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Former Public Works Minister to Be Questioned over Beirut Port Blast

A general view shows the damaged grain silo following the blast in Beirut's port area, Lebanon. (Reuters)
A general view shows the damaged grain silo following the blast in Beirut's port area, Lebanon. (Reuters)
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Former Public Works Minister to Be Questioned over Beirut Port Blast

A general view shows the damaged grain silo following the blast in Beirut's port area, Lebanon. (Reuters)
A general view shows the damaged grain silo following the blast in Beirut's port area, Lebanon. (Reuters)

The judicial investigator probing the Beirut port explosion, Judge Fadi Sawwan summoned former public works minister Youssef Fenianos and the port’s former customs chief Moussa Hazimeh to appear for interrogation next Thursday, Lebanon’s National News Agency said on Monday.

Six months after one of the largest non-nuclear explosions on record, which injured thousands of people, victims are still awaiting the result of the investigation, although Lebanese leaders had promised it would come within days.

Sawwan had already called former finance minister Ali Hassan Khalil, along with former public works ministers Ghazi Zoaiter and Fenianos for questioning over the blast.

However, Zoaiter and Hassan Khalil refused to attend the questioning, saying that as current members of parliament, they enjoy immunity.

The highly explosive chemicals that triggered the Beirut port explosion last August 4 were stored for years in poor conditions at the port, which lies in the heart of the capital.

Since August, Sawwan has brought charges against 37 people.

But many Lebanese remain skeptical that senior politicians will be held to account, fearing the truth will never emerge from a system riven by corruption.

Lebanese authorities have failed in the past six months to deliver any justice for the catastrophic explosion, Human Rights Watch said in a report released early this month.

Meanwhile, lawyers of Palestinians, Egyptians and Syrians killed in the explosion are following up on a letter they presented last week to Sawwan.

The four lawyers had filed a complaint against the owner Savaro, of a British-registered company possibly linked to the blast, and sole director at Companies House, Marina Psyllou, and the company's former director Greta Bieliene, requesting they be questioned to reveal the real owners of the company.

Last month, a Lebanese lawyers’ association asked British authorities to halt the voluntary liquidation of Savaro.

In the Jan. 25 letter to British lawmaker Margaret Hodge, the Beirut Bar Association (BBA) said it had asked the UK corporate registry, Companies House, to prevent, Savaro Ltd., which it described as an “indicted entity”, from being wound up in order to allow investigations into its possible role in the blast to continue.

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Arab World

Drone Attack by RSF in Sudan Kills 24, Including 8 Children, Doctors’ Group Says

Displaced Sudanese wait to receive humanitarian aid at the Abu al-Naga displacement camp in the Gedaref State, some 420km east of the capital Khartoum on February 6, 2026. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese wait to receive humanitarian aid at the Abu al-Naga displacement camp in the Gedaref State, some 420km east of the capital Khartoum on February 6, 2026. (AFP)
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Drone Attack by RSF in Sudan Kills 24, Including 8 Children, Doctors’ Group Says

Displaced Sudanese wait to receive humanitarian aid at the Abu al-Naga displacement camp in the Gedaref State, some 420km east of the capital Khartoum on February 6, 2026. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese wait to receive humanitarian aid at the Abu al-Naga displacement camp in the Gedaref State, some 420km east of the capital Khartoum on February 6, 2026. (AFP)

A drone attack by a notorious paramilitary group hit a vehicle carrying displaced families in central Sudan Saturday, killing at least 24 people, including eight children, a doctors’ group said.

The attack by the Rapid Support Forces occurred close to the city of Rahad in North Kordofan province, said the Sudan Doctors Network, which tracks the country’s ongoing war.

The vehicle transported displaced people who fled fighting in the Dubeiker area of North Kordofan, the doctors’ group said in a statement. Among the dead children were two infants, the group said.

The doctors’ group urged the international community and rights organizations to “take immediate action to protect civilians and hold the RSF leadership directly accountable for these violations.”

There was no immediate comment from the RSF, which has been at war against the Sudanese military for control of the country for about three years.

Sudan plunged into chaos in April 2023 when a power struggle between the military and the RSF exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country.

The devastating war has killed more than 40,000 people, according to UN figures, but aid groups say that is an undercount and the true number could be many times higher.

It created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis with over 14 million people forced to flee their homes. It fueled disease outbreaks and pushed parts of the country into famine.

Arab World

Israeli Army Allows Settlers to Spend Night Near Gaza

Israeli settlers walk toward the border with Gaza on Thursday (AFP). 
Israeli settlers walk toward the border with Gaza on Thursday (AFP). 
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Israeli Army Allows Settlers to Spend Night Near Gaza

Israeli settlers walk toward the border with Gaza on Thursday (AFP). 
Israeli settlers walk toward the border with Gaza on Thursday (AFP). 

The Israeli army on Friday escorted about 1,500 Jewish settlers out of an area near the Gaza Strip after allowing them to spend a single night along the border, while arresting several who insisted on staying inside occupied Palestinian territory.

An army spokesperson said such actions endanger the settlers’ lives in a combat zone and divert soldiers from their primary mission of safeguarding state security. He added, however, that the army was dealing with the group with restraint to prevent friction and internal clashes.

The settlers, affiliated with the Nachala movement, arrived on Thursday night in the northern part of the Gaza border area, which is under Israeli military control and known as the “Yellow Line.” They dispersed across seven locations according to what the army described as a plan resembling military-style deployment.

Members of the group attempted to breach the border and reach areas where Jewish settlements once stood before Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 under the disengagement plan led by then prime minister Ariel Sharon. The settlers said they were carrying out an operation modeled on an attack by Hamas, claiming they were “more capable” of launching such an action.

They asserted that their stated purpose was to plant trees in Gaza as a prelude to future steps involving renewed settlement activity. At the same time, they brought tents with the apparent intention of establishing an outpost.

Israeli forces blocked their advance and prevented them from crossing the border, leading to hours of maneuvering as settlers tried to evade soldiers, who repeatedly halted them.

After prolonged standoffs, a local military commander reached an arrangement allowing the group to remain overnight at the border area, on the condition that they would leave the following day. Those who refused and attempted to stay inside Gaza were detained and handed over to police, who opened investigations on charges of obstructing security forces and diverting them from their duties.

The settlers vowed to return repeatedly until they succeeded in reviving the settlement project.

The Nachala movement was founded in 2005, as Israeli-Palestinian negotiations resumed toward a two-state solution. It promotes the slogan “One state for one people” and seeks to expand Jewish settlement across what it describes as historic Israel. The group has raised funds in Israel and the United States and has been involved in establishing dozens of settlement outposts in the West Bank, many of which have since been retroactively legalized by the current government.

 

 

 

Arab World

Paris Urges Baghdad to Avoid Being Dragged in Regional Escalation

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (R) shake hands as he receives French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (L) upon his arrival for an official visit to Baghdad on February 5, 2026. (AFP)
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (R) shake hands as he receives French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (L) upon his arrival for an official visit to Baghdad on February 5, 2026. (AFP)
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Paris Urges Baghdad to Avoid Being Dragged in Regional Escalation

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (R) shake hands as he receives French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (L) upon his arrival for an official visit to Baghdad on February 5, 2026. (AFP)
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (R) shake hands as he receives French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (L) upon his arrival for an official visit to Baghdad on February 5, 2026. (AFP)

French diplomatic sources said Paris has warned of the risks posed by the involvement of Iraqi armed factions in any potential regional escalation, stressing that Iraq should not be drawn into conflicts that do not serve its national interests at a time of mounting regional tensions.

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday that the warning was among the messages delivered by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot during his visit to Baghdad on Thursday, where he held talks with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein. The trip marked Barrot’s second official visit to Iraq in less than a year.

According to the sources, the French minister underscored that the stability and security achieved in Iraq “with great patience and effort” should not be jeopardized under any circumstances.

He cautioned that the involvement of non-state armed groups in regional confrontations could undermine Iraq’s recovery and threaten the security of both the country and the wider region.

The stance echoed remarks Barrot made to news agencies in Baghdad on Thursday, in which he said France’s priority in the region remains the fight against ISIS and preventing its resurgence.

Any security deterioration, whether in Iraq or in camps and prisons in northeastern Syria, would benefit the group, he warned.

Barrot said France is working with its partners to ensure continued security at these sites, adding that a collapse there “would not serve anyone’s interests.”

He praised Iraq’s efforts to receive detainees linked to ISIS, calling it a crucial step in international efforts to address one of the most sensitive post-conflict files.

For his part, Hussein reiterated Baghdad’s commitment to continued cooperation with the international coalition against terrorism, emphasizing Iraq’s determination to safeguard internal stability and steer clear of regional power struggles.

Iraqi foreign policy is based on balance and building relations with all partners to shield the country from regional tensions, he stressed.

The talks also addressed Iran, amid fears of escalation and its potential repercussions for Iraq.

Barrot urged the need for Tehran to respond to a US proposal for negotiations and to make substantive concessions on its nuclear program, ballistic arsenal, and destabilizing regional activities, while ending repressive policies.

Iraq, he said, must stay out of any regional confrontation.

Paris and Baghdad are also aligned on Syria, supporting a peaceful, inclusive political transition involving all components of Syrian society, alongside continued efforts to combat ISIS and prevent its return to liberated areas, he added.

French sources said Paris’ core message was to shield Iraq from being pulled into any regional escalation and to preserve its stability.