Three years after Beirut’s massive port blast, attempts to prosecute those responsible are mired in political intrigue, the final death toll remains disputed and many Lebanese have less faith than ever in their disintegrating state institutions.
Abdel Rahman Shalgham, the former Libyan Minister of Foreign Affairs, notable politician, and renowned Libyan writer, held significant positions within the Libyan government alongside Muammar Gaddafi. He transitioned from being responsible for media affairs in the Revolutionary Leadership Council to serving as his country’s ambassador to Rome for an extended period. Later, he assumed the role of Foreign Minister, ultimately representing Libya at the UN in the period leading up to the fall of the Gaddafi regime.
Authorities in the Yemeni city of Taiz and surrounding areas have stepped up security measures around the offices of international organizations and have approved a ban on carrying weapons. The new measures were introduced days after a World Food Program (WFP) staff member was shot and killed by unknown gunmen in Turbah in southern Taiz. Official sources revealed that Taiz Governor Nabil Shamsan and members of the security committee met in the southern Taiz countryside and approved the tightened measures and weapons ban.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas the developments in the Palestinian territories, the recent Israeli raids in Jenin and the West Bank, and the intra-Palestinian dialogue. Erdogan received Abbas with an official ceremony at the presidential palace in Ankara and held a closed session on Tuesday, and the delegations later joined them. Abbas arrived in Ankara on Monday on a two-day visit, and it came at a time of rising fears of renewed Israeli violence and attacks on the Palestinian territories.
French presidential envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian kicked off a Tuesday a new visit to the country in the hopes of achieving a breakthrough in the impasse over the presidential elections. He started his three-day trip by meeting parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who described the talks as good. He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Le Drian briefed him on the talks that were held by the quintet on Lebanon in Doha. Berri said a breakthrough in the deadlock has been reached, but declined to offer more details about his optimism.