Topping the week in review, the reported horrors of Beirut slaughterhouses go beyond concerns of contamination and poor hygiene. Find out why the stakes are much higher for the people who worked there.
Investigation Launched Into Cancer Deaths Linked To Slaughterhouses (Image via Flikr)
A lawyer this week reportedly went to the Lebanese Ministry of Health with a file asserting the death of 18 Beirut slaughterhouse workers who were all diagnosed with cancer.
Health Minister Wael Abu Faour told a televised news conference that “18 or 19” workers had been diagnosed with different types of cancers he believed were caused by hazardous work conditions. He said the management at the slaughterhouse tried to cover up the scandal, fearing it would force its closure.
Iraqi Banks Under Investigation for Money Laundering and Crruption (Image via Al Monitor)
According to an anonymous economic official, 29 out of 33 Iraqi private banks are under investigation for corruption and money laundering. According to Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen, money laundering through the Central Bank of Iraq has resulted in the loss of over $100 billion in the past 10 years, most of which was transferred into banks in Dubai and Beirut.
“Yalla, Let’s Bike” Initiative Launched in Damascus (Image via Al Monitor)
Syria has been through hell, wars, explosions, and beheadings, and yet the state has still managed to launch the “Yalla, Let’s Bike” initiative. Some 900 Syrians took to the streets this week on bikes under the slogan “a bicycle on the road keeps traffic away.”
Shihani Threatens Lebanon Over Arrest of Wife (Image via Daily Star)
ISIS commander Abu Ali Al-Shishani, addressed Lebanese Sunnis via YouTube this week urging them to rise up against the government’s arrest of his wife. Shihani blamed Salem Rafei, the head of the Committee of Muslim Scholars for not helping.
“She was merely a refugee in a school just like any other woman … Why did they take her because of her husband? Damn you!”
“We will not rest until all our women are out of prison. Damn you and your army.”
String of Attacks Kill 38 in Baghdad (Image via Daily Star)
For people outside of Iraq it’s hard to imagine that people live almost normally, and that death tolls aren’t just statistics and headlines. Five separate bomb attacks in the Iraqi capital Baghdad and the northern city of Kirkuk killed 38 people and wounded dozen others on Thursday, police and medical sources said.
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