PARIS: French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Lebanon’s political and economic collapse was like the sinking of the Titanic, only without the music.
“Lebanon is the Titanic without the orchestra,” Le Drian told the daily Le Figaro in an interview published on Sunday. “The Lebanese are in complete denial as they sink, and there isn’t even the music.”
Le Drian’s remarks set a pessimistic tone a little over a week before President Emmanuel Macron makes his third visit to Beirut since a massive port blast destroyed swathes of the city and killed 200 people in August.
Macron is losing patience with Lebanon’s politicians as rival politicians mired in turf battles stand in the way of sweeping reforms that donors say are imperative for badly-needed financial aid to be released.
It is believed the Titanic’s orchestra kept playing for as long as it could as the liner went down in the Atlantic Ocean in 1912, trying to help keep passengers calm amid impending doom. All the musicians perished.
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Lebanon’s collapse is like the Titanic’s sinking, only without the music — Le Drian
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Lebanon’s collapse is like the Titanic’s sinking, only without the music — Le Drian
- Le Drian’s remarks set a pessimistic tone ahead of the third visit by President Emmanuel Macron to Beirut since the port explosion
Israeli foreign minister visiting Somaliland, sources say
NAIROBI/JERUSALEM: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar is on a visit to Somaliland in East Africa, where he is due to meet the semi-autonomous region’s president later on Tuesday, according to a senior Somaliland official.
A second source briefed on the visit confirmed the foreign minister was in Somaliland, without providing further details. The Israeli foreign ministry did not immediately respond when asked if the foreign minsiter was in Somaliland.
The visit comes 10 days after Israel formally recognized the self-declared Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state, a move that sparked criticism from Somalia, which has long opposed Somaliland’s bid to secede.
A second source briefed on the visit confirmed the foreign minister was in Somaliland, without providing further details. The Israeli foreign ministry did not immediately respond when asked if the foreign minsiter was in Somaliland.
The visit comes 10 days after Israel formally recognized the self-declared Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state, a move that sparked criticism from Somalia, which has long opposed Somaliland’s bid to secede.
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