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Abdulsalam Shalashtein

Five Noteworthy Stories You Might Have Missed This Week (8/16)

The good news is: Lebanon didn’t go through hell this week. However, there’s always fresh news of corruption, brutality, and injustice. Take a look…

1. Video: Police Beat Up Journalists Outside Dar al-Fatwa


A group of journalists, including Abdul Rahman al-Orabi, a cameraman working for Arabic-language news site Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed were beat up by police outside the Dar Al-Fatwa elections on Sunday, August 11. The incident was caught on video.

At first, the police announced they would press charges against the group of journalists caught up in the incident – accusing them of “slander.” Prime Minister Tammam Salam intervened, and said the officers involved had been “disciplined.”

2. Hezbollah Member Arrested Over Fake Twitter Account

(Image via Naharnet)

Hussein Shaman al-Hussein, a Lebanese citizen from Baalbek’s Al-Sharawneh neighborhood and a member of Hezbollah, was arrested and interrogated until admitting to have run a fake twitter account for the “Free Sunnis of Baalbek Brigades” to spread propaganda.

3. Twenty Seven Men Arrested in Raid on Hamra Hammam

(Image via Daily Star)

The Lebanese security forces raided a Hammam last Wednesday that is allegedly a meeting point for homosexual men. Twenty seven men arrested and still being detained by Lebanese security.

4. Tripoli Bans Alcohol Ads

(Image via NOW Media)

A recent decision by Tripoli’s mayor to ban advertisements for alcoholic drinks has come under a steady stream of fire by online critics.

According to the Daily Star newspaper, in response to the criticism, Ghazal released a statement defending his act, saying “it was not a precedent,” because previous mayors had also taken similar measures.

5. Army Gets $1 Billion Boost From Saudi Arabia

(Image via The Daily Star)

The Lebanese cabinet on Thursday officially accepted a $1 billion grant offered by Saudi Arabia to strengthen the country’s army and security forces.

The country has been plagued by violence linked to the Syrian conflict, including rocket attacks, suicide bombings and gun battles along the border. On August 2, Sunny militants belonging to the Nusra Front, al Qaeda’s branch in Syria, and the Islamic State, which has seized large areas of Iraq and Syria, carried out a concentrated attack in Arsal and kidnapped a number of Army soldiers and members of the Internal Security Forces.