Five Noteworthy Stories You Might Have Missed in Lebanon This Week (5/2)

You’re busy, we get it. No sweat. Here’s some of the most important news stories you might have missed from the past week.

1. Man Killed by Silencer-Equipped Gun in Tripoli
(Image via The Daily Star)

A man was shot and killed early Tuesday with a silencer-equipped gun in the northern city of Tripoli. According to The Daily Star, an unknown assailant shot Abdel-Karim Hmeish, 53, while he was stacking vegetable crates at 4:00 a.m. in the Tripoli neighborhood of Souk al-Qameh. He died instantly.

2. Public Sector Workers Strike Over Stalled Wage Bill
(Image via Word Press)

Thousands of public sector workers went on strike on Wednesday over delays in passing a wage scale bill. A day earlier, workers marched in Beirut for pay hikes.

Protesters gathered outside Lebanon’s Parliament to call on legislatures to quit stalling.
Workers at the Beirut port, the National Social Security Fund, electricity workers, municipality workers, agricultural workers, public school teachers, employees at Lebanon’s water authority and some health care workers all went on strike Wednesday.

3. Lebanon Goes Crazy For Clooney-Alamuddin Engagement
(Image via Arabia Weddings)

This past week it was announced that Beirut-born Lebanese lawyer Amal Alamuddin is set to be married to Hollywood heartthrob and serial romancer George Clooney.

Alamuddin now holds British citizenship and is an attorney specializing in international law and human rights.

4. Jumblatt Supports Legalization of Medical Marijuana
(Image via The Daily Star)

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt said Thursday he supported the cultivation of cannabis for medical purposes. In an interview with Al-Jadeed TV he said he never smoked marijuana in his life, “but I support growing cannabis for medical use and to improve the living conditions of farmers in North Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.”

5. Infamous Drug Dealer “Nice Guy” Arrested in Faraya
(Image via The Daily Star)

Security forces arrested Tuesday one of the most infamous drug dealers in the country, a security source told The Daily Star newspaper.

Adel Njeim, who was known as “Nice Guy,” was in his chalet in Faraya when security forces detained him. “Nice Guy” sold drugs in several areas. He used to work in nightclubs, cabarets, schools, colleges and coffee shops, the report said. The authorities had been tracking Njeim’s movements for three months.