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Sydney Morning Herald
07-05-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
Once the pinnacle of luxury, these 10 hotels now sit abandoned
2. Divine Lorraine Hotel Where: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US When did it close? 1999 Once upon a time: Initially built as apartments between 1892 and 1894, this elegant 10-storey structure in north Philadelphia was transformed into the Lorraine Hotel in 1900, in a moment when Pennsylvania's biggest city was enjoying a pre-war upswing. Yet its story was just beginning. It was sold in 1948 to an enigmatic figure; a man who may have been born in 1876 as 'George Baker' (the records are unclear), but who, by the middle of the 20th century, was living as 'Father Divine', a charismatic preacher. He added his name to the property, and turned it into the United States' first racially desegregated accommodation – a haven where all guests were considered 'equal in the sight of God'. A rooftop sign which identifies the site as the 'Divine Lorraine Hotel' is still on display. What killed it? Changing times. Divine's movement, the International Peace Mission, sold the property in 2000. Fittings and all items of value were stripped out, and the structure was soon lost to graffiti and smashed glass – although its existence was at least guaranteed in 2002, when it was added to the US's National Register of Historic Places. Hope for the future? Yes and no. Various attempts to revive the building, including converting some of it back into flats, have foundered in the last 25 years. The most recent brainwave saw the lower floors rebooted as part of the Mint House brand of furnished apartments. Alas, the 'Mint House at the Divine Lorraine' closed in January 2025 after three underwhelming years. The Mint House website currently has no mention of Philadelphia. 3. Holiday Inn Beirut Where: Beirut, Lebanon When did it close? 1975 Once upon a time: The gruesome poster-boy for ruined hotels, this one-time magnet for well-to-do tourists was open for barely a year before it was consumed by conflict. It was built between 1971 and 1974, in an era when Beirut was a playground for rich tourists seeking Mediterranean sun. With 26 storeys, it had a revolving restaurant on its top floor, a nightclub on the 25th, and was a short hop from the beach in the Minet el Hosn district. What killed it? The Lebanese Civil War, which erupted in 1975, and would keep Beirut in its grip until 1990. The Holiday Inn was quickly eviscerated, its height and location making it a coveted vantage point for rival militias, who fought for it during the 'Battle of the Hotels' – and used it as a snipers' nest thereafter. Four years after it opened, the property was riddled with craters and artillery holes. As many as 1000 people are thought to have died in this phase of the war, some thrown from the Holiday Inn's roof. Hope for the future? Who knows. The Holiday Inn is a near-literal tombstone, rearing over the next-door Phoenicia Hotel – which was also badly damaged but has since been restored. The chances of a similar comeback for its neighbour look slim. Aside from the massive structural issues caused by the fighting, the Holiday Inn is mired in bureaucracy. It is co-owned by two companies – one Lebanese, which wants to convert the hotel into apartments; one Kuwaiti, which has ambitions to demolish the building and craft a new property on its footprint. Agreement between the two has been non-existent for decades. 4. Castello di Sammezzano Where: Leccio, Tuscany, Italy When did it close? 1990 Once upon a time: Few hotels have as twisting a tale as this jewel, which sits marooned in the Tuscan countryside, 27 kilometres south-east of Florence. Indeed, referring to it simply as a 'hotel' rather underplays its history. It was originally erected in the 17th century, and then transformed between 1853 and 1889 by nobleman Ferdinando Panciatichi Ximenes, who remodelled it as a 'Moorish' palazzo akin to the Alhambra in Granada. Its fine mosaics and Arabesque designs made for a wonderful hotel when Castello di Sammezzano opened as such during the 1970s – its 365 rooms ringing to the chatter of wealthy guests. What killed it? The number of paying customers could never keep pace with the cost of the Castello's upkeep and maintenance. Since its closure, it has existed in a vacuum; too precious to lose, too expensive to renovate to full majesty. Hope for the future? Happily it has just been bought by the Florentine Moretti family, which owns Hotel Number Nine in Florence. They'll have a task on their hands – it is currently in a state of disrepair, to the extent that even guided tours have been impossible. However, it has periodically popped up on the big screen. In 2015 it was used as a setting for the fantasy-horror film Tale of Tales, starring Salma Hayek. 5. Grand Hotel San Pellegrino Terme Where: San Pellegrino, Lombardy, Italy When did it close? 1979 Once upon a time: A place synonymous with bottled water, the Italian spa town of San Pellegrino should be, you would think, famous enough to sustain a palatial hotel. Alas, the Grand has been in limbo for more than 40 years. Opened in 1904, it preens on the left bank of the river Brembo; a tribute to the talents of Italian architect Romolo Squadrelli and the engineer Luigi Mazzocchi. With 250 rooms and seven storeys, it was fitted with the sort of lavish accoutrements that were slotted into fine hotels in the years before the First World War. Margherita of Savoy, the Queen-consort of Italy, paid it a visit in 1905. What killed it? The usual slow creep of unappetising economic truths – failure to upgrade for modernising times, the surging costs of keeping so extravagant a hotel alive. Hope for the future? To an extent. The Grand is too beautiful a structure to demolish, and its magnificence has not been forgotten. Occasional tours allow visitors to peek at its art nouveau stylings (visit 6. Hotel Narcis Where: Strpce, Kosovo When did it close? 2008 Once upon a time: Some of the hotels in this feature used to be stately wonders. You cannot say the same of the Hotel Narcis, an unlovely slab of Communist-era accommodation which now sits mouldering in the village of Strpce, just outside the ski resort of Brezovica in Kosovo. Nominally a four-star, it was more than fit for purpose in the calm Yugoslavian era, but reality has bitten since the region fractured in the 1990s. What killed it? Not so much the wars that devoured the Balkan region from 1991 onwards as the ongoing uncertainty about the status of Kosovo (much of the world, including the UK, regards it as an independent state; neighbouring Serbia does not). Tensions between Kosovans and Serbians have seen each group boycott the other's businesses. Trade had been sluggish for Hotel Narcis long before it bolted the front door. Hope for the future? Perhaps. Brezovica is a functioning ski resort, so it is possible that the hotel will re-emerge at some juncture. The question of when is impossible to answer. 7. Jerma Palace Hotel Where: Marsaskala, Malta When did it close? 2007 Once upon a time: Some hotels have a darker story than others. The Jerma Palace is one of those. Its seeds were sown in 1976, when the land it stands on was purchased by the Libyan Foreign Investment Company – an offshoot of the Gaddafi government across the Mediterranean in Tripoli. It opened in 1982 and, at first, did well – Muammar Gaddafi even had a presidential suite within the property for his personal use. What killed it? Its location didn't help. Marsaskala sits at the south-east end of Malta's main island, somewhat removed from the main tourist areas of St Julian's and Sliema. As a result, the hotel – all 345 rooms of it – struggled with under-occupancy. It has, though, reputedly had residents since it closed. In December 2015, there were reports that people traffickers were using the property as a drop-off point for migrants smuggled into the EU. Hope for the future? None whatsoever. The hotel has crumbled since its closure. Parts of it have collapsed, anything with a resale value has been stolen, and rubbish has welled up in many of the rooms. Redevelopment plans for the site have been tethered by red tape for the best part of a decade, but whatever happens, the original hotel will be demolished. 8. Hachijo Royal Hotel Where: Hachijo-jima, Japan When did it close? 2006 Once upon a time: The 1960s was a boom time for the Izu archipelago – volcanic outcrops strewn across the Philippine Sea south of Japan's main island, Honshu. The country was recovering from the Second World War, and blessed with a new generation increasingly keen to travel farther afield. These lava-born dots in the ocean came to be a halfway house – close to home but still exotic. They were even promoted as the 'Hawaii of Japan' – and Hachijo-jima, which lies 320 kilometres south of Tokyo, was at the forefront of the rush to the beach. The Hachijo Royal Hotel appeared in 1963 as a Baroque fantasy, all Greek-style statues in the garden and fountains tinkling in soft salute to the rising sun. What killed it? Changing tastes. It was difficult for the Japanese to travel abroad before the 1960s, but it soon became clear that the world was an oyster, and the wider horizon called. The hotel limped into the new century, but has been defunct now for two decades. Hope for the future? Possible but unlikely. The island's lush vegetation has begun to reclaim the property – swamping its sculptures and swallowing its dead swimming pool. It would take enormous investment to resurrect it – and tourist interest is no longer there. 9. Hotel Claridge Where: Outside Motilla del Palancar, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain When did it close? 1999 Once upon a time: Not all abandoned hotels are flights of fancy that suffered an Icarus fate. The Hotel Claridge was a fabled workhorse of the Spanish road system, pitched roughly midway along the N-3 highway, where it connects Madrid to Valencia. It opened in 1969, and looked the part – a grey slab of concrete brutalism, very much in sync with the unflinching outlook of General Franco's regime. It became a key stop-off point for coaches travelling from the capital to the country's third-biggest city – disgorging regular hordes of hungry passengers, who would eat quickly before jumping back onto their bus. What killed it? The construction of a swifter section of the A-3, directly to the south, between Honrubia and Motilla del Palancar, which cut the Claridge from the coach route, and starved it of its customers. As it was not a destination in itself, this was a death knell. Hope for the future? None. But it is a spectacular wreck, looming large at the roadside. 10. Grande Hotel Where: Beira, Mozambique When did it close? 1963 Once upon a time: The idea that anyone would build a luxury hotel on the coast of Mozambique in the middle of the last century sounds implausible – but that is exactly what happened in the city of Beira in 1954. And it was not such a crazy scheme. At the time, this slice of south-eastern Africa was one of the jewels of (what was left of) the Portuguese Empire, and Beira, which sits midway up the country's long Indian Ocean shoreline, was able to attract expats keen to sun themselves on warm sands. The Grande was constructed in an effusive art deco style, and had a hugely decadent accessory in the form of an Olympic-sized swimming pool. It was hoped that it would become a tourism beacon, also pulling in monied visitors from neighbouring Rhodesia (modern Zimbabwe). Loading What killed it? The project was too ambitious. The hotel was awfully expensive, even for the colonial elite – and Beira was ultimately too remote for the siren call to be heard (it is more than 1100 kilometres north of the national capital, Maputo). The Grande closed down more than a decade before the curtain fell on Portuguese rule in Mozambique in 1975; prior as well to the civil war which subsequently disembowelled the country (between 1977 and 1992). Hope for the future? No. The Grande was used for occasional parties and weddings in the late 1960s – but the civil war saw it fill with refugees and those fleeing the bullets. It is now, effectively, a giant squat. More than 1000 people, including many families, currently live in its 116 rooms. The Olympic pool is still there, clogged with rubbish and dank water. North Korea's 'Hotel of Doom' Every abandoned hotel in this article at least had its glory days; those first few months of popularity. But even this brief window of success has, as yet, eluded the Ryugyong Hotel. Mockingly referred to as the 'Hotel of Doom' by amused outsiders, this 105-storey pyramid has been under construction for almost 40 years – without ever greeting a guest. It dominates the skyline in Pyongyang, towering over the rest of the North Korean capital at a height of 330 metres. Prior to the ascent of the Goldin Finance 117 skyscraper – which hits 596 metres in the northerly Chinese city of Tianjin but has been stalled as a construction project since 2015 – the hotel was the world's tallest unoccupied building. Work on the property commenced in 1987, when Kim Il Sung, North Korea's founder and 'Eternal President,' was still in power. It was supposed to open in 1989 and would have done so as the world's tallest hotel – had it managed to cut the ribbon on schedule. Instead, tools were downed in 1992, as North Korea fell into hard times – the collapse of the Soviet Union taking with it the country's leading international benefactor. Japanese newspapers reported that, by this point, the property had already cost $US750 million ($A1.2 billion); the equivalent of 2 per cent of North Korea's gross domestic product (GDP). However, without outside funding, there was no hope of completion. In the late 1990s, a discreet inspection by the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ECCK) deemed the hotel to be irreparable – damned by cracked concrete and crooked lift shafts. Loading Undeterred, the North Korean regime has soldiered on. In 2008, windows were finally installed, and an opening date of 2012 was announced, to coincide with the 'Eternal President's' 100th birthday (although he died in 1994). Alas, neither Kim Il-Sung's son, Kim Jong-il (who ruled until 2011), nor his grandson, Kim Jong-un, have seen the hotel to fruition. A brief partnership with the luxury hotel management company Kempinski came and went in 2013. LED screens showing the North Korean flag were added in 2018. At time of writing, the North Korean government is purportedly considering converting the site into a colossal casino.
The Age
07-05-2025
- The Age
Once the pinnacle of luxury, these 10 hotels now sit abandoned
2. Divine Lorraine Hotel Where: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US When did it close? 1999 Once upon a time: Initially built as apartments between 1892 and 1894, this elegant 10-storey structure in north Philadelphia was transformed into the Lorraine Hotel in 1900, in a moment when Pennsylvania's biggest city was enjoying a pre-war upswing. Yet its story was just beginning. It was sold in 1948 to an enigmatic figure; a man who may have been born in 1876 as 'George Baker' (the records are unclear), but who, by the middle of the 20th century, was living as 'Father Divine', a charismatic preacher. He added his name to the property, and turned it into the United States' first racially desegregated accommodation – a haven where all guests were considered 'equal in the sight of God'. A rooftop sign which identifies the site as the 'Divine Lorraine Hotel' is still on display. What killed it? Changing times. Divine's movement, the International Peace Mission, sold the property in 2000. Fittings and all items of value were stripped out, and the structure was soon lost to graffiti and smashed glass – although its existence was at least guaranteed in 2002, when it was added to the US's National Register of Historic Places. Hope for the future? Yes and no. Various attempts to revive the building, including converting some of it back into flats, have foundered in the last 25 years. The most recent brainwave saw the lower floors rebooted as part of the Mint House brand of furnished apartments. Alas, the 'Mint House at the Divine Lorraine' closed in January 2025 after three underwhelming years. The Mint House website currently has no mention of Philadelphia. 3. Holiday Inn Beirut Where: Beirut, Lebanon When did it close? 1975 Once upon a time: The gruesome poster-boy for ruined hotels, this one-time magnet for well-to-do tourists was open for barely a year before it was consumed by conflict. It was built between 1971 and 1974, in an era when Beirut was a playground for rich tourists seeking Mediterranean sun. With 26 storeys, it had a revolving restaurant on its top floor, a nightclub on the 25th, and was a short hop from the beach in the Minet el Hosn district. What killed it? The Lebanese Civil War, which erupted in 1975, and would keep Beirut in its grip until 1990. The Holiday Inn was quickly eviscerated, its height and location making it a coveted vantage point for rival militias, who fought for it during the 'Battle of the Hotels' – and used it as a snipers' nest thereafter. Four years after it opened, the property was riddled with craters and artillery holes. As many as 1000 people are thought to have died in this phase of the war, some thrown from the Holiday Inn's roof. Hope for the future? Who knows. The Holiday Inn is a near-literal tombstone, rearing over the next-door Phoenicia Hotel – which was also badly damaged but has since been restored. The chances of a similar comeback for its neighbour look slim. Aside from the massive structural issues caused by the fighting, the Holiday Inn is mired in bureaucracy. It is co-owned by two companies – one Lebanese, which wants to convert the hotel into apartments; one Kuwaiti, which has ambitions to demolish the building and craft a new property on its footprint. Agreement between the two has been non-existent for decades. 4. Castello di Sammezzano Where: Leccio, Tuscany, Italy When did it close? 1990 Once upon a time: Few hotels have as twisting a tale as this jewel, which sits marooned in the Tuscan countryside, 27 kilometres south-east of Florence. Indeed, referring to it simply as a 'hotel' rather underplays its history. It was originally erected in the 17th century, and then transformed between 1853 and 1889 by nobleman Ferdinando Panciatichi Ximenes, who remodelled it as a 'Moorish' palazzo akin to the Alhambra in Granada. Its fine mosaics and Arabesque designs made for a wonderful hotel when Castello di Sammezzano opened as such during the 1970s – its 365 rooms ringing to the chatter of wealthy guests. What killed it? The number of paying customers could never keep pace with the cost of the Castello's upkeep and maintenance. Since its closure, it has existed in a vacuum; too precious to lose, too expensive to renovate to full majesty. Hope for the future? Happily it has just been bought by the Florentine Moretti family, which owns Hotel Number Nine in Florence. They'll have a task on their hands – it is currently in a state of disrepair, to the extent that even guided tours have been impossible. However, it has periodically popped up on the big screen. In 2015 it was used as a setting for the fantasy-horror film Tale of Tales, starring Salma Hayek. 5. Grand Hotel San Pellegrino Terme Where: San Pellegrino, Lombardy, Italy When did it close? 1979 Once upon a time: A place synonymous with bottled water, the Italian spa town of San Pellegrino should be, you would think, famous enough to sustain a palatial hotel. Alas, the Grand has been in limbo for more than 40 years. Opened in 1904, it preens on the left bank of the river Brembo; a tribute to the talents of Italian architect Romolo Squadrelli and the engineer Luigi Mazzocchi. With 250 rooms and seven storeys, it was fitted with the sort of lavish accoutrements that were slotted into fine hotels in the years before the First World War. Margherita of Savoy, the Queen-consort of Italy, paid it a visit in 1905. What killed it? The usual slow creep of unappetising economic truths – failure to upgrade for modernising times, the surging costs of keeping so extravagant a hotel alive. Hope for the future? To an extent. The Grand is too beautiful a structure to demolish, and its magnificence has not been forgotten. Occasional tours allow visitors to peek at its art nouveau stylings (visit 6. Hotel Narcis Where: Strpce, Kosovo When did it close? 2008 Once upon a time: Some of the hotels in this feature used to be stately wonders. You cannot say the same of the Hotel Narcis, an unlovely slab of Communist-era accommodation which now sits mouldering in the village of Strpce, just outside the ski resort of Brezovica in Kosovo. Nominally a four-star, it was more than fit for purpose in the calm Yugoslavian era, but reality has bitten since the region fractured in the 1990s. What killed it? Not so much the wars that devoured the Balkan region from 1991 onwards as the ongoing uncertainty about the status of Kosovo (much of the world, including the UK, regards it as an independent state; neighbouring Serbia does not). Tensions between Kosovans and Serbians have seen each group boycott the other's businesses. Trade had been sluggish for Hotel Narcis long before it bolted the front door. Hope for the future? Perhaps. Brezovica is a functioning ski resort, so it is possible that the hotel will re-emerge at some juncture. The question of when is impossible to answer. 7. Jerma Palace Hotel Where: Marsaskala, Malta When did it close? 2007 Once upon a time: Some hotels have a darker story than others. The Jerma Palace is one of those. Its seeds were sown in 1976, when the land it stands on was purchased by the Libyan Foreign Investment Company – an offshoot of the Gaddafi government across the Mediterranean in Tripoli. It opened in 1982 and, at first, did well – Muammar Gaddafi even had a presidential suite within the property for his personal use. What killed it? Its location didn't help. Marsaskala sits at the south-east end of Malta's main island, somewhat removed from the main tourist areas of St Julian's and Sliema. As a result, the hotel – all 345 rooms of it – struggled with under-occupancy. It has, though, reputedly had residents since it closed. In December 2015, there were reports that people traffickers were using the property as a drop-off point for migrants smuggled into the EU. Hope for the future? None whatsoever. The hotel has crumbled since its closure. Parts of it have collapsed, anything with a resale value has been stolen, and rubbish has welled up in many of the rooms. Redevelopment plans for the site have been tethered by red tape for the best part of a decade, but whatever happens, the original hotel will be demolished. 8. Hachijo Royal Hotel Where: Hachijo-jima, Japan When did it close? 2006 Once upon a time: The 1960s was a boom time for the Izu archipelago – volcanic outcrops strewn across the Philippine Sea south of Japan's main island, Honshu. The country was recovering from the Second World War, and blessed with a new generation increasingly keen to travel farther afield. These lava-born dots in the ocean came to be a halfway house – close to home but still exotic. They were even promoted as the 'Hawaii of Japan' – and Hachijo-jima, which lies 320 kilometres south of Tokyo, was at the forefront of the rush to the beach. The Hachijo Royal Hotel appeared in 1963 as a Baroque fantasy, all Greek-style statues in the garden and fountains tinkling in soft salute to the rising sun. What killed it? Changing tastes. It was difficult for the Japanese to travel abroad before the 1960s, but it soon became clear that the world was an oyster, and the wider horizon called. The hotel limped into the new century, but has been defunct now for two decades. Hope for the future? Possible but unlikely. The island's lush vegetation has begun to reclaim the property – swamping its sculptures and swallowing its dead swimming pool. It would take enormous investment to resurrect it – and tourist interest is no longer there. 9. Hotel Claridge Where: Outside Motilla del Palancar, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain When did it close? 1999 Once upon a time: Not all abandoned hotels are flights of fancy that suffered an Icarus fate. The Hotel Claridge was a fabled workhorse of the Spanish road system, pitched roughly midway along the N-3 highway, where it connects Madrid to Valencia. It opened in 1969, and looked the part – a grey slab of concrete brutalism, very much in sync with the unflinching outlook of General Franco's regime. It became a key stop-off point for coaches travelling from the capital to the country's third-biggest city – disgorging regular hordes of hungry passengers, who would eat quickly before jumping back onto their bus. What killed it? The construction of a swifter section of the A-3, directly to the south, between Honrubia and Motilla del Palancar, which cut the Claridge from the coach route, and starved it of its customers. As it was not a destination in itself, this was a death knell. Hope for the future? None. But it is a spectacular wreck, looming large at the roadside. 10. Grande Hotel Where: Beira, Mozambique When did it close? 1963 Once upon a time: The idea that anyone would build a luxury hotel on the coast of Mozambique in the middle of the last century sounds implausible – but that is exactly what happened in the city of Beira in 1954. And it was not such a crazy scheme. At the time, this slice of south-eastern Africa was one of the jewels of (what was left of) the Portuguese Empire, and Beira, which sits midway up the country's long Indian Ocean shoreline, was able to attract expats keen to sun themselves on warm sands. The Grande was constructed in an effusive art deco style, and had a hugely decadent accessory in the form of an Olympic-sized swimming pool. It was hoped that it would become a tourism beacon, also pulling in monied visitors from neighbouring Rhodesia (modern Zimbabwe). Loading What killed it? The project was too ambitious. The hotel was awfully expensive, even for the colonial elite – and Beira was ultimately too remote for the siren call to be heard (it is more than 1100 kilometres north of the national capital, Maputo). The Grande closed down more than a decade before the curtain fell on Portuguese rule in Mozambique in 1975; prior as well to the civil war which subsequently disembowelled the country (between 1977 and 1992). Hope for the future? No. The Grande was used for occasional parties and weddings in the late 1960s – but the civil war saw it fill with refugees and those fleeing the bullets. It is now, effectively, a giant squat. More than 1000 people, including many families, currently live in its 116 rooms. The Olympic pool is still there, clogged with rubbish and dank water. North Korea's 'Hotel of Doom' Every abandoned hotel in this article at least had its glory days; those first few months of popularity. But even this brief window of success has, as yet, eluded the Ryugyong Hotel. Mockingly referred to as the 'Hotel of Doom' by amused outsiders, this 105-storey pyramid has been under construction for almost 40 years – without ever greeting a guest. It dominates the skyline in Pyongyang, towering over the rest of the North Korean capital at a height of 330 metres. Prior to the ascent of the Goldin Finance 117 skyscraper – which hits 596 metres in the northerly Chinese city of Tianjin but has been stalled as a construction project since 2015 – the hotel was the world's tallest unoccupied building. Work on the property commenced in 1987, when Kim Il Sung, North Korea's founder and 'Eternal President,' was still in power. It was supposed to open in 1989 and would have done so as the world's tallest hotel – had it managed to cut the ribbon on schedule. Instead, tools were downed in 1992, as North Korea fell into hard times – the collapse of the Soviet Union taking with it the country's leading international benefactor. Japanese newspapers reported that, by this point, the property had already cost $US750 million ($A1.2 billion); the equivalent of 2 per cent of North Korea's gross domestic product (GDP). However, without outside funding, there was no hope of completion. In the late 1990s, a discreet inspection by the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ECCK) deemed the hotel to be irreparable – damned by cracked concrete and crooked lift shafts. Loading Undeterred, the North Korean regime has soldiered on. In 2008, windows were finally installed, and an opening date of 2012 was announced, to coincide with the 'Eternal President's' 100th birthday (although he died in 1994). Alas, neither Kim Il-Sung's son, Kim Jong-il (who ruled until 2011), nor his grandson, Kim Jong-un, have seen the hotel to fruition. A brief partnership with the luxury hotel management company Kempinski came and went in 2013. LED screens showing the North Korean flag were added in 2018. At time of writing, the North Korean government is purportedly considering converting the site into a colossal casino.
L'Orient-Le Jour
06-05-2025
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Press Martyrs Day: Journalists call for justice after Israeli violations
As it does each year, Lebanon marks May 6 as Press Martyrs Day — a commemoration first established to honor the intellectuals executed during World War I by Ottoman occupiers. Over time, especially after the Lebanese Civil War and the end of Syrian tutelage, the focus shifted to journalists killed in the line of duty, including those assassinated, many of whom were believed to have been targeted by the Assad regime and its Lebanese 2025, however, the day takes on renewed significance as Lebanon emerges from a 13-month war between Hezbollah and Israel (October 2023-November 2024).'The Israeli aggression has ended, but the photos documenting its atrocities are still there, and the memory of our killed colleagues will always be present,' said photojournalist Fadel to figures from the SKeyes Center for Media and...
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Amal Clooney, Fellow U.K. Lawyers Could Be Denied Entry to U.S. Under Potential New Trump Sanctions: Report
Several top United Kingdom lawyers, including human rights activist Amal Clooney, have reportedly been warned that President Donald Trump could announce sanctions against them. The sanctions would be in retaliation for the barristers advising the International Criminal Court in a war crimes case against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. If sanctions are handed down against Amal — a British citizen — she might be prevented from entering the U.S., where she shares a property with husband George Clooney and their two children. Several top British lawyers, including Amal Clooney, have reportedly been warned about receiving sanctions from President Donald Trump that could affect their ability to enter the United States. The Financial Times reported last week that the U.K. Foreign Office has cautioned several high-level barristers about the Trump administration leveling sanctions due to the legal advice they provided to the International Criminal Court in a war crimes case against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. In February, Trump issued Executive Order 14203, "Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court," which named British lawyer and ICC prosecutor Karim Khan in its annex — the first barrister to face U.S. sanctions for advising in this case. Related: International Criminal Court Seeks Arrest Warrants for Israeli Prime Minister and 3 Hamas Leaders If sanctions against more U.K. lawyers are, in fact, handed down, Amal, 47 — who holds British citizenship — might be prevented from entering the U.S., where she owns a property with husband George Clooney. Related: Donald Trump Says U.S. Should 'Take Over the Gaza Strip' and Turn It into the 'Riviera of the Middle East': 'We'll Own It' Born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1978, Amal and her family emigrated to the United Kingdom two years later to escape the Lebanese Civil War. She was raised in Buckinghamshire before studying at Oxford and NYU. She is qualified to practice law in the United States — after being admitted to the New York bar in 2002 — as well as England and Wales. She and Clooney married in September 2014, and share 7-year-old twins, Ella and Alexander. PEOPLE has reached out to the U.K. Foreign Office, as well as representatives for Amal and her legal chambers, for more information about possible sanctions. A rep for George declined to comment on the Financial Times' report. Related: How Did George and Amal Clooney Meet? All About Their Chance Connection — and Why George's Agent Knew They Would Get Married In November 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity concerning Israel's offensive in Gaza. The Israeli leaders have denounced the charges as 'absurd and false lies.' The court also charged three now-deceased leaders of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which launched an attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Trump's February 2025 executive order claimed that, as neither Israel or the United States are party to the Rome Statute — the international treaty which established the ICC — the court "abused its power by issuing baseless arrest warrants" against Netanyahu and Gallant. Both Israel and the United States signed the Rome Statute in 2000, but later refused to ratify. Palestine ratified the treaty in 2015, meaning any crimes committed in Palestinian territories could be party to ICC jurisdiction. Related: Israeli Defense Minister Calls for 'Complete Siege' of Gaza Strip Two Days After Hamas' Surprise Attack International criminal lawyer Alexandro Maria Tirelli explains to PEOPLE that there is a stark possibility of U.K. lawyers facing U.S. sanctions, and how Clooney and her fellow lawyers could find themselves barred from entering the country. Trump's February order invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, the National Emergencies Act of 1976, and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, also known as the McCarran-Walter Act. The IEEPA, in particular, allows the president to freeze assets, deny entry into the United States, and prohibit economic transactions to individuals deemed 'hostile to American interests.' Additionally, Tirelli notes that an executive order does not require a criminal conviction or due process. The proof of what constitutes a 'threat' in this case would be at the discretion of the Trump administration. Related: Trump Shares Fake AI Video of 'Trump Gaza' Showing War-Torn Gaza Showered in Gold and Dollars with Giant Trump Statue There is also no way to appeal an executive order. Those formally sanctioned would have to file a federal lawsuit, on the basis of something like "violation of the right to due process," "abuse of executive authority," or "infringement of professional freedom." During the lengthy ensuing legal process, which could last from six to 24 months, the sanctions would remain in place and entry to the U.S. would continue to be denied, Tirelli says. There is very little precedent for the hypothetical sanctions or legal recourse if they are put into place against British lawyers. Tirelli notes that there is absolutely no record of past U.S. sanctions against foreign lawyers 'purely for the exercise of professional legal functions.' That said, the rumored sanctions do directly contradict the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers (1990), which states that governments have a duty to ensure their lawyers '(a) are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference; (b) are able to travel and to consult with their clients freely both within their own country and abroad; and (c) shall not suffer, or be threatened with, prosecution or administrative, economic or other sanctions for any action taken in accordance with recognized professional duties, standards and ethics." Related: 60 Minutes Rattles Viewers with Stunning Closing Segment, Implies That Trump Administration Is Pressuring Their Coverage As for U.S. opposition, in March 2025, when Trump directed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to threaten sanctions against lawyers, law firms and judges who have taken cases or ruled against him, the American Bar Association spoke out against him. 'We reject efforts to undermine the courts and the profession,' the ABA said in a statement at the time. 'We will not stay silent in the face of efforts to remake the legal profession into something that rewards those who agree with the government and punishes those who do not.' Read the original article on People
Web Release
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Web Release
UTF-807COM140425 Fifty Years of Amnesia story and press release-media
Fifty Years of Amnesia: AUB commemorates the Lebanese Civil War in a yearlong series of event
