Five Noteworthy Stories You Might Have Missed in Lebanon This Week (5/24)
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. Citizens Urged to Reduce Water Consumption (Photo via Daily Star)
The Environment Ministry urged citizens to reduce water consumption on account of the massive decline in rainfall, The Daily Star reported Thursday. The ministry released a water conservation guide and urged Lebanese NGOs to promote it. Lebanon witnessed a drastic decrease in rainfall this year at just 40 percent of the yearly average, raising the threat of possible future drought problems.
2. Twenty Five People Arrested After Brawl in Bourj Hammoud (Photo via Daily Star)
A catcalling incident escalated into an ethnic brawl Saturday in Bourj Hammoud. According to The Daily Star newspaper, a Syrian Kurdish man made provocative comments to a woman walking with her fiancée, prompting a group of Lebanese and Lebanese-Armenian citizens to try and break into the home of the Syrian-Kurdish man and his four brothers. As the confrontation escalated, one of the Syrian Kurdish men threw a gas canister, causing one victim to faint. The row ended when security forces intervened. In all, 25 people were arrested.
3. Lebanon Faces Presidential Vacuum (Photo via Naharnet)
The fifth round of the presidential elections on Thursday ended in failure once again as lawmakers were unable to reach a quorum to vote. The country’s top Christian spot will remain vacant after President Michel Sleiman leaves Baabda Palace on Sunday. The session was boycotted by the March 8 alliance, whose members claim that a consensual candidate must be agreed upon first before heading to parliament.
4. Refurbished Sanayeh Park to open on June 1 (Photo via Daily Star)
The Rene Mouawad Garden, commonly known as Sanayeh Park, will reopen to the public on June 1 after a year-long $2.5 million renovation. A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held on May 31 by the Beirut Municipality and the Azadea Foundation, the retail holding company that funded the renovations. According to CEO Marwan Moukarzel, the garden will remain free and open to the public for 12 hours a day. It will close in the evening.
