Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Oct 17, 2025

Lebanon’s Parliament Confirms State of Emergency, Extending Army Power

Lebanon’s Parliament Confirms State of Emergency, Extending Army Power

Parliamentary approval of the measures for Beirut, which last until Aug. 21 but can be renewed, has raised concerns about civil liberties.
In its first session since a devastating explosion rocked Beirut last week, Lebanon’s Parliament approved a state of emergency that extends sweeping powers to the army in the city, a situation that rights groups have said could pose a threat to freedoms.

A two-week emergency was first declared by the cabinet in an emergency session with President Michel Aoun the day of the explosion, but the Parliament’s approval makes the measure official and has raised concerns about enabling a crackdown on protesters and those critical of the government.

The state of emergency allows the army to impose curfews, ban assemblies and impose censorship on media organizations and publications if it deems them threatening to national security, and also extends the ability of officials to try civilians in military courts. It will last until Aug. 21, but can be renewed.

The decision to confirm the state of emergency came as widespread protests continue over the mishandling of the country’s affairs that many believe led to the explosion, which was triggered by a fire that ignited some 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in Beirut’s port since 2014. Officials had known for years that highly explosive materials were being kept at the site, which is the country’s main port.

Turmoil has gripped the government as well. Lebanon’s cabinet resigned on Monday as fury over the explosion grew. But ministers will stay on in a caretaker capacity until the country’s president appoints a new government.

Many believed that the resignation of the cabinet leaves the country back at an impasse it faced last fall when earlier protests forced the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Little has changed for the country’s most powerful politicians since then, a situation that protesters say has led to continued widespread corruption and mismanagement.

Karim Makdisi, an associate professor of international politics at the American University of Beirut, called the approval of the emergency measures a “very dangerous development that may lead to abuse of army power without recourse for citizens,” in a post on Twitter.

The decision was passed during a parliamentary session convened in the theater of Beirut’s UNESCO Palace, because the Parliament’s own chambers were severely damaged in the blast.

The government had already implemented a “state of general mobilization” in March to allow it to impose restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic, including curfews, and some legal groups have questioned why an additional state of emergency was imposed.

Karim Nammour, a lawyer and board member of The Legal Agenda, a group that monitors public policy in Lebanon, said the declaration of a state of emergency followed a “repressive approach” similar to that used to respond to previous emergencies.

“The law doesn’t really specify what constitutes a threat to security, so this can be wildly interpreted in order to include other activities that are not necessarily threatening to security but are rather not compatible to the regime or powers’ view on how things should go,” he said.

He said that letting military authorities forbid any publication of content that it considers a threat to security was the most alarming aspect of the emergency measure because of the role the press plays in holding the authorities to account.

Recovery efforts are still in their early stages in the city, where the explosion caused an estimated $10 billion to $15 billion in damage, according to the governor of Beirut. International groups and nongovernmental organizations have taken the lead in the aid efforts.

On Thursday, David Hale, a senior U.S. diplomat, visited Beirut. While touring a neighborhood damaged in the explosion, Mr. Hale said the F.B.I. would take part in the investigation into the cause of the blast at the invitation of local officials, according to the national news agency of Lebanon.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
×