$250m Lawsuit Filed in Texas For Damages From Beirut Port Explosion As the first claim filed in a US court pertaining to the 2020 Beirut Port Explosion, victims of Lebanon’s deadly August 4th tragedy have put forward a $250 million lawsuit against US-Norwegian geophysical services group, TGS, for its suspected links to the tragedy. “This lawsuit is a first. It’s a way of circumventing the obstruction that the investigation has faced in Lebanon,’ [lawyer Zena Wakim] told AFP. ‘The evidence that will be generated by this lawsuit can also benefit the Lebanese investigation,’ she said. ‘The spirit of the claim is to benefit all the victims’.” [France24]
Finance and Budget Committee Reviewing Bank Secrecy Law Today, the head of the Finance and Budget Committee, MP Ibrahim Kanaan, announced that a reformed bank secrecy law will be discussed by the Finance and Budget Committee for approval following the Finance Subcommittee’s review. [Naharnet]
USCIS Calls on Eight ‘Citizenship Ambassadors’ to Encourage Naturalization As part of a new initiative, eight advocates and community leaders were chosen by US Citizenship and Immigration Services to encourage green card holders across the country to apply for US citizenship. These eight ‘citizenship ambassadors’, will receive training on the citizenship process and will partner with field offices across the US as part of a larger effort for the agency to improve outreach to immigrant communities. [Roll Call]
Lingering Fire Near Grain Silos at Beirut Port After another fire erupted near the Beirut Port’s grain silos yesterday evening, the Lebanese Civil Defense struggled to extinguish it out of fear that, ‘if they douse it with water the silos would collapse.’ [L’Orient Today] According to local media reports, the fire has continued burning throughout today as well.
Caretaker Energy Minister Evaluating Energy Deal with Iraq According to L’Orient Today, “Caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayad told L’Orient Today Wednesday that he has proposed to the Iraqi authorities that Lebanon would raise its electricity tariffs in order to be able to pay for a potential new fuel deal with Iraq. A previous deal under which Lebanon received fuel oil for its power plants via Iraq is set to expire in September, and Lebanon has yet to pay the money owed under that agreement.” [L’Orient Today]
OPINION & ANALYSIS
Will Lebanon Survive The Winter? Jean AbiNaderAbiNader writes, “According to a reliable source close to the Mikati government, three pieces of legislation that are already passed but not implemented – namely, the 2022 National Budget, a Capital Controls Law, and Banking Reform – are awaiting signatures and steps needed to secure their enactment. Still on the table is a Banking Restructuring Law that is being held up by objections from the Central Bank. Given that its Governor is opposed to the IMF package altogether, and that his reappointment in 2023 is bound to be hotly contested among the elites, any progressive legislation is due to generate heated debate. The recent referral of amendments to the Banking Secrecy Law to a subcommittee seems to show that certain quarters fear the reforms would expose some of the system’s corruption as well as its beneficiaries. But the referral itself is a long-standing parliamentary practice to fast-track the amendments . . . Maybe it’s time for Parliament to consider depoliticizing local development so that adequate sums can be allocated to support sustainable projects while Parliamentarians debate over Lebanon’s future. Free the people to help themselves through sustainable projects!”Read More Here
Will Lebanon Survive The Winter? Jean AbiNaderAbiNader writes, “According to a reliable source close to the Mikati government, three pieces of legislation that are already passed but not implemented – namely, the 2022 National Budget, a Capital Controls Law, and Banking Reform – are awaiting signatures and steps needed to secure their enactment. Still on the table is a Banking Restructuring Law that is being held up by objections from the Central Bank. Given that its Governor is opposed to the IMF package altogether, and that his reappointment in 2023 is bound to be hotly contested among the elites, any progressive legislation is due to generate heated debate. The recent referral of amendments to the Banking Secrecy Law to a subcommittee seems to show that certain quarters fear the reforms would expose some of the system’s corruption as well as its beneficiaries. But the referral itself is a long-standing parliamentary practice to fast-track the amendments . . . Maybe it’s time for Parliament to consider depoliticizing local development so that adequate sums can be allocated to support sustainable projects while Parliamentarians debate over Lebanon’s future. Free the people to help themselves through sustainable projects!”Read More Here
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.
