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Families of victims denounce plans for new judge to probe Beirut port blast

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By Najia Houssari -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: Relatives of some of the victims of the massive explosion at Beirut’s port in 2020, which killed at least 218 people, on Wednesday protested against the judiciary’s plan to appoint a new judge to the official investigation. They denounced the move as an attempt by the country’s political class to avoid justice. The probe into the blast, which caused billions of dollars in damage, has been stalled since December, after three former cabinet ministers filed legal challenges against the investigating judge, Tarek Bitar. Justice Minister Henri Khoury and the Higher Judicial Council, Lebanon’s top judicial body, are looking at appointing a second judge, reportedly with a view to releasing some port and customs officials and other workers who have been detained without charge since the explosion.

William Noun, whose brother died in the blast, said: “The families of the victims want the investigations to be conducted again. We also want Judge Bitar to carry out his duties away from the political rivalries.” The mother of another victim said: “We are not against setting detainees free. However, truth and justice must be achieved.” Moody Koraytem, the sister of Hassan Kamel Koraytem, the chairman and director general of Beirut Port, who is one of those being detained, said: “The fate of the detainees is in the hands of the people in power. Those detainees have not yet faced a trial, which is unjust to them and their families.” An unprecedented number of cases have been filed against Bitar, who was suspended after he accused a former premier, former ministers and current lawmakers of bearing responsibility for the blast as a result of their negligence.

Mayyas wow judges on America's Got Talent semi final - Made it to the final!!

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Final results - America Has voted!! Mayyas Congratulations!!

America’s Got Talent: Mayyas, Urbancrew dominate live show #4

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We know that a lot of America’s Got Talent live shows tend to be dominated by and large by singers. Yet, Mayyas and Urbancrew stole the show tonight! In a lot of ways, this was an episode all about dance, and what made both of these acts work so well is that they don’t look or feel like your standard AGT dance act — they rely on creativity, style, and honoring where they are from. Urbancrew is easily the best acrobatic dance act the show has had since the days of V. Unbeatable, where you have to combine athleticism, skill, and trust in order to pull these routines off. What they did got the judges on their feet, where Howie Mandel called it almost immediately the best act of the night. (Based on what we saw, it was pretty darn hard to argue with that.)

As for Mayyas, much of their act is also based on precision, albeit a completely different kind. They bring much of their Lebanese culture to the show and offer something totally new to the American version of the show. They had the honor of closing the show, which typically does come with its own unique advance. What they did was, in a word, stunning. There was also a unique storytelling quality to it with the serpent theme. There were a few moves that reminded us very much of what we saw in the audition, but they also showed that they can do SO much more than that. The question, at least for now, is whether viewers will embrace either of these acts versus what we tend to see — think magicians and (as mentioned singers). That’s no disrespect to the vocalists tonight, who were good … but there is just something so fun about watching variety on this show.

How did Pope Francis change the Order of Malta?

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by catholicnewsagency.com -- Andrea Gagliarducci - The decision of Pope Francis to approve the new constitution of the Order of Malta, abolish positions, appoint a transitional government, and convene a general chapter to support the reform came quickly, but not suddenly. For some time, it had become evident that the pope wanted to bypass all resistance and carry out the reform of the order outlined by the men he called to that office — and to do so against any contrary opinion. At the same time, Pope Francis’ decree of Sept. 3 cannot be simply described as a “victory” of the religious side over the secular side, the latter chiefly represented by German protagonists. That would be a reductive view of the situation.

The reform of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta is a reform in a more spiritual sense, at least in terms of its intentions. At the same time, the reform had to be careful not to jeopardize the sovereignty of the Order of Malta while recognizing its complex reality and sometimes turbulent history. The Order of Malta’s structure includes priories, sub-priories, and 48 affiliated associations. The organization also employs some 45,000 staff, assisted by almost 100,000 volunteers. The order’s humanitarian projects budget is said to amount to $2.3 billion. At the same time, the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta — that is the full official name — has three classes of knights.

Dozens of Lebanese and Syrian migrants stranded at sea

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By AP -- Dozens of Lebanese and Syrian migrants stranded for days on a sinking fishing boat in the Mediterranean Sea are urging European coast guards to save them, saying that two children have died. The roughly 60 migrants told relatives and volunteer groups via satellite phone that the group has been without food, water and baby formula for the past three days. On board the boat are Syrian refugees and Lebanese from the country's severely impoverished northern provinces trying to reach Italy for job opportunities. They left the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli about 10 days ago. “They’re trying to remove water leaking into the boat with buckets, that’s all they have,” the brother of one of the Syrian passengers told the Associated Press. He asked for their names not to be disclosed for security reasons and because some of the migrants did not want to disclose the news to their families back home. “This fishing boat is meant for five people, not 60.”

Lebanon has a population of six million, including one million Syrian refugees, and has been in the grip of a severe economic meltdown since late 2019 that has pulled more than three quarters of the population into poverty. The migrants are reportedly stranded near the coasts of Malta and Italy. Authorities have not yet sent rescuers, families and activists in touch with the migrants said. Lebanese parliamentarian Ashraf Rifi urged the Italian government as well as the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Lebanese embassy in Rome to take action. Both family members and Alarm Phone, an activist network that helps bring rescuers to distressed migrants at sea, Malta has not yet authorised a rescue operation and has not given permission to a commercial cargo ship to pick up the stranded migrants.

Meanwhile, families fear the leaking boat could sink at any time. “Whenever I call, you can hear the children screaming and crying in the background,” the relative said. “I don’t know why no governments have taken action to rescue them — is it because they’re poor people trying to make ends meet for their families?”

Lebanese Telecommunications Ministry requests treasury advance amid strike

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By Najia Houssari - arabnews.com -- Lebanese Forces leader describes Aoun as ‘weakest president in Lebanon’s history’ BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Ministry of Telecommunications requested a treasury advance from the Ministry of Finance to avoid the repercussions of its employees’ strike that began last week. The strike has resulted in interruptions to landlines, mobile phones and internet services for millions of Lebanese citizens. Key services at hospitals, security and military facilities were also disrupted.

Caretaker Communications Minister Johnny Korm has signed for a treasury advance of around 200 billion Lebanese pounds ($7.14 million) from the 2022 budget reserves. The process awaits the signature of the minister of finance and the prime minister. The fund request aims to meet the demands of the employees of the state-owned telecom company Ogero. According to Elie Zeitouni, head of Ogero’s union, the employees are asking for an increase in transportation allowance and social assistance. “We are on the people’s side and do not intend to harm them,” Zeitouni said. “However, we will not suspend the strike until we receive a response from the communications minister on Thursday about the legality of meeting our demand for an increase in wages.”

Rai: Manipulation with the presidency is manipulation with the republic itself

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by lbcgroup.tv -- Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai stressed on Sunday that putting forward a presidential vacancy is fundamentally unacceptable, stressing that the election of a new president within the constitutional deadline is the only requirement. Rai’s comments were made during his Sunday mass sermon, whereby he indicated that speaking of presidential vacuum is constitutionally limited to the president’s resignation or death or a force majeure, according to articles 73 and 74 of the constitution. He then pointed out that it is the duty of political forces to agree on a figure or two who enjoy the characteristics that have become well-known and repeated. He also called on the parliament to take the initiative to elect the new president within the constitutional deadline that has begun. “Manipulation with the presidency is manipulation with the republic itself,” the Patriarch warned.