Lebanon’s top Christian cleric on Thursday denounced his country’s government for failing to bring to justice those responsible for the Beirut port blast, marking the huge explosion’s second anniversary with demands for accountability. Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, in a mass commemorating its victims, said that “God condemns those officials” who were stalling investigations that the
A year after
Lebanon’s first sovereign default, the situation in the country has deteriorated sharply. Political paralysis, a dramatic decrease in standards of living and the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic have pushed protestors to the streets once again.
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri has been unable to form a new government, seven months after the previous cabinet resigned following the Beirut port explosion last August.
Without a new government, Lebanon cannot secure an IMF program or international donor support, and it cannot restructure its $90 billion sovereign debt pile.
Recent calls by Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai for a new administration that is neutral in regional conflicts were met with support on the streets, but whether these calls will yield anything is unclear.
Lebanon s Debt-Resolution Challenges Continue, One Year On From Default forbes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from forbes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
BEIRUT: The leader of Lebanon’s influential Christian Maronite church has warned that the country is facing the threat of a “full-fledged coup,” and called for an international conference to avert “chaos, hunger and oppression.” In an emotional address to thousands of followers on Saturday, Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai said that he was “drawing red lines for anyone who
Several Lebanese leaders called for president Michel Aoun’s resignation
File photo- Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun is under fire for seizing Sri Lankan tea donated to Beirut blast victims and distributed it instead to families of his presidential guards.
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt was one of the first Lebanese leaders to urge Aoun to resign
On the occasion marking 103rd birthday of of his slain father Kamal Jumblatt (who was assassinated in 1977 by the Syrian regime) , Jumblatt said I cannot say it directly this is why I urge Patriarch Boutros al Rai , Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and Marada Movement leader to call for the resignation of President Michel Aoun.