DAILY NEWS
Lebanese Union for People with Physical Disabilities Protest Lack of Accessibility in Upcoming Polls
In a statement delivered at a protest held in Downtown Beirut’s Riad al-Solh Square, the Lebanese Union for People with Physical Disabilities said, “We stand today, in front of the government palaces, first, to remind Prime Minister Najib Mikati that he declared 2013 a promising year for people with disabilities but broke his promise. We stand today to remind successive prime ministers and interior ministers… that they did not perform the minimum of their duties [towards the diasabled who constitute] 15 percent of the Lebanese population. All laws, decrees, decisions and circulars were for them ink on paper, and all their promises were false.” [L’Orient Today]
Association of Banks in Lebanon Files Two Lawsuits Against Public Prosecutor
Through its lawyer Akram Azouri, the Association of Banks in Lebanon explained its legal request demanding that the Mount Lebanon Court of Appeal dismiss Public Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun from a case freezing all the assets of six banking institutions and their chairman in addition to issuing traveling bans on the chairman: “The recusal request filed against Judge Aoun aims to remove her from the case, so as to prevent her from going on with her proceedings. The lawsuit against the state for gross misconduct by the judge would result in nullifying the decisions she has already made. If successful, the bank and bankers’ asset freezes and travel bans will be invalidated.” [L’Orient Today]
Head of UN WFP: War in Ukraine Creating Worst Food Crisis Since WWII
“The war in Ukraine is turning “the breadbasket of the world to breadlines” for millions of its people, while devastating countries like Egypt that normally gets 85% of its grain from Ukraine and Lebanon that got 81% in 2020,” said David Beasley, executive director of the UN World Food Program to the UN Security Council. He added that the war in Ukraine will impact the world’s food supply on a scale not seen since World War II. [AP News]
OPINION & ANALYSIS
Nothing Is Going Well Between Baabda And Bkirki
Yara Abi Akl
Abi Akl writes, “For nearly two years, Rai has tirelessly pleaded for Lebanon’s neutrality in regional conflicts, at a time when Hezbollah, a long-time ally of Michel Aoun, is involved in these conflicts, in Syria or in Yemen, supported by its Iranian sponsor. Events last week were demonstrative of this rift: While the Maronite Church head was pleading in Cairo for Lebanon to return to the Arab bosom after the recent quarrel with the Gulf countries against a background of Hezbollah’s interference in the region, President Aoun defended, once again, the Shiite party and its arsenal in Europe. ‘Hezbollah has no influence on Lebanon’s security situation,’ he told the Italian daily La Repubblica, on the sidelines of his two-day official visit to the Vatican. On the other hand, the patriarch has reiterated calls, especially in recent months, to disarm Hezbollah and respect UN resolutions, including Resolution no. 1559 (2004) on ‘disarming and disbanding all militias’ and ‘the extension of the control of the government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory,’ among other issues.”
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the American Task Force on Lebanon, a non-profit, nonpartisan leadership organization of Lebanese-Americans.