DAILY NEWS
Qatar Announces Aid to Lebanese Armed Forces
During a visit to Beirut yesterday by Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdurahman Al Thani, it was announced that Qatar would be donating 70 tons of food per month to the Lebanese Armed Forces. The foreign minister also called on Lebanon’s political leaders to form a government in order to achieve stability. [Al Jazeera]
Israeli Defense Minister Offers Humanitarian Aid
During remarks made in Metulla on Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz offered Lebanon humanitarian aid. The offer for aid was officially extended yesterday through the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. [Naharnet]
New Institution Focused on Political Assassinations in Lebanon
A new institution is being formed in Lebanon with the aim of holding political assassins in the country accountable by documenting political murders and reopening cases that still need justice served. The institution will include a legal department in order to find alternatives to the Lebanese judiciary with the support of UN lawyers. There will also be a cultural section for special studies, essays and novels on political assassinations. [UPI]
Attention on Lebanon’s Agricultural Sector
Amid extreme currency devaluation and looming cuts in government food and fuel subsidies, Lebanon is having difficulty keeping its population fed. While Lebanon’s agricultural sector has gone underfunded for years, now farmers are unable to cover their own operating costs. Fuel shortages further threaten the sector as farmers require large amounts of fuel to operate their machinery and transport goods to market. There are initiatives to engage Lebanon’s younger generation in new methods of farming, but brain drain is a concern as many Lebanese have emigrated since the start of the country’s economic crisis. [Al Jazeera]
OPINION & ANALYSIS
Alternative Frequencies (LCPS Podcast)
The Pros and Cons of Lebanese Emigration: Brain Drain vs. Remittances
Jasmin Lilian Diab
In the latest Alternative Frequencies’ podcast episode, Jasmin Lilian Diab discusses the pros and cons of Lebanese emigration and address the following questions. What are the reasons that lead so many Lebanese to emigrate? Does Lebanon benefit from the emigration of its citizens? What are levels of emigration today, given the severe economic crisis the country is undergoing?
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.