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Beirut port blast: Six dead as armed clashes erupt in Lebanese capital against judge leading probe

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A Lebanese mother with her children hide behind a car from sniper fire outside a school, in the Christian neighborhood of Ain el-Remaneh.

A Lebanese mother with her children hide behind a car from sniper fire outside a school, in the Christian neighborhood of Ain el-Remaneh.Credit: AP

Supporters of the Shiite Hezbollah and Amal groups chant slogans against Judge Tarek Bitar.

Supporters of the Shiite Hezbollah and Amal groups chant slogans against Judge Tarek Bitar.Credit: AP

by itv.com -- At least six people have been killed and dozens more injured by gunfire in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. The deaths occurred as armed clashes broke out during a protest demanding an end to a judicial investigation into last year’s massive blast in the city’s port. The demonstration was led by the Shia Muslim groups Hezbollah and Amal, who protested outside the Justice Palace to demand the removal of Judge Tarek Bitar. Lebanon’s interior minister, Bassam Mawlawi, said many of those injured were shot by snipers from buildings. He described the events as "a very dangerous sign". The protest also saw exchanges of fire involving, pistols, rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. Amid the chaos, four projectiles fell near a private French school, causing panic, a security official said. The students huddled in the central corridors with the windows open to avoid major impact.

Minister Sejaan Azzi: انتخاباتٌ للوطن لا للدائرة

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Azzi Says Most Local Factions Do Not Deserve | Kataeb

لا نعيشُ في لبنان تداولَ سلطةٍ بين موالاةٍ ومعارضَةٍ لكي يَقتنعَ الشعبُ بحكمِ الأكثريّةِ. الحاصِلُ منذ سنواتٍ هو سيطرةُ تحالفٍ سياسيٍّ وطائفيٍّ وعسكريٍّ على الدولةِ بالقوّةِ والترهيبِ، أو ببِدعةِ "الديمقراطيّةِ التوافقيّةِ"، أو بتسوياتِ "لا حولَ ولا قوة"، أو بتعطيلِ الاستحقاقاتِ الديمقراطيّةِ. وليتَ سيطرةَ هذا التحالفِ على السلطةِ والشرعيّةِ تَهدِفُ إلى أن يَحكُمَ على أساسِ دستورِ البلادِ وتقاليدِها وأعرافِها؛ فغايةُ السيطرةِ هي نَقضُ ما هو قائمٌ وإقامةُ ما هو مُنافٍ مفهومَ لبنان.

لذلك، وما لم نُقرِّر المواجهةَ الوطنيّةَ، يُخشى أن يكونَ الاستحقاقُ الانتخابيُّ المقبلُ، أيًّا تَكُن نتائجُه، من دونِ مفعولٍ تَغييريّ. فالقِوى المهيمِنةُ ــــ حزبُ الله وحلفاؤه ـــ ستتَخطّى، كعادتِها، نتائجَ الانتخاباتِ النيابيّةِ وستَلتَفُّ عليها، إنْ لم تكن لمصلحتِها، بألفِ طريقةٍ وطريقة ٍكما فَعلت إِثْرَ انتخاباتِ 2005 و 2009 و 2018. مَن لا يَتذكّرُ كيفَ ضَغطَت الأقليّةُ النيابيّةُ لإعادةِ انتخابِ نبيه برّي رئيسًا للمجلسِ النيابي، وأخّرَت تشكيلَ الحكومات، وفَرضَت حكوماتٍ توافقيّةً، وأغْلقت البرلمان، وأحْدثَت شُغورًا رئاسيًّا حتى كان لها ما تريد، إلخ... إنّه جُبنُ بعضِ قِوى 14 أذار.

President Michel Sleiman: حذار من التمادي … التظاهر المريب جرى ضد الحكومة الموالية للعهد وللفريق المتظاهر وضد القضاء

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ان التفلت الامني في البلاد، الناتج عن عدم حصر السلاح وعناصر النفوذ والقوة بيد الدولة، ومن بينها المرفأ ادى الى الفوضى والتسيب ومخالفة القانون وبالتالي الى الغموض في الوقائع المتعلقة بادخال النيترات وسرقتها وانفجارها . هذا الوضع فرض على المحققين توسيع مروحة التحقيقات وقوبل باعتراضات لامست التوتر الطائفي ما اطاح بدولة القانون في العاصمة بيروت ام الشرائع ويكاد يودي بالحكومة والاستقرار الامني.
حان الوقت للتعمق في اسباب ضعف الدولة المزمن واعادة ترتيب شؤونها عبر الحياد والتخلي عن سلاح حزب الله بموجب استراتيجية دفاعية وتطبيق القوانين والدستور .

حصل ما حذرنا منه صباحاً حول تعريض الاستقرار الامني…
حذار من التمادي … التظاهر المريب جرى ضد الحكومة الموالية للعهد وللفريق المتظاهر وضد القضاء … يعني ضد الدولة وهيبتها بكل ما تعنيه وترمز اليه

Lebanon political crisis brews over fate of blast judge

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Lebanon political crisis brews over fate of blast judge

by AFP -- BEIRUT: Lebanon’s month-old government called off a cabinet session Wednesday as a political crisis brewed within its ranks over whether to remove a judge investigating the massive August 2020 Beirut port blast. The debate comes at a time when Lebanese are desperately waiting for the government, formed in September after protracted horse-trading, to tackle Lebanon’s dire economic crisis. Judge Tarek Bitar was forced to suspend his probe on Tuesday after former ministers he had summoned on suspicion of negligence filed lawsuits against him. He is now emerging as the target of a political campaign led by the Shiite movements Hezbollah and Amal. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah accused him this week of political bias. Senior Amal lawmaker and former minister Ali Hasan Khalil threatened a “political escalation” if the course of the investigation “was not rectified,” after Bitar on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant against him for failing to show up for questioning. A cabinet session Tuesday ended with a row as ministers affiliated with Hezbollah and Amal pressed the government to support their demand to replace Bitar, according to a senior official who asked to remain anonymous because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

A follow-up session scheduled for Wednesday was postponed, signalling no agreement has been reached between factions in the cabinet, with some ministers arguing the government should not intervene in judicial matters. Supporters of Hezbollah and Amal called for an anti-Bitar rally on Thursday near the Justice Palace in Beirut, the site where relatives of blast victims usually stage protests denouncing political interference. Since taking up the case, Bitar has summoned an array of former premiers and ministers as well as top military and security officials for questioning on suspicion of criminal negligence. He also called in two other ex-ministers for questioning this week before he was forced to pause his probe for the second time in less than a month.

Lebanese authorities deny mistreatment of Lebanese-American citizen after family lawsuit

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by thenationalnews.com -- Lebanese authorities have denied mistreating an American-Lebanese citizen in prison who died after his release last year. In a four-page statement sent to The National, Lebanon’s General Security refuted claims by Amer Fakhoury’s family that he was mistreated during his time in prison, leading to his death from cancer. General Security said a forensic doctor had issued a report that “confirms the absence of any signs of torture or beatings or that he was subjected to any violence,” during his time at a detention centre they run. It did not provide a copy of the report to The National, or give the doctor's name. The statement said Fakhoury was transferred to a military hospital in November 2019 and to two civilian hospitals in December that year and January 2020. His wife, family, lawyers and the American Embassy “visited him regularly and viewed his medical file” it adds.

Fakhoury’s return to Beirut two years ago sparked controversy because Lebanese authorities accused him of torture and of having collaborated with Israel more than 20 years ago. Collaboration with Israel is a serious crime in Lebanon. The two countries do not have diplomatic ties and are technically still at war. Giulia Fakhoury, one of his four daughters, previously told The National that her father “obtained the Epstein Barr Virus at the Lebanese General Security”, and that the virus took his life as it went untreated and developed into lymphoma cancer. The family said last week that they are suing Iran and Hezbollah in a US federal court for the death of Fakhoury last year. They say the group controls Lebanon and is responsible for his incarceration and death.

Supporters of Lebanese president storm Al-Sharq office in Beirut

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New York, by cpj.org -- Lebanese authorities must identify the people who stormed the Beirut office of daily newspaper and news website Al-Sharq and hold them to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, at least a dozen supporters of Lebanese President Michel Aoun stormed inside the Al-Sharq office and hung pictures of Aoun with the slogan “his highness the president, the crown over your heads,” according to Al-Sharq, the regional press freedom group SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom, and footage and pictures of the incident in Lebanese media. The sources did not provide further details of the incident. The incident happened after Al-Sharq’s publication that day of what appeared to be an altered image of Aoun in pajamas with the caption “the general’s uniform on the occasion of the anniversary of October 13, 1990.” According to commentary in local news site Al-Modon, the image implied that while soldiers under Aoun were fighting in Lebanon’s Civil War, he was relaxing at the French Embassy in Beirut, where he took shelter after he was ousted on that date from his role as interim prime minister of the military government of Christian majority East Beirut.

After a 15 year exile in France, Aoun returned to Lebanon in 2005 and has served as president since October 2016, according to news reports. “Those who stormed the office of Al-Sharq should be swiftly held to account to show that attacks on media will not be tolerated in Lebanon,” said CPJ Middle East and North Africa representative Ignacio Miguel Delgado. “Lebanese authorities should step up the efforts to ensure the safety of journalists regardless of the outlet they work for or their political views.” Awni al-Kaaki, owner of Al-Sharq and head of the Lebanese journalists’ syndicate, told SKeyes that the protesters were expelled from the office by Lebanese soldiers. He said that the storming was a direct response to the publication of the image. “What happened is because of what was published in a newspaper. I am not pleased with the leadership and with what’s happening in this country and I have objections that I write and express in the newspaper with respect for the position of the president of the republic,” al-Kaaki said.

Sami el Khazen: Legendary Designer Who Inspire Today’s Talents

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A ceiling light by Sami El Khazen. - Credit: Bonhams/Paul R. Williams: Security Pacific National Bank Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

A ceiling light by Sami El Khazen. - Credit: Bonhams/Paul R. Williams: Security Pacific National Bank Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

Sami El Khazen (Circa 1943-1988)

By Helena Madden -- Born in Lebanon in the early 1940s, El Khazen was a pivotal interior designer in the Middle East, though much of his work has been lost. Many of the homes that he decorated were destroyed in the Lebanese Civil War that ravaged the country during the latter half of the 20th century. Still, bits and pieces of his influential oeuvre remain. He received one of his biggest commissions remarkably early in his career: the interior design of the Lebanese Pavilion at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York. The centerpiece was a massive, nickel-plated-bronze and acrylic chandelier (pictured below) that he made in collaboration with Italian manufacturer Arredoluce. The Shah of Iran purchased it and displayed it in his palace dining room after re-engineering it into a slightly smaller piece; it sold at auction for $32,500 in 2018. What defined El Khazen’s approach was his ability to combine Eastern and Western traditions while also prioritizing Islamic art. His sensibility is most evident in his studio and home on the ground floor of the Rose House in Beirut, a colorful building constructed in 1882. El Khazen softened some of the Arabic architecture’s characteristic geometries to create a more calming environment for work. It was featured in Architectural Digest, which referred to him as “one of the Middle East’s most innovative designers.”