The lead judge investigating the 2020 Beirut port blast has summoned 12 officials from the port authority, army, security branch and customs for questioning, renewing hopes of justice for victims of Lebanon's deadliest civilian disaster.
The summonses issued on Thursday night by judge Tarek Bitar, whose work has been repeatedly hamstrung by legal challenges and threats, requires the officials to appear before him next month.
The move came days after parliament elected former army chief Joseph Aoun as president, ending more than two years of political deadlock, and the nomination of Nawaf Salam, formerly president of the International Court of Justice, as prime minister-designate to lead the formation of a new government.
Speaking after he was nominated on Tuesday, Mr Salam pledged to seek justice over the port explosion, which killed more than 220 people, injured thousands and flattened large parts of the Lebanese capital. The blast was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate fertiliser had been haphazardly stored for years.
No senior officials have been held accountable for the explosion, which was widely regarded as a symptom of decades of corruption and mismanagement by Lebanon’s ruling elite.
Many Lebanese see Mr Aoun and Mr Salam as beacons of hope, separate from the entrenched political class.
“We have hope by the president, which is something good, [but] it's not only by having a good president, we have to change the whole system,” said Mariana Fodoulian, who lost her 29-year-old sister Gaia in the blast.
Attempts to establish accountability for the disaster have been stalled by legal challenges and blocks placed by members of the judicial system, which is deeply politicised.
In early 2023, the-then public prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat blocked Mr Bitar's efforts to resume the investigation after he was charged.
Mr Oueidat had accused the judge of overstepping his authority and ordered the release of all individuals detained over the explosion, including the former head of the Beirut port authority.
Hezbollah, a political party and armed group that has held sway over Lebanese politics but was significantly weakened in the recent war with Israel, has accused Mr Bitar of bias and demanded his dismissal, while senior officials named in the investigation filed a flurry of lawsuits to prevent it from going forward.
Mr Oueidat and his successor had also barred the judicial police from working with Mr Bitar.
The UN rights chief Volker Turk called for the “resumption of an independent investigation into the explosion” during a visit to Lebanon on Thursday.
“I repeat that those responsible for that tragedy must be held to account and offer the support of my office in this regard,” he said.
MP Melhem Khalaf, a constitutional expert and former head of the Beirut Bar Association, expressed happiness that the port investigation was resuming, but said that was not the point.
“It's not about feeling, it's about action," he said.
“All of us want this approach. We want to respect the process. It's a cornerstone of the state. If not we will lose democracy and the rule of law.”
Mr Khalaf had taken to sleeping in the parliament chamber since January last year to protest against the repeated failure of his fellow MPs to agree on a candidate for president. He finally left the building, suitcase in hand, after Mr Aoun was elected last Thursday.
He described Lebanon's new leaders as “very qualified” and said he was happy with their profiles.
“Look, we will be happy if they apply the rule of law. We need our rule of law, that's what we need. We need a state of law, we need a state of justice," Mr Khalaf told The National.
"In this approach we can create hope for the people, for the families … and to build a democratic state."
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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MATCH INFO
England 241-3 (20 ovs)
Malan 130 no, Morgan 91
New Zealand 165 all out (16.5ovs)
Southee 39, Parkinson 4-47
England win by 76 runs
Series level at 2-2
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
