronghold of the Ajarmeh tribe in southwest Amman.  Four …

Public prosecutors in Lebanon have been instructed to crack down on the monopoly on foodstuffs and oil derivatives as political, security and diplomatic concerns grow over explosive daily protests. The spontaneous protests are also demanding access to medicine, fuel, hospitalization and electricity. The Crisis Observatory at the American University of …

In a speech seen as an act of defiance against the Lebanese state and the US, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday insisted that Lebanon should be “negotiating with Iran to buy gasoline and diesel with the Lebanese currency if Lebanon’s shortages persist.” Seemingly unconcerned about the possibility that this …

Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun approved an exceptional loan of up to 300 billion Lebanese pounds ($200 million) on Monday for the state electricity company to import fuel for generation before supplies run out, an official statement said. Lebanon is mired in a financial crisis, caused by a mountain of debt built …

France has opened a probe into the personal wealth of Riad Salameh, central bank chief in crisis-hit Lebanon, sources told AFP Sunday. Paris financial prosecutors have opened a preliminary probe into criminal association and money laundering by Salameh, a source close to the investigation and a judicial source said, following …

Prime Minister-Designate Saad Hariri asked the Lebanese government on Saturday to pay its dues to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and for the international community to shoulder its responsibility. The tribunal was set up to prosecute those behind the 2005 assassination of Hariri’s father, Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. It is …

Part of the file being considered by French investigating judges who questioned fugitive former car executive Carlos Ghosn in Beirut this week should be considered invalid, his defense team said on Friday. French judges have been holding hearings in Beirut’s Palace of Justice since Monday, in a process that Ghosn’s …

Lebanon’s central bank yesterday said depositors with accounts active as of October 2019 would be able to withdraw up to $400 a month plus the equivalent amount in local currency, marking a significant concession after a chaotic two days in Lebanese banking. Lebanese banks had locked depositors out of their …

Pope Francis said Sunday he would invite Lebanon’s Christian leaders to the Vatican on July 1 to reflect and pray for “peace and stability” in the stricken Middle Eastern nation. Lebanon is in the throes of a double economic and political crisis. It is experiencing its worst financial downturn since …

 Lebanon’s central bank said on Thursday that a system for importing subsidised medical goods could not be sustained without using its mandatory reserves and asked the relevant authorities to find a solution to the problem. Lebanon, which in the throes of a financial crisis that is threatening its stability, has …

Lebanon’s parliament will convene on Friday to discuss a letter written by the president saying Prime Minister-designate Saad Al-Hariri had shown he was incapable of forming a government that could pull the nation out of financial crisis. The letter, seen by Reuters, follows months of political negotiations in a country …

Political and economic figures have expressed their opposition to dragging Lebanon into a regional conflict amid the Palestine-Israel crisis and violent clashes. The Vice President of the General Labor Confederation Hassan Fakih warned against “taking the country into total chaos that will wipe out what is left of Lebanon.” His …

Saudi Arabia has released construction tycoon Bakr Bin Laden after more than three years since he was detained as part of a corruption crackdown in 2017, two sources told Reuters on Thursday. The former chairman of Saudi Bin Ladin group and a half-brother of Osama bin Laden, was released a …

The EU is drawing up sanctions on politicians in Lebanon seen as blocking the formation of a government, readying the bloc’s first penalties on its Middle Eastern ally in frustration at the ruling elite’s mismanagement, diplomats said. Led by former colonial power France, the bloc is seeking to ramp up …

Israel’s president on Wednesday chose Yair Lapid, a centrist politician and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s strongest rival, to try to form a new government, but his path to success was still uncertain. Israel’s longest serving leader, Netanyahu, 71, has been fighting to hold onto office through four inconclusive elections since …

A deadline for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new government has expired. He had been trying for the past 28 days to build a coalition after the fourth inconclusive general election in two years, but the deadline ended at midnight on Wednesday (22:00 GMT). President Reuven Rivlin could …