BEIRUT: Friday marks the first anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese researcher and publisher Lokman Slim, but his family is yet to receive any new information regarding the course of the judicial investigation to uncover the circumstances of the crime. Slim, 58, was shot dead on Feb. 3, 2021. His body was found in his car in the village of Aaddousiyyeh in southern
Flawed investigations and procedural violations in four politically sensitive murders highlight how donor funding and training for Lebanon s security forces and judiciary have failed to secure the rul.
Lebanon is suffering economic meltdown while its politicians dither. Reform – and fiscal relief – is unlikely before 2022 elections. While pushing for timely polls, international partners should send humanitarian assistance to ease the public’s pain, keep key infrastructure running and avert security breakdowns.
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Lebanon is once again in the midst of a battle to seize its freedom and independence, this time from the control of the Iranian regime, as it seeks to preserve its existence by preventing the Iranian regime from turning it into a puppet state. In doing so, Lebanon will strive to achieve its fourth independence. The first of the previous three was the independence of 1943 from the French mandate. Then came the independence of 2000, which emerged as a result of the Israeli occupier s defeat. The latest independence is that of 2005, when the Syrian regime was expelled from the country.