The European Parliament has called for an independent and international fact-finding mission to investigate the 2020 Beirut port blast after a lack of progress by Lebanese officials three years after the deadly explosion.
A resolution adopted by the parliament also urges the European Council – the EU’s executive arm – to apply targeted sanctions against anyone obstructing the domestic probe or any future international investigation.
It also calls for sanctions on those “who are infringing the democratic and electoral process in the Lebanese institutions, those involved in serious financial misconduct and those obstructing corruption investigations”.
Lebanon has been without a president for nearly eight months, with the bitterly divided parliament failing to elect a successor to Michel Aoun in 12 attempts. Speaker Nabih Berri has yet to schedule 13th round of voting.
The explosion on August 4, 2020 killed more than 220 people, injured thousands and destroyed large parts of the Lebanese capital. The blast is regarded as a symptom of decades of corruption and mismanagement by the Lebanese elite.
No senior officials have been held accountable, while Judge Tarek Bitar’s investigation is at a standstill after he was hit with legal measures from powerful Lebanese figures sought for questioning.
The blast occurred after a huge stock of ammonium nitrate – stored at the port for years – caught fire. No reason has been given for why the highly explosive chemical was kept there.
Mr Bitar reopened the case in January, after it had been placed on hold for more than a year, and charged senior politicians, judicial figures and security officials in connection with the explosion.
But Lebanon’s top prosecutor told Mr Bitar that the investigation was still on hold and charged him with rebelling against the judiciary. The Lebanese judicial system is deeply politicised.
The European Parliament resolution encouraged EU member states “to assist families of the victims of the Beirut port blast in exploring the possibilities for presenting lawsuits in foreign national courts as well as explore the possibilities for prosecuting politicians accused of atrocities under universal jurisdiction”.
With justice inside Lebanon seemingly an impossibility right now, families of the victims have turned outside the country for restitution.
Last month, Savaro Ltd, the UK-registered company found liable earlier this year by a London court for the blast, was told to pay a total of $1 million to four victims.
The European Parliament resolution also urges the UN Human Rights Council “to enact a resolution establishing and dispatching an independent and impartial fact-finding mission in order to determine the facts and circumstances of the Beirut explosion, including the root causes, to establish state and individual culpability and to promote justice and restitution for the victims”.
Honeymoonish
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
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Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK) v Rey Nacionales (PHI)
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROM) v Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR)
Catch 74kg
Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) v Omar Hussein (JOR)
Strawweight (Female)
Weronika Zygmunt (POL) v Seo Ye-dam (KOR)
Featherweight
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Lightweight
Leandro Martins (BRA) v Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW)
Welterweight
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Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) v Glen Ranillo (PHI)
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) v Aidan Aguilera (AUS)
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Mounir Lazzez (TUN) Sasha Palatnikov (HKG)
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