WHY LEBANON’S POLITICIANS ARE DERAILING BEIRUT BLAST PROBE: The Beirut blast of 2020 was one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded. So, one would assume a full and thorough investigation would by now have been completed, and negligent officials brought to book. But, one would be wrong. This is Lebanon, and its politicians do not even answer questions from the investigating judge. Some of the people the judge wants to quiz are very powerful, including former finance minister Ali Hassan Khalil, who is the right-hand-man of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and an ally of the Iran-backed Hezbollah, and Major General Abbas Ibrahim, head of Lebanon’s General Security. In theory, these officials could face long jail terms if found guilty. But, lucky for them, Lebanon has no record of holding powerful people to account. [COMMENT BY: Omar Shariff, International Editor]
AP