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Nine months on, families of the victims of the Beirut port explosion await justice

BEIRUT — On the fourth day of every month since the Aug. 4 Beirut port explosion, the families of those who were killed stand in front of the blast zone’s epicenter, candles alight, awaiting...

Ghada Alsharif, 4 May 2021

A new ration card proposal from Diab claims it would save the state $3 billion per year in subsidy payments

BEIRUT — Hassan Diab’s caretaker government has proposed providing ration cards to Lebanon’s poorest families in place of the current subsidy system as a means of stemming the outflow of the...

Georgi Azar, 4 May 2021

The head of the US team mediating border talks between Lebanon and Israel asked that renewed negotiations be based on the original proposals filed by both countries to the UN, a statement from President Michel Aoun's office says

4 May 2021

Lebanon has registered 748 new cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours. Twenty-three people have died, bringing the total death toll to 7,368

4 May 2021

Families of the victims of the Aug. 4 Beirut port explosion have gathered at the port area to mark the nine-month anniversary of the disaster, which killed more than 200 people, injured thousands more and razed large parts of the city to the ground

4 May 2021

The $200 million advance, approved by Parliament in March, was intended to purchase a month and a half's worth of fuel to generate electricity. LF and PSP lawmakers have rejected the law on the grounds that the central bank would have to spend depositors' money to finance it

4 May 2021

The Constitutional Council has indefinitely suspended implementation of a law that would grant a $200 million treasury advance to EDL, the council says in a statement. Lebanese Forces MPs had appealed the law last week, calling for clarity on how the advance would be paid for

4 May 2021

The Beirut and Saida traders associations have called for shops to be allowed to open late in the leadup to Eid al-Fitr in order to revive economic activity. Under current COVID-19 restrictions, shops must close before the start of the nighttime curfew at 9:30 pm

4 May 2021

Speaking from Parliament, MPs Elie Ferzli (Ind./W. Bekaa-Rashaya) and Georges Adwan (LF/Chouf) hit out at caretaker PM Hassan Diab's proposal to use BDL's foreign currency reserves to finance payments to vulnerable families, with Adwan threatening legal action

4 May 2021

Teams from the Litani River Authority are extracting water, sediment and fish samples from Lake Qaraoun and have asked boats not to sail on it, the LRA says in a statement. Tons of fish recently washed up on the shores of the lake, one of Lebanon's most polluted bodies of water

4 May 2021

The Beirut port explosion lead investigator Judge Tarek Bitar has issued 13 judicial requests to countries that hold satellites over Lebanon, asking to be provided with photos of the Beirut port site, the NNA reports. New witnesses will appear in front of the judge, the NNA added

4 May 2021

BDL’s latest interim balance sheet shows an additional LL1.74 trillion in circulation in April, putting the total amount of Lebanese lira outside the central bank at about LL38.24 trillion. BDL’s foreign assets, which represent its reserves, fell by about $513 million over the same period

4 May 2021

The Education Ministry has blocked Syrian refugee students who do not hold legal residency in Lebanon from taking the official brevet and baccalaureate exams, Human Rights Watch reports. About 80 percent of Syrians in the country are without legal residency, according to HRW

4 May 2021

Lebanon, Israel talks resume over maritime border

NAQOURA, Sur — Lebanon and Israel resumed US-mediated negotiations over their disputed maritime border on Tuesday after a monthslong hiatus, in efforts to clear the way for offshore oil and gas...

4 May 2021

The fifth round of maritime border talks between Lebanon and Israel has started in Naqoura, local media outlets report. Negotiations, launched in October, have been stalled since November after the sides presented conflicting maps for the proposed border line

4 May 2021

Maritime border talks, dead fish cleanup, Le Drian due in town: Everything you need to know this Tuesday

Want to get the Morning Brief by email? Click here to sign up . Lebanon and Israel are set to resume US-mediated talks on demarcating their maritime borders today. Talks were originally...

4 May 2021