Day: August 2, 2024

Caretaker Economy and Trade Minister, Amin Salam, on Friday wrote on "X": "The Lebanese army remains the protector of the nation, its people, and its flag. It is the pillar and backbone of our country, enduring through all trials and tribulations, no matter how severe the crises and conflicts." Source: National News Agency - Lebanon

Ouagadougou: The Director General of Customs of Burkina, divisional inspector Adama Ilboudo, handed over yesterday Thursday in Tenkodogo seventy-seven (77) motorcycles for the benefit of the Defense and Security Forces of the Center -East. This donation comes from machines seized by Central-East customs and which were subject to confiscation. It aims to support the Fighting Forces in the fight against terrorism and the reconquest of national territory. The Burkina Customs gesture is made up of HAOJIN, Yamaha 100, Yamaha XT, Yamaha DT 125, Yamaha XT 250, SANYA, Yamaha RX 100, APSONIC and Yamaha WR brand motorcycles. The motorcycles will be distributed between the commando infantry regiment (31 RIC), the gendarmerie, the national police, the municipal police and the environment service. 'It is important to secure the supply chain. National road number 16 is today a strategic axis for Burkina and the AES. It is the gateway for goods. We must do everything to secure it,' said the Director General of Customs, Divisional Inspector Adama Ilboudo. The governor of the region, Colonel Aboudou Karim Lamizana, who received the motorcycles on behalf of the Defense and Security Forces, hinted that this donation will contribute to good mobility of the units on the ground to track down terrorists and goes from significantly strengthen their operational capabilities. The beneficiaries, through the governor of the region, welcomed this gesture. They expressed their recognition and sincere gratitude to the customs institution for this action which helps strengthen the capacities of the services. Remember that Burkina Customs had made a similar gesture in the Center-South region. Source: Burkina Information Agency

Middle East Airlines - Air Liban announces that its flights for 2 and 3 August 2024, will remain as scheduled, except for some delayed flights. The delay is due to technical reasons related to the distribution of insurance risks for aircraft between Lebanon and other destinations. - Friday 2 August 2024: The Delayed flights are 11 out of 36 flights: FLIGHT NO FROM TO ORIGINAL DEPARTURE REVISED DEPARTURE ME302 Beirut Cairo 10:45 12:15 ME303 Cairo Beirut 13:05 14:35 ME306 Beirut Cairo 18:15 20:15 ME307 Cairo Beirut 20:35 22:35 ME322 Beirut Baghdad 15:50 17:50 ME323 Baghdad Beirut 18:20 20:20 ME431 Dubai Beirut 02:15 06:10 AM 3 AUGUST ME225 Beirut Copenhagen 18:20 20:20 ME226 Copenhagen Beirut 22:30 03:30 AM 3 AUGUST ME369 Jeddah Beirut 21:15 05:35 AM 3 AUGUST ME204 London Beirut 22:00 08:25 AM 3 AUGUST *All flights are according to the local time of each city. - Saturday 3 August 2024: The Delayed flights are 14 out of 38 flights: FLIGHT NO FROM TO ORIGINAL DEPARTURE REVISED DEPARTURE ME255 Beirut Athens 10:45 15:15 ME256 Athens Beirut 13:40 18:10 ME223 Beirut Nice 15:25 16:25 ME224 Nice Beirut 19:25 20:25 ME204 London Beirut 22:00 09:55 AM 4 AUGUST ME437 Doha Beirut 19:00 05:00 AM 4 AUGUST ME431 Dubai Beirut 02:15 06:10 AM 4 AUGUST ME443 Dammam Beirut 20:55 05:55 AM 4 AUGUST ME435 Doha Beirut 02:50 05:00 AM 4 AUGUST ME403 Kuwait Beirut 21:15 06:10 AM 4 AUGUST ME225 Beirut Copenhagen 07:20 09:20 ME226 Copenhagen Beirut 11:25 13:25 ME368 Beirut Jeddah 18:15 20:15 ME369 Jeddah Beirut 21:15 05:35 AM 4 AUGUST *All flights are according to the local time of each city. Passengers booked exclusively on the above flights are allowed to change their booking once free of charge For more information, please contact: MEA Call Center at +961-01-629999 or email callcenter@mea.com.lb . You can also visit our website at www.mea.com.lb Source: National News Agency - Lebanon

Early this morning, a series of airstrikes and artillery shelling by Israeli occupation forces resulted in multiple fatalities and injuries across various regions of the Gaza Strip, marking the 301st day of the ongoing genocide. WAFA correspondent reported that a young girl was killed and four others injured when Israeli forces targeted a home in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City. The injured were transported to the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in the city. In a separate incident, rescue teams recovered the bodies of four individuals and treated 12 others from an apartment in the Abu Hashim building on Jalaa Street, also in Gaza City, which had been struck by Israeli airstrikes. Israeli aircraft also carried out intense bombardments around Street 8 and the Sabra neighborhood in southern Gaza City. Additionally, a fire erupted in agricultural land following an attack near the Abu Aida roundabout. The airstrikes also targeted a home belonging to the Saad family north of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, as well as the Abu Jazar family home in the Ma'an area, east of Khan Younis, resulting in seven injuries. In Khan Younis, southern Gaza, a woman was killed and others injured when Israeli occupation forces struck a residence belonging to the al-Agha family in the al-Satar al-Gharbi area. The injured were taken to the Nasser Medical Complex. Further shelling was reported in the western part of Rafah, southern Gaza, and in the eastern areas of Abasan al-Kabira, east of Khan Younis. Last night, three individuals were killed, and others wounded, when Israeli occupation forces targeted a group of civilians at the Shujaiya intersection in eastern Gaza City. Source: National News Agency - Lebanon

The occupation authorities released Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, head of the Supreme Islamic Council and Imam and preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque, on Friday evening, on condition that he be banned from Al-Aqsa for a week with the possibility of renewal. The occupation intelligence detained Sheikh Sabri for about 5 hours in the investigation center "Rooms 4" in West Jerusalem, and interrogated him about "his sermon in Al-Aqsa and his eulogy for the martyr Ismail Haniyeh", after arresting him from his home in the Al-Sawana neighborhood in the city, following statements and demands from government ministers, settlers, and extremist organizations demanding the withdrawal of his identity and the immediate opening of an investigation with him about the Friday sermon. Regarding what happened to him, Sheikh Sabri told Ma'an News Agency: "Serious charges were brought against me and prepared for me, the most prominent of which are: treason against the state, terrorism, and membership in an illegal organization." In his eulogy for Sheikh Ismail Haniyeh during the sermon, Sheikh Sabri denied all the charges against him, and explained that the eulogy is a religious matter, and does not mean that we support or oppose the one we are eulogizing. The eulogy is a prayer, and a prayer is a verse and a Quranic text. The word "martyr" was also mentioned. Sheikh Sabri explained that after the charges against me failed and were proven, he released me on condition that I be kept away from Al-Aqsa for a week. Sheikh Sabri was surprised by the settlers' incitement against him, and published a picture of his house and demanded his expulsion. Regarding the threat and the demand to withdraw his residency (ID) from him, the Sheikh said: 'I heard about it through the media, but I was not informed of these threats. We are the owners of this blessed and sacred country, and our connection to it is by a decision from God, not the Security Council or the United Nations. This incitement is unjustified.' For his part, Medhat Diba, the Sheikh's lawyer, said: 'What is being practiced against Sheikh Akram Sabri is legal terrorism through the great pressure from terrorist organizations that are constantly monitoring the Sheikh. We previously filed complaints against the incitement to kill the Sheikh, but the police did not move a finger. Today, immediately and hours after the Friday sermon, I obtained permission from the Public Prosecution to investigate the Sheikh and arrest him from his home.' Immediately after the Friday sermon, Interior Minister Moshe Arbel demanded that Sheikh Sabri's identity be revoked, on the pretext of "committing security violations and breach of trust." In his demand, the minister denounced Sheikh Haniyeh's eulogy in Al-Aqsa, saying that he was one of those responsible for the events of "October 7." The claim stated, 'Article 11A of the Entry into Israel Law grants the Minister of the Interior the authority to cancel a permanent residence permit for committing an act that constitutes a breach of trust. He asked the government's legal a dvisor to help him complete the procedures to withdraw Sheikh Sabri's identity. As for the Minister of National Security in the occupation government, Itamar Ben Gvir, he demanded that the Public Prosecution open an immediate investigation with Sheikh Sabri. The settlers called for bombing Sheikh Sabri's house, and published pictures of the Sheikh's house and identified its location Source: Maan News Agency

Three persons have been reported injured in three road accidents within the last 24 hours, the Traffic Management Center said on Friday. Source: National news agency - Lebanon

President Mahmoud Abbas has dispatched Deputy Chairman of the Fatah Movement Mahmoud al-Aloul and Secretary of the Fatah Central Committee Jibril Rajoub to Doha to participate in the funeral of the martyred leader Ismail Haniyeh. Funeral prayers were held for Haniyeh's body at the Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque, before he was buried in the cemetery of the founding imam in Lusail. The funeral was attended by leaders and representatives of Palestinian factions, a number of Qatari officials, and delegations from Arab and Islamic countries Source: Maan News Agency

Israeli enemy warplanes conducted intense flights over southern Lebanon on Thursday night, particularly over villages in the western and central sectors. The hostile aircraft released thermal balloons and carried out a number of mock air raids. Following midnight, Israeli artillery bombarded the outskirts of several towns in the central sector, notably Labouneh and Al-Alam mountains in the western sector. In a separate incident, residents of Shamaa and the surrounding area are mourning the loss of four village residents, a mother and her three children, all Syrian nationals. The funeral is scheduled for 11:00 am on Friday at the village cemetery. Source: National News Agency - Lebanon

Ouagadougou: The United States wants to boost its defensive military capabilities in the Middle East in order to protect its troops there and their Israeli ally, the Pentagon said on Friday, amid rising tensions in the region. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin "will take several steps to strengthen protection of U.S. troops in the region, provide Israel with more support, and ensure that the United States is prepared to respond to this evolving crisis." », Detailed a Pentagon spokesperson, Sabrina Singh. She was not more specific, but indicated that 'these could be defensive military capabilities.' By welcoming the Americans released by Russia during a vast prisoner exchange on the night of Thursday to Friday, President Joe Biden said he was 'very concerned' about the situation in the Middle East while urging the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to quickly conclude a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip. And during a telephone interview earlier Thursday, in the presence of Vice-President Kamala Har ris, Mr. Biden assured Mr. Netanyahu that the United States was 'committed' to the security of the Jewish state in the face of all threats from Iran. According to the White House, They also "discussed efforts to support Israel's defense against threats, including those from ballistic missiles and drones", which could involve "new deployments of American defensive weapons". Iran and its allied groups are preparing their response to the assassination on Wednesday of Hamas leader Ismaïl Haniyeh, attributed to Israel by the Palestinian Islamist group, Lebanese Hezbollah and Tehran. His death came the day after an Israeli strike killed Hezbollah military leader Fouad Choukr near Beirut. These two attacks revive fears of a widening of the war throughout the Middle East, between Israel on the one hand, Iran and the groups it supports in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen the other Source: Burkina Information Agency

Ouagadougou: The staff of the Constitutional Council met on Friday August 2, 2024 in the commune of Kombissiri to strengthen the plant cover of its forest in the village of Zamcé. With the help of the provincial authorities of Bazèga and the local population, 1,172 plants of different species were planted. Faithful to its policy of promoting a healthy environment, the Constitutional Council met in Zamcé in the commune of Kombissiri in the Center-South region, for its traditional reforestation day. For this 10th edition of reforestation, the theme chosen is: 'The Constitutional Council, an active institution for the right to a healthy environment, committed to a greener environment, capital of resilience for endogenous development'. For François Xavier Konséibo, member of the Constitutional Council and president of the environment unit, representing the president of the said institution, the Constitutional Council thus wants to appropriate the theme of the 6th National Tree Day (JNA) 2024, 'Tree, resilience capital for endogenous development'. This reforestation, which is a 'patriotic commitment' of the staff of the Constitutional Council, consists of contributing to greening the national territory. For this edition, a total of 1,172 plants composed of baobabs, tamarind trees, acacias, kapok trees, nérés and thorn trees are planted. Some of the planted species are protected by a wire fence and other plants protected by grids. With the help of its partners, the Constitutional Council was able to carry out a solar borehole on its site which will not only provide drinking water to the local population, but will also make it possible to maintain the plants during the dry season. On this reforestation day, Mr. Konséibo thanked the authorities and services in charge of the environment of Bazèga as well as the populations of Zamcé for their mobilization. He invited local populations to maintain the forest. Source: Burkina Information Agency