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Lebanon’s electricity cuts look set to worsen after a major power plant goes offline

BEIRUT — Lebanon is set to experience even more hours of state electricity cuts in the coming days after a major power plant in southern Zahrani was forced to shut down, having run out of gas oil....

Georgi Azar, 29 March 2021

European officials are considering ways to "step up the pressure" for government formation, French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a statement after meeting with President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri

29 March 2021

Lebanon has registered 1,277 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours. Forty more people have died, bringing the total death toll to 6,136

29 March 2021

Judge Tarek Bitar questioned former Beirut port customs head Chafic Merhi for seven hours today as part of the ongoing investigation into the Aug. 4 explosion, and has now moved on to questioning current customs chief Badri Daher, the NNA reported

29 March 2021

Parliament approves EDL funding, takes aim at state corruption in Monday’s session

BEIRUT — As Lebanon sinks deeper into its worst economic and public health crises in decades, Parliament met on Monday to discuss and pass a bill that took aim at public sector corruption and...

Emily Lewis, 29 March 2021

Tripoli port head Ahmad Tamer told L'Orient Today that ships that were stuck due to the blockage of the Suez Canal could take three to four days to reach Lebanon now that the canal has been reopened. Normally the trip takes 15–20 hours

29 March 2021

The US State Department's Rewards for Justice program has announced a reward of up to $10 million for information on the whereabouts of Salim Jamil Ayyash. Ayyash was convicted in absentia last year by an international tribunal of the 2005 assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri

29 March 2021

Distribution of the AstraZeneca vaccine began today, a Health Ministry spokesperson confirmed to L'Orient Today. Lebanon received 33,600 doses last week through the global COVAX program and is set to receive another 130,000 early next month

29 March 2021

Court of Cassation Public Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat has issued a request for the military court to investigate allegations in a recent Amnesty International report that Syrian refugees detained on terrorism-related charges in Lebanon were tortured

29 March 2021

Lebanon’s Zahrani power plant has shut down after running out of gas oil, an EDL statement carried by the NNA says. EDL said there was a delay unloading a spot-purchased shipment of the fuel after complications emerged regarding the gas oil testing method

29 March 2021

Parliament has passed a draft law that aims to recover funds and assets illegally obtained through corruption. However, this law depends on the activation of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, a body whose members have never been appointed

29 March 2021

Parliament has approved a $200 million transfer to EDL to import fuel for power generation

29 March 2021

A Parliament session has begun to discuss a two-item agenda. Officials are expected to vote on a $200 million advance payment to EDL to import fuel for power generation and a draft law that aims to recover funds and assets illegally obtained through corruption

29 March 2021

Lebanese ship RIMAR arrived in Tripoli’s port this morning loaded with six oxygen trucks, each carrying 22 tons of oxygen, local media outlets report. Last week the caretaker health minister said Lebanon was running dangerously low on oxygen

29 March 2021

How Michel Aoun is driving a wedge between Hezbollah and Amal

They are not in the habit of settling their differences publicly. Between Hezbollah and Amal, the rule has been clear ever since the two parties forged their strategic alliance back in 1992: their...

Mounir RABIH, 29 March 2021

Lightened lockdown, protests, Parliament meets: Everything you need to know to start your Monday

Want to get the Morning Brief by email? Click here to sign up . Lebanon again eases its COVID-19 lockdown today, pushing back curfew and extending opening hours at restaurants, cafes and retail...

29 March 2021