by cpifinancial.net Loans to the private sector were down 0.4 per cent month-on-month at $56.95 billion but up 4.7 per cent on January 2016. Loans to the resident private sector were also down 0.4 per cent on December 2016 at $50.84 billion but up 5.5 per cent year-on-year. Credit to the non-resident private sector reached […]

by dailyStar.com.lb

BEIRUT: East Lebanon residents protested for the third day in a row
Sunday against Syrian labor in the country, claiming it is undercutting
their business. State media reported that residents of the Zahle district town of
Ali al-Nahri called for “decisive decisions” to resolve what they called
“the overexpansion of Syrian labor” that jeopardizes the Lebanese. Protesters
called on officials to resolve the “crisis of [hosting] Syrian refugees
who admit they do not want to return to their country even after the
Syrian crisis ends.” Thousands of Syrians have fled the war since 2011, with 1.01 million
Syrian refugees registered in Lebanon with U.N. humanitarian agency
UNHCR, though Lebanese officials estimate the number to be upward of 1.5
million. There is little documented evidence that large numbers of
Syrians do not wish to go home if a political agreement is made to end
fighting and allow their return. Several Lebanese officials have called
for the return of refugees to safe zones in Syria. “[In
Lebanon] their food is guaranteed, they get free health care and there
is a boom in donations,” one protester said, adding that “this is the
reason they are undercutting [Lebanese] businesses.”

In addition
to the refugees, there are many Syrians who are legal residents and
allowed to work according to a predefined list of professions issued by
the Labor Ministry. Protesters claimed that most businesses in
the towns of the central Bekaa Valley “belong to Syrians, and it seems
that there is no longer room for us in our own country.” A number
of Lebanese towns, including the Mount Lebanon town of Hadath, have
closed businesses owned by Syrian refugees, pursuant to Labor Ministry
decrees. Others have enforced curfews, forcing Syrians to remain indoors
after nightfall.

by bloomberg, Lebanese Prime Minister Sa’ad Hariri said on Tuesday he expects the government to pass a draft state budget within days, the latest breakthrough that could pave the way for an economic recovery in a country plagued by political crises. Lebanon has been without a state budget since 2005 amid a series of proxy […]

by Allan Smith – business insider

The latest executive order temporarily barring travel from a slew
of majority-Muslim nations has a few added caveats that its
controversial initial rendering did not. Senior administration officials highlighted those points in the
hour before President Donald Trump signed the new order on
Monday. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Homeland Security
Secretary John Kelly, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions also
held brief remarks about the revised travel ban.

The major differences are as follows:

1. Iraq is removed from the list

The new order singles out Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, and
Libya. Citizens from those nations will be exposed to the 90-day
hold on issuances of visas, just as they were in the original
order that Trump signed in late January. Iraq, however, which
appeared on the first list, has been removed. During the Monday press call, a Homeland Security official said
this was because the Iraqi government agreed to provide the US
with additional information about its citizens. “Iraq is no longer one of those countries because we have
received firm commitments from the government of Iraq over the
last several weeks since the first executive order was issued
about increased cooperation with the United States in terms of
information sharing,” the Homeland Security official said. “We
have received adequate assurance from the government of Iraq that
we will be able to do the kind of vetting a screening of its
nationals that the president of the United States has directed.”

2. Existing visa holders will not be subjected to the ban

The original order’s failure to distinguish a position on
existing visa holders from those countries led to mass chaos at
airports in the immediate aftermath of its implementation. Kelly,
the secretary of homeland security, said soon after its
implementation that Green Card holders would not be affected
by the travel ban. This time, existing visa holders are exempt from the beginning.
The 90-day period applies to citizens of those six nations
seeking new visas.

3. Religious minorities are no longer given preferential
treatment

The new travel ban will not give preferential treatment to
religious minorities, such as Syrian Christians, applying as
refugees. That provision had given critics reason to believe that the
initial order was intended to serve as a de facto “Muslim ban,”
something Trump had touted along the campaign trail, though he
wavered from it at various times.

4. Syrian refugees are no longer singled out

The new order retains a 120-day ban on entry to the US by all
refugees, but that group now also includes Syrian refugees, who
were previously facing an indefinite ban on entry into the US.

5. The rollout will occur in 10 days

Instead of being implemented immediately, the new executive order
will take effect March 16, giving the government a full 10 days
to adjust and prepare. “You should not see any chaos, so to speak, or alleged chaos, at
airports,” a Homeland Security official said in the press call,
later adding, “There aren’t going to be folks stopped tonight
from coming into the country pursuant to this executive order.” That position runs contrary to what Trump tweeted once a federal
judge placed a nationwide stay on the original order. “If the ban were announced with a one week notice, the ‘bad’
would rush into our country during that week,” he wrote. “A lot of bad ‘dudes’ out there!”

by RT – The Lebanese government has banned a new pop video by a model-turned-popstar due to its erotic overtones, igniting debate around censorship in the Mideast country. Myriam Klink’s music production ‘Goal’ was banned less than 24 hours after it was released on Friday. A statement from Justice Minister Salim Jreissati’s office stated that […]

by Middle-East Online BEIRUT – French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian pledged support for Lebanon’s military on Monday during meetings with the country’s president and his Lebanese counterpart. Jean-Yves Le Drian pledges support for Lebanon’s military, says France will maintain commitment to ‘well-organised and robust armed forces. After talks with Lebanon’s Defence Minister Yaacub Sarraf, […]

by Middle-East Online BEIRUT – French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian pledged support for Lebanon’s military on Monday during meetings with the country’s president and his Lebanese counterpart. Jean-Yves Le Drian pledges support for Lebanon’s military, says France will maintain commitment to ‘well-organised and robust armed forces. After talks with Lebanon’s Defence Minister Yaacub Sarraf, […]

Al Bawaba Lebanon’s Public Works and Transport Minister Youssef Fenianos signed an agreement Friday with MEA chairman Mohammad al-Hout to prepare the necessary studies for the expansion of Rafik Hariri International Airport, said a statement issued by the ministry. “Fenianos signed an agreement with Hout whereby Middle East Airlines donated $675,000 to the Public Works […]

The Daily Star, BEIRUT: State Prosecutor Judge Samir Hammoud Sunday ordered an investigation on the armed attack against MP Ibrahim Kanaan’s convoy in Beirut, the National News Agency said. According to statement by Kanaan’s office, his convoy came under attack while passing through the Dora neighborhood just north of Beirut Saturday night. It is not […]