World pledges €250m direct aid to Lebanese

LONG-TERM SUPPORT TIED TO REFORMS, IMPARTIAL PROBE

World donors yesterday pledged more than ₤250 million to aid Lebanon after massive explosions devastated Beirut last week.

The total figure of “emergency aid pledged or that can be mobilised quickly” amounts to ₤252.7 million ($298 million), French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said. Those commitments would not be conditional on political or institutional reform, Macron’s office added.

There were also pledges made for longer-term support that would depend on changes brought in by the authorities.

In a joint statement, donors pledged the assistance would be “directly delivered to the Lebanese population” under the leadership of the UN.

Assistance must be timely

The “assistance should be timely, sufficient and consistent with the needs of the Lebanese people ... and directly delivered to the Lebanese population, with utmost efficiency and transparency,” the communiqué stated. Macron hosted the conference by video-link . The offer of assistance included support for an impartial, credible and independent inquiry into the blast.

President Donald Trump told the conference the United States was ready to continue providing aid to help the Lebanese, the White House said. “The President called for calm in Lebanon and acknowledged the legitimate calls of peaceful protesters for transparency, reform and accountability,” a White House statement said.

Ministers quit as pressure builds on PM from all sides

Meanwhile, pressure is piling up on Prime Minister Hassan Diab to resign.

Information Minister Manal Abdul Samad and Environment Minister Damianos Kattar resigned “in response to the public calls for change”. Top Christian Maronite cleric Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al Rai

said the cabinet should resign as it cannot “change the way it governs”. “The resignation of an MP or a minister is not enough ... the whole government should resign as it is unable to help the country recover,” he said in his Sunday sermon.

A flurry of phone calls between Diab and several ministers followed the resignations of ministers. Diab was reported to have told other ministers to hold off on their resignations pending the outcome of a cabinet session set for 3pm today.