Five Noteworthy Stories You Might Have Missed in Lebanon This Week (7/12)
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. Rockets Fired from Lebanon Hit Israel (Photo via The Daily Star)
At least two rockets were fired from South Lebanon into the occupied northern Palestinian territories on Friday. Israeli forces retaliated by launching at least 15 rockets onto the Kfar Shouba towns of Dahr al-Shqif and Darb al-Sowwan. No harm or damage was caused by the attacks.
2. Lebanon Fails to Resolve Water Crisis (Photo via The Daily Star)
A water crisis plan put forth Wednesday to parliament by MP Mohammad Qabbani was dismissed as unrealistic by experts, claiming that many parts of the plan, such as infrastructure enforcement mechanisms and legal grounds, were missing. The proposed plan would have the government declare a “state of water emergency” and calls for strict restrictions on water use, including a moratorium on irrigation for seasonal crops, in exchange for compensation to farmers, and a ban on washing cars and sidewalks and watering lawns, under threat of fine.
3. After Earthquake, Experts Call for Future Precautions (Photo via Al-Akhbar)
A 4.1 magnitude earthquake and five aftershocks shook Lebanon between Midnight and 9:00 a.m. early Sunday.
Experts warn the country remains unprepared for a future major earthquake. Mouin Hamzeh, the secretary-general of the National Council for Scientific Research told the Daily Star “this is the start of an earthquake crisis. We don’t know if it will happen or if it will not happen. We have to take precautions as much as possible.”
However, he added that people should not panic, as these minor earthquakes were part of the normal cycle of seismic activity.
4. Private Teachers Syndicate Says Boycott Will Continue (Photo via aku.edu)
Nehme Mahnoud, the Private Teachers Syndicate Chief, has threatened to extend the ongoing boycott on the processing of official exams into the coming school year if the ranks and salaries system draft law is not passed. At a Syndicate Coordination Committee protest on Wednesday, Mahnoud said, “There will be no official exams and no [school] year this September if the [ranks and salaries] system is not passed.” Mahnoud also put down the notion of giving students written statements proving attendance of exams.
A delivery man was arrested Tuesday after guards found cannabis in meat pizzas bound for an inmate at a prison in Zahle, according to a report in the Daily Star newspaper.
Guards found the cannabis packed into 116 pills, hidden in three dozen Sfihas, a Lebanese-type meat pizza.
