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Refugees Included in Lebanon’s COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign

A doctor wearing protective gear handles a coronavirus test sample at Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon. Reuters file photo
A doctor wearing protective gear handles a coronavirus test sample at Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon. Reuters file photo
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Refugees Included in Lebanon’s COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign

A doctor wearing protective gear handles a coronavirus test sample at Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon. Reuters file photo
A doctor wearing protective gear handles a coronavirus test sample at Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon. Reuters file photo

Lebanon confirmed Thursday that the national vaccination campaign against the coronavirus will include everyone living on its territories, regardless of their nationality or residency status.

World Health Organization's Representative in Lebanon Iman Shankiti told reporters that during a meeting with Health Minister Hamad Hassan, her host had confirmed that the vaccination plan covered all those residing in Lebanon, including refugees.

Lebanon expects to start COVID-19 vaccinations on Monday.

The Minister announced this week that all the necessary technical and logistical matters have been secured through a group of donors to start the inoculations.

Lebanon has an estimated 1.7 million refugees and asylum seekers, and 400,000 migrant workers.

The Ministry aims to vaccinate 80 percent of the population by the end of 2021.

Also on Thursday, Hassan discussed with Caretaker Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe vaccinating personnel at diplomatic missions in Lebanon.

“The meeting aims to put a mechanism for the vaccination of (personnel at) diplomatic missions and embassies in Lebanon, including their local staff,” Wehbe said.

Lebanon is expecting its first delivery of two million Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine doses on Saturday, with priority for inoculations to be given to medical personnel and people aged over 75.

President Michel Aoun's advisor for Russian affairs Amal Abou Zeid said following talks with Russia’s Ambassador to Lebanon, Alexander Rudakov, that Moscow is ready to provide Lebanon with vaccines for free.

Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Islamic Awqaf announced an exceptional decision to open mosques for Friday prayers.

It called on worshipers to respect precautionary and prevention measures.

The decision came despite the ongoing rise in COVID-19 cases.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.