Author: Web Desk

Ministry of Water and Irrigation’s Jordan Water Authority (JWA) workers detected 3 major attacks on the “Corridor” wellfield conveyor line, which supplies the main water catchment tank of the four northern governorates, illegally siphoning off quantities to fill tankers. According to a ministry statement on Wednesday, the attacks, which were carried out by installing multiple fissures on the conveyor line, were seized, dismantled and the seized items were transferred to the concerned authorities.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Alertness regarding displacement Confrontation or filling void? AL-JOUMHOURIA: Bleeding presidency and displacement: High ceilings, verbal duels, and no solutions AL-AKHBAR: The displaced crisis: Mikati and Aoun hold the key to the solution

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

The “Karama – Beirut Human Rights Film Festival” kicks off its seventh edition on 5 October 2023, at 7 PM at Sunflower Theater, in Tayyouneh, Beirut, under the theme ‘Hold On.’ Organized by NGO ‘Art Factory 961,’ the festival is held in collaboration with the United Nations Information Centre in Beirut (UNIC Beirut) and in partnership with the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Lebanon and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The festival focuses on holding on to the basics of the Human Rights Charter and on the diversity and inclusion of marginalized groups. The seventh edition of Karama Beirut Human Rights Film Festival is dedicated to call for everyone, through art and films, to re-read the provisions of the International Charter of Human Rights as agreed upon and announced by humanity, in order to reconsider the interpretive formulas, and to re-work according to them as standards of justice and fairness. The festival runs from 5 to 8 Octoberand features 13 films, from several countries in the world in an attempt to restore clarity to human rights practice, which means preserving human dignity and diversity everywhere, as a founding principle of human rights in our country. A wide range of films, fiction, and documentary all of which will be screened, subtitled in both English and Arabic. Themes included among others: Diversity and inclusion of marginalized groups, war, refugee rights, women’s rights, migration, slavery, and labor rights. Debates and Q and A’s will be organized after almost every film with the presence of the directors of the films from all over the world. In addition, a master class to refute common myths and fallacies in media toward persons with disabilities will be implemented during the days of the festival. Karama – Beirut Human Rights Film Festival (KBHRFF) is a film event that contributes, among other well-established and renowned human rights film festivals in the world, to spreading a cinema that denounces racism, hate discourse, discrimination, and injustice. In 2021, the fifth edition of the festival was held under the theme ‘Occupy the Void’ and focused on the power and aspirations of young people for social and political change through public political participation. In 2019, the fourth edition of the festival was held under the theme ‘Talk to Her’ and promoted Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality, while the third edition, held in 2018 under the motto ‘Free the Word,’ aimed to support the freedom of expression that is liberated from traditional official models. In 2017, the second edition addressed the theme ‘New Identities’ and focused on identities conflict, whereas the first edition was held in 2016 under the theme ‘The Others,’ and aimed to raise awareness on the rights of refugees and minorities in Lebanon and the Arab World.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

Banque du Liban issued a new circular on Tuesday limiting banks’ ability to increase banking fees and commissions at their own discretion. Circular No. 679 comes a few days after Bank of Beirut, one of the country’s largest banks before the crisis, was criticized by some of its customers for abruptly and unilaterally increasing the fees levied on accounts in bank dollars (or “lollars”)- dollars blocked by the restrictions in place since the end of 2019. The new text amends Circular No. 147, published Sept. 3, 2019, which governs the terms and conditions for opening and processing bank accounts. It adds three new obligations for banks: . First and foremost, BDL prohibits banks from imposing new fees and commissions on deposits, other than those that existed prior to Oct. 31, 2019. At this time, banks closed their doors in the wake of the Oct. 17 protests, before reopening and harmonizing the restrictions they have since imposed on customers, which mainly limit access to dollar accounts. . BDL also requires banks to prepare an exhaustive list of information on the “real cost of account fees,” how they are calculated, and how customers must pay them. . Finally, the Central Bank requires banks to publish this list “in a visible place” on all their premises, including head offices and branches, as well as on their websites, by October 16. When contacted, lawyer Karim Daher, who is a member of the committee set up by the Beirut Bar to defend depositors’ rights against credit institutions, welcomed the measure imposed under the aegis of the BDL’s acting governor, Wassim Manssouri. The latter replaced ex-governor Riad Salameh at the end of July, who led the institution for thirty years and left it with several investigations on his back and criticism of the way he managed Lebanon’s monetary policy before and during the crisis. “For almost two years now, the Beirut Bar Association has been submitting requests for measures to combat bank abuse and report all offenses committed by banks. We have stepped up our mobilization since the interim governor took office. It’s a small victory that relieves depositors in their daily lives, but we have many other expectations, particularly on the part of Parliament, which must pass essential laws to deal with the problem on a global level”, he explained. Lebanon has been in a severe economic and financial crisis since 2019, but the ruling class has so far failed to launch the necessary reforms to stabilize the situation and guarantee the integrity of deposits confiscated by banks without the cover of a capital law.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon