BEIRUT: A goodwill gesture to power-starved Lebanon from an energy company in Turkey has backfired, igniting mudslinging and corruption allegations.
This summer, the Karadeniz Energy Group lent Lebanon a floating power station to generate electricity at below-market rates to help ease the strain on the country’s woefully under-maintained power sector.
Instead, the barge’s arrival opened a Pandora’s box of partisan mudslinging in a country hobbled by political sectarianism and dysfunction.
There’ve been rows over where it should dock, how to allocate its 235 megawatts of power, and even what to call the barge.
It’s even driven a wedge between Lebanon’s two dominant Shiite Muslim parties: Amal and the militant Hezbollah.
Lebanon has faced rolling blackouts for decades and outages in the south can stretch for more than 12 hours a day.
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A goodwill gesture over electricity sows discord in Lebanon
A goodwill gesture over electricity sows discord in Lebanon
- A goodwill gesture to power-starved Lebanon from an energy company in Turkey has backfired
- The barge’s arrival opened a Pandora’s box of partisan mudslinging in a country hobbled by political sectarianism and dysfunction
Gaza civil defense says Israeli strikes kill at least 5
GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defense ministry said Israeli strikes killed at least five people on Friday.
Violence has continued in the Palestinian territory despite a US-brokered truce that entered its second phase last month, with Israel and Hamas trading accusations of violating the agreement.
The civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authorities, told AFP that an air strike in the early hours of Friday morning killed at least two people and seriously injured one in central Gaza.
A drone strike in the south of the strip shortly after midnight killed three and injured several more people, the agency added.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, which took effect on October 10, Israeli troops withdrew to positions behind a so-called “Yellow Line,” though they remain in control of more than half of the territory.
Gaza’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authorities, has previously said at least 601 people had been killed since the truce began.
The Israeli military says at least four of its soldiers have been killed in the same period.
Media restrictions and limited access in Gaza have prevented AFP from independently verifying casualty figures or freely covering the fighting.
Violence has continued in the Palestinian territory despite a US-brokered truce that entered its second phase last month, with Israel and Hamas trading accusations of violating the agreement.
The civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authorities, told AFP that an air strike in the early hours of Friday morning killed at least two people and seriously injured one in central Gaza.
A drone strike in the south of the strip shortly after midnight killed three and injured several more people, the agency added.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, which took effect on October 10, Israeli troops withdrew to positions behind a so-called “Yellow Line,” though they remain in control of more than half of the territory.
Gaza’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authorities, has previously said at least 601 people had been killed since the truce began.
The Israeli military says at least four of its soldiers have been killed in the same period.
Media restrictions and limited access in Gaza have prevented AFP from independently verifying casualty figures or freely covering the fighting.
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