Lebanese Buyer Refuses Ship Carrying Ukrainian Grain As stated in a post from the Ukrainian Embassy in Lebanon, “According to the information provided by the shipper of the Ukrainian grain aboard the Razoni, the buyer in Lebanon refused to accept the cargo due to delays in delivery terms.” The ship, the first of several that have been allowed to leave Ukrainian seaports under a recent wartime deal, is now looking for another consignee to offload the material, whether in Lebanon or elsewhere. [Reuters]
Fatah Official Assassinated in Lebanon “A Palestinian security official was shot dead late on Monday in a refugee camp in southern Lebanon, three Palestinian security officials said, just hours after a truce between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza.”[Reuters]
Maronite Patriarch Addresses ‘Shameful Delay’ in Cabinet Formation In his weekly sermon, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi said, “Isn’t it shameful that authorities make efforts to reach an agreement with Israel on maritime borders but refrain from forming a government? Has it become easier for them to agree with Israel than to agree on a government among the Lebanese? . . . Isn’t the split in political power in Lebanon, and of the parties … the basis of the [country’s] political, economy, financial and social decay?” [L’Orient Today]
Beirut Phoenicia Hotel Reopens Beirut’s Phoenicia Hotel has re-opened to the public after a two year restoration effort following the the August 4 port explosion in 2020. Although work is ongoing for the certain sections of the hotel, residences re-opened in July in anticipation of the busy tourism season in Lebanon this year. [Al Arabiya English]
OPINION & ANALYSIS
AP News Public Sector Strike Cripples Cash-Strapped Lebanon Kareem Chehayeb
Chehayeb writes,“The protest of the civil servants who form the backbone of government signals a further erosion of Lebanon’s public institutions, already struggling to afford their most basic operating costs. The strike gives a bleak preview of how Lebanon could sink even deeper, should officials continue to delay decisive action on key financial and administrative reforms sought by the International Monetary Fund to make Lebanon’s comatose economy viable again. Meanwhile, the protest further disrupted life in Lebanon, with even the most basic government services on hold. Court cases have been delayed. Identity cards, birth certificates and school transcripts are not being issued. Air traffic controllers announced that they would stop working nights in August.”
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.
