Lebanon’s Parliament postpones municipal elections for a second time

Special Lebanon’s Parliament postpones municipal elections for a second time
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Lebanese lawmakers attending a parliament session, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (AP)
Special Lebanon’s Parliament postpones municipal elections for a second time
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Retired members of the Lebanese security forces and other protesters shout slogans during a protest demanding better pay and living conditions in Beirut, Lebanon, Apr. 18, 2023. (AP Photo)
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Updated 18 April 2023
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Lebanon’s Parliament postpones municipal elections for a second time

Lebanon’s Parliament postpones municipal elections for a second time
  • Cabinet discusses pay boost for public sector
  • Tear gas used to disperse protesters

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Parliament on Tuesday voted to extend the terms of municipal council members and other local officials, delaying elections to avoid further political paralysis in the country.

Some members of the parliament, including from the Lebanese Forces party, boycotted the vote, saying elections were a right.

The Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections described the approval of the extension as “undermining the democratic process and the principles of good governance.”

The move is a reflection of the approach that the authority, with its executive and legislative branches, follows in dealing with the democratic process, depriving the Lebanese of their right to choose their representatives, LADE said.

LADE called on MPs opposing the extension to appeal to the Constitutional Council.

In a rowdy session, the MPs passed amendments to the Public Procurement Law amid rejection by civil society organizations that monitor the implementation of the law and ensure transparency in public procurement.

They say that the proposed amendments “distort the law and booby-trap it.”

Seventy-three MPs secured a quorum for Tuesday’s legislative session, although the parliament is constitutionally an electorate body until the election of a new president.

The quorum that was secured for the session is the one that the parliamentary blocs were unable to secure for six months in order to elect a president.

The presidency of the parliament justified the legislative session as necessary because of a deficit in financing the elections.

The session was attended by members of the government, Hezbollah and Amal Movement blocs and their allies, and the Progressive Socialist Party bloc.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati and a number of MPs exchanged accusations in an attempt to disown the political decision to extend the terms of municipal council members.

Mikati told the MPs: “All of you have lied to the Lebanese. The government is being blamed while the government is working. We confirmed our readiness to hold municipal elections.”

Mikati attacked the Free Patriotic Movement party, without naming it, for opposing holding legislative sessions and Cabinet meetings.

Mikati said: “If a party does not want to postpone the elections, it would not have come today to the legislative session. We had more important matters and you did not attend.”

MP Elias Bou Saab, from the FPM bloc, defended his submission of the proposal to extend the municipalities.

The MP added that “departments are closed, and there is no funding according to the government.”

MP Osama Saad said that the government “did not want to hold elections, misled public opinion and (is) now hiding behind parliament.”

Amal Movement MP Ali Hassan Khalil said: “We are postponing the elections so that there will not be a vacuum after the expiration date of the municipalities’ mandate on May 30.”

MP Ahmed Al-Khair defended the prime minister against the FPM MPs, saying: “You are not strong except against the prime minister, and when you attack him, we will respond to you.”

MP Melhem Khalaf, who has been holding a sit-in around the clock with MP Najat Saliba for three months inside the parliament hall, requesting a session to elect the president, left the hall while the legislative session was being held.

Khalaf told Arab News: “Today we have a blatant example of how democracy is undermined in Lebanon.

“We stress that the constitution stipulates that parliament — in light of the presidential vacancy — is an electorate body, not a legislative body, and therefore legislation is prohibited before electing a president.”

Khalaf said that Tuesday’s session “is an encroachment from one authority on another.”

MP Paula Yacoubian said that Tuesday’s legislative session “does not fall within the framework of necessary legislation, especially since the Cabinet said it would meet in the afternoon to secure funds to organize the elections.”

Yacoubian described what happened as “a farce.”

The MPs do not want the people to elect councils of local administrations so that the parties that control the municipalities do not lose their control over them, said Yacoubian.

The Ministry of the Interior, in its response to the “outbids” that took place in parliament, said that “the political will made the parties secure a quorum for the legislative session and agree to postpone the municipal elections, although avoiding the vacuum that the MPs invoked was supposed to happen by holding the elections instead of postponing them.”

The Cabinet – four hours after the parliament session ended — held a meeting that was supposed to discuss financing municipal elections and amending the wages of public sector employees.

The session was held in the wake of anger on the part of retired military members, public school teachers and public sector employees who staged a sit-in at Riad El-Solh Square.

The sit-in turned into a confrontation between riot police and the protesters.

Tear gas was fired at protesters who tried to cut through barbed wire in the vicinity of the government headquarters.

Retired Brig. Gen. Shamel Roukoz said: “People took to the streets because officials did not understand our demands through correspondence and statements.”

Roukoz, a former MP, stressed that “amending wages preserves the dignity of the soldier and the employee, especially retirees who served 40 years in public administrations and military institutions.”

Protesters are demanding a minimum salary of $350 or its equivalent in the national currency, i.e., LBP35 million.

According to the protesters, “the average cost of living today for each family has become LBP40 million ($400).”

Retired Brig. Gen. George Nader said: “The authority relies on patchwork solutions in its decisions. What we are calling for are solutions that are in line with the difficult economic conditions the country is going through.

“The value of salaries is declining day after day due to the fluctuation in the exchange rate of the dollar on the black market.

“Our salaries have collapsed and are no longer worth more than 4 percent of their value, which is unacceptable.”


Israeli, US spy chiefs meet Qatari PM to discuss ‘building on’ Gaza truce — source

Israeli, US spy chiefs meet Qatari PM to discuss ‘building on’ Gaza truce — source
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Israeli, US spy chiefs meet Qatari PM to discuss ‘building on’ Gaza truce — source

Israeli, US spy chiefs meet Qatari PM to discuss ‘building on’ Gaza truce — source
  • Qatar spoke to Hamas before the meeting to get a sense of what the group might agree to. The Israelis and Hamas are now internally discussing the ideas explored at the meeting, the source added

DOHA/WASHINGTON: The leaders of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Israel’s Mossad met Qatar’s prime minister in Doha on Tuesday to build on the two-day extension of a truce between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, a source briefed on the visit said.
The meeting was “to build on the progress of the extended humanitarian pause agreement and to initiate further discussions about the next phase of a potential deal,” the source told Reuters.
The outcome of the talks, which were also attended by Egyptian officials, was unclear, the source added.
CIA Director William Burns was in Doha “for meetings on the Israel-Hamas conflict including discussions on hostages,” a US official said on condition of anonymity. The official did not elaborate.
Burns, David Barnea, head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani met one day after Qatar announced the two-day extension of an original four-day truce deal in Gaza that had been due to expire overnight.
Qatar, where several political leaders of Hamas are based, has been leading negotiations between the Palestinian militant group and Israel.
Officials in Tuesday’s meeting discussed possible parameters of a new phase of the truce deal including Hamas releasing hostages who are men or military personnel, not just women and children, the source said. They also considered what might be needed to reach a cease-fire lasting more than a handful of days.
Qatar spoke to Hamas before the meeting to get a sense of what the group might agree to. The Israelis and Hamas are now internally discussing the ideas explored at the meeting, the source added.
The truce has brought the first respite to the Gaza Strip in seven weeks during which Israel bombed the territory heavily in response to a violent rampage on Oct. 7 by Hamas gunmen who killed around 1,200 people and took 240 captives.
Israel has sworn to annihilate Hamas, which rules Gaza. Health authorities in Gaza say Israel’s bombardment of the tiny, densely populated territory has so far killed more than 15,000 people, around 40 percent of them children.
Barnea and Burns were previously in Qatar to meet Sheikh Mohammed on Nov 9.
During the first four days of the truce, Hamas fighters released 50 Israeli women and children who had been taken hostage. In return, Israel released 150 security detainees from its jails, all women and teenagers.
As part of the two-day truce extension Hamas has agreed to release an additional 10 Israeli women and children each day.
So far, there is no indication that Hamas is willing to release any Israeli men or military personnel among those taken captive.

 


UN deplores Iran executions

This Friday, May 26, 2017 photo, shows a general view of Tehran, Iran. (AP)
This Friday, May 26, 2017 photo, shows a general view of Tehran, Iran. (AP)
Updated 29 min 29 sec ago
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UN deplores Iran executions

This Friday, May 26, 2017 photo, shows a general view of Tehran, Iran. (AP)
  • The September 2022 protests were sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, after her arrest in Tehran for an alleged breach of the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women

GENEVA: The United Nations said Tuesday it deplored the executions of a 17-year-old and a 22-year old man in Iran and urged Tehran to immediately stop applying the death penalty.
The UN Human Rights Office said it was troubled by Friday’s executions.
“The execution of Hamidreza Azari, who was accused of murder, is the first reported execution of an alleged child offender in Iran this year,” spokeswoman Elizabeth Throssell said in a statement.
She reminded Tehran of its obligation under international conventions to prohibit death sentences and their implementation for crimes committed by individuals below the age of 18.
“We are also troubled by the execution, on the same day, of 22-year-old Milad Zohrevand — the eighth person to be executed in the context of the September 2022 protests,” said Throssell.
“Available information indicates that his trial lacked the basic requirements for due process under international human rights law. There are also troubling reports that Zohrevand’s parents were arrested following his execution.
“We deplore the executions.”
The September 2022 protests were sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, after her arrest in Tehran for an alleged breach of the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women.
Iran launched a sweeping crackdown to snuff out the protests that saw hundreds killed and thousands arrested, according to rights groups.
Throssell said Iran was among the countries with the highest death penalty figures, particularly for drug-related offenses, while minorities are disproportionately sentenced to death.
She urged Iran to halt the application of the death penalty immediately and establish a moratorium on its use.
Until then, the death penalty may only be imposed for the most serious crimes: those of extreme gravity that result intentionally and directly in death, Throssell said.
“We also call on the government to stop using criminal procedures to punish political activists and others for exercising their rights to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly,” the spokeswoman added.

 


French warship hospital receives first Gaza wounded: minister

French warship hospital receives first Gaza wounded: minister
Updated 29 November 2023
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French warship hospital receives first Gaza wounded: minister

French warship hospital receives first Gaza wounded: minister
  • The vessel is equipped with two operating blocs, 40 beds and 80 medical personnel

PARIS: A French warship sent to Egypt to treat wounded from the Gaza Strip has received its first patients, a French minister said on Tuesday.
The Dixmude arrived on Monday in the Egyptian town of El-Arish near the border with Gaza and on Tuesday received the patients, said Sebastien Lecornu, France’s army minister. The vessel is equipped with two operating blocs, 40 beds and 80 medical personnel, he said.
 

 


Suspected fake Ozempic causes hypoglycemia in 11 in Lebanon

Suspected fake Ozempic causes hypoglycemia in 11 in Lebanon
Updated 29 November 2023
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Suspected fake Ozempic causes hypoglycemia in 11 in Lebanon

Suspected fake Ozempic causes hypoglycemia in 11 in Lebanon
  • Officials suspected the drugs were fake after discovering the doses were different from the ones calibrated for authentic
  • Ozempic injector pens Counterfeit Ozempic has already been found in at least 17 countries, including the UK, Germany, Egypt and Russia

BEIRUT: Eleven people suffered bouts of dangerously low blood sugar in Lebanon this year, one of whom required hospitalization, after injecting suspected fake versions of Novo Nordisk’s diabetes drug Ozempic, according Lebanese health officials.
A director for the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, Rita Karam, said officials suspected the drugs were fake after discovering the doses were different from the ones calibrated for authentic Ozempic injector pens.
Explosive demand for Ozempic and other drugs used for weight loss, including Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Novo’s Wegovy, is fueling a global surge in counterfeit versions, Reuters interviews with law enforcement, anti-counterfeiting and public health officials showed last month.
Counterfeit Ozempic has already been found in at least 17 countries, including the UK, Germany, Egypt and Russia. Several have issued warnings to pharmacies and consumers to be vigilant about counterfeits, since it is not clear what they actually contain.
Karam said the ministry had begun investigations into the 11 cases, but that the source and batch numbers of the drugs in question had not been identified in most, which made it hard to determine what the victims may have taken.
Three of the people who took the suspected fake Ozempic did so to control their diabetes, while four took it for weight management, Karam said. The other four injected the drug for an ‘unspecified indication.’
People with diabetes need to closely manage their blood sugar, which can be done with a variety of medicines including Ozempic. When blood sugar, or glucose level, gets too low they can suffer hypoglycemia, with symptoms that may include headaches or dizziness and can progress to a loss of consciousness or seizures.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health issued two recalls related to Ozempic in January 2023, according to its website. No cases of potentially counterfeit Ozempic were reported in Lebanon in 2022, Karam said.
Novo Nordisk said it investigates and reports every counterfeit case it finds to local authorities, and that it has created a guide for health care providers in the Middle East to show how to spot fake drugs.
More than a quarter of Lebanese adults are obese, according to 2017 figures from the World Obesity Federation. Obesity has been closely linked with type 2 diabetes, by far the most common form of the disease.
Data from the International Diabetes Federation showed that almost 9 percent of adults in Lebanon had diabetes in 2021, compared to nearly 14 percent in the United States.
Karam said Ozempic is neither purchased nor provided by the Ministry of Public Health.
Wegovy, Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss drug with the same active ingredient — semaglutide — as Ozempic, was shown to help patients lose an average of 15 percent of their weight in a late-stage trial.
The scramble for supplies of the powerful pound-shedding molecule has led to shortages of Ozempic in several countries including Britain, Germany, Belgium and the United States.
A source familiar with anti-counterfeiting efforts told Reuters last month that markets where sales of fake weight-loss drugs were most prevalent included Lebanon and other countries in the Middle East.
Several people have been hospitalized in Austria for hypoglycemia after taking potentially fake versions of Ozempic. The health safety regulator there said the side effects indicated the product contained insulin instead of semaglutide.
Last month, Belgium’s drug regulator said it had seized counterfeit versions of Ozempic in which the injector pens were confirmed to contain insulin.


More captives to be freed as Israel-Hamas truce extended

More captives to be freed as Israel-Hamas truce extended
Updated 29 November 2023
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More captives to be freed as Israel-Hamas truce extended

More captives to be freed as Israel-Hamas truce extended
  • US, Israeli spy chiefs in Doha to discuss ‘next phase’ of deal, fueling hopes for prolonged halt to violence

GAZA STRIP: A new group of Israeli hostages are due to be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, as Israel and Hamas accused each other of violating an extended truce in their devastating seven-week war.

The temporary cessation of hostilities and releases of captives have been hailed as a glimpse of hope in the conflict sparked by deadly Hamas attacks that prompted an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

As a two-day extension to the pause in hostilities began, US and Israeli intelligence chiefs were in Doha, capital of truce mediator Qatar, to discuss the “next phase” of the deal, fueling hopes for a prolonged halt to the violence.

Israel and Hamas are under international pressure not to return to all-out fighting when the latest truce ends on Thursday, but instead to build on the prisoner swaps to find a solution to the conflict.

A source close to Hamas said that 10 hostages held in Gaza would be freed in return for 30 prisoners released from Israeli prisons on Tuesday.

In addition to those releases, “some foreign workers held in Gaza” will also be freed, the source said.

Israeli leaders, however, have so far insisted that their campaign to crush Hamas will resume once they have received as many hostages as possible in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

And on Tuesday, each side accused the other of breaking the truce agreement.

Palestinian movements denounced what they dubbed “truce violations by the occupier,” and a journalist saw an Israeli tank fire three times in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City as Palestinians attempted to make use of the lull to return to their homes.

The Israeli military described the shelling as “warning shots,” saying a tank fired as suspected militants approached army positions. At least one person was hurt, the reporter saw.

The Israeli military meanwhile alleged that three explosive devices were detonated near its forces in the northern Gaza strip, “violating the framework of the operational pause.”

The IDF said: “In one of the locations, terrorists also opened fire at the troops, who responded with fire. A number of soldiers were lightly injured during the incidents.

“In both incidents, the troops were located in positions as per the framework of the operational pause.”

Israel’s ground and air operation in the Gaza Strip has killed almost 15,000 people, mostly civilians, according to the territory’s Hamas government.

TV images show buildings several stories high flattened by the Israeli bombardments in the central Gaza Strip and residents walking through the rubble of ruined homes.

Israel has vowed to stick to its war aim of destroying Hamas and rescuing all 240 hostages.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said that his government would use the extension to work for a “sustainable truce.”

The heads of the US and Israeli intelligence agencies were in Qatar to discuss the “next phase” of the Gaza deal, a source briefed on their visit said.

“The director of the CIA and the director of the Israeli National Intelligence Agency are in Doha to meet with the Qatari prime minister,” the source said, requesting anonymity.

The discussions, he said, aim “to build on the progress of the extended humanitarian pause agreement and to initiate further discussions about the next phase of a potential deal.”

The latest round of exchanges on Monday night brought the total number of people released under the truce to 50 Israeli hostages, and 150 Palestinian prisoners, all women and minors.

Another 19 hostages have been freed under separate deals, including Thai workers and a dual Russian-Israeli citizen.

Sharon Calderon, the aunt of 16-year-old Sahar and 12-year-old Erez who were released on Monday, called for their father Ofer to be freed also. Two other family members were killed on Oct. 7.

“We’ve got Erez and Sahar here and we’re very, very happy we got them home. We have to get Ofer and the rest of the kidnapped and bring them here ... to be again a big happy family.”

Shortly after the arrival of the hostages was confirmed, Israel’s prison authority said 33 Palestinian inmates had been released.

In annexed East Jerusalem, Palestinian prisoner Muhammad Abu Al-Humus called his release “an indescribable joy” and kissed his mother’s hand as he entered his home.

“I’m very happy. I hope that others will soon be released — my friends, my cousins.”

Israel views the truce as a temporary measure to secure hostage releases and says it plans to continue its military offensive.

The government has agreed a 30.3 billion shekel ($8.2 billion) war budget that will now go to parliament.

But Israel faces increasing pressure for a more lasting ceasefire and the ramp-up of humanitarian aid to Gaza, where an estimated 1.7 million people have been displaced, according to the UN.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to pay his third wartime visit to the Middle East this week, meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

US officials said the United States was sending three military aircraft to Egypt from Tuesday to bring medicine, food and “winter items” for Gaza via northern Egypt.

In Gaza, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said no fuel had arrived for generators at hospitals in the territory’s north, despite the truce.

The World Food Programme said it had delivered food to 121,161 people in Gaza since Friday, when the truce began, but that a high risk of famine remained. “What we see is catastrophic,” said WFP’s director for the Middle East, Corinne Fleischer.

The UN children’s agency UNICEF said aid flows into northern Gaza had increased since the truce began, but spokesman James Elder warned that given the destruction “all this aid is triage (minimum emergency care) ... It’s not even enough for triage.”