By NAJIA HOUSSARI — arabnews.com — Beirut : The US and UAE have warned Lebanon about maintaining ties with Hezbollah, as the country’s president convened a meeting to bring together political parties with the aim of “fortifying civil peace.” Lebanon’s domestic turmoil rocketed last year, with street protests, high-profile resignations and financial chaos. A new government, led by Prime Minister Hassan Diab, was formed in January. But there have been concerns about its composition as the majority of its ministers belong to Hezbollah and its allies. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters on Wednesday that the US was prepared to communicate with any Lebanese government that carried out real reform, telling a press conference that the world would act in the interest of Lebanon if this was achieved, and if the government operated in a way that was not “beholden to” Hezbollah. “Lebanon’s financial crisis is rooted in decades of state corruption and waste,” he added.

The UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, went one step further in his assessment of the country’s plight. “Lebanon is paying the price of deteriorating ties with wealthy Gulf Arab states as it struggles to cope with a deep economic crisis,” he said in an interview. He regarded Lebanon’s economic meltdown as “very worrying” and said that the UAE would only consider offering financial support in concert with other states. “If we see some of our friends and the major powers interested in Lebanon and working in a plan, we will consider that. But until now, what we are really seeing here is a deterioration of Lebanon’s Arab relations and Gulf relations over the past 10 years. Lebanon is partly paying the price for that right now.”

By NAJIA HOUSSARI — arabnews.com — Beirut : The US and UAE have warned Lebanon about maintaining ties with Hezbollah, as the country’s president convened a meeting to bring together political parties with the aim of “fortifying civil peace.” Lebanon’s domestic turmoil rocketed last year, with street protests, high-profile resignations and financial chaos. A new government, led by Prime Minister Hassan Diab, was formed in January. But there have been concerns about its composition as the majority of its ministers belong to Hezbollah and its allies. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters on Wednesday that the US was prepared to communicate with any Lebanese government that carried out real reform, telling a press conference that the world would act in the interest of Lebanon if this was achieved, and if the government operated in a way that was not “beholden to” Hezbollah. “Lebanon’s financial crisis is rooted in decades of state corruption and waste,” he added.

The UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, went one step further in his assessment of the country’s plight. “Lebanon is paying the price of deteriorating ties with wealthy Gulf Arab states as it struggles to cope with a deep economic crisis,” he said in an interview. He regarded Lebanon’s economic meltdown as “very worrying” and said that the UAE would only consider offering financial support in concert with other states. “If we see some of our friends and the major powers interested in Lebanon and working in a plan, we will consider that. But until now, what we are really seeing here is a deterioration of Lebanon’s Arab relations and Gulf relations over the past 10 years. Lebanon is partly paying the price for that right now.”

BEIRUT (AP) – The Lebanese pound continued to slide in price and hit its lowest level against the dollar on Wednesday, raising such alarm that a powerful politician asked to declare a « state of financial emergency. » The Lebanese currency was reportedly selling for £ 6,200 per dollar, losing more than 75% of its […]

by armenianweekly.com — Yeghia Tashjian — Lebanese resilience is being severely tested by the ongoing financial crisis. Economic and social costs are overwhelming, and the middle class is disappearing as poverty spirals out of control. The Lebanese currency has almost lost 60 percent of its value compared to US dollars in the black market. Unemployment has reached 55 percent. Poverty has exceeded 65 percent, and we have an uncertain and unpredictable political environment. The roaring but essentially non-violent civilian protests, which have swept through Lebanon for several months, have conveyed a compelling demand for change. However, during the last two months, protesters took a violent path, looting and burning banks and stores. On a regional level, the Sunni-Shia conflict has been intensified from Yemen to Syria where institutional decay has further inflamed the region. Amid these uncertainties, Turkey has started to spread its tentacles and mobilize its proxies in Lebanon.

Davit Hirst in his book “Beware of Small States: Lebanon, Battleground of the Middle East” argues that Lebanon is a reflection of the geopolitical developments in the Middle East. Sometimes, the political developments in Lebanon reflect on the region. I would say both the political shifts in the country and the region are interdependent due to the sectarian infrastructure that had shaped the region after the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. The fall of Saddam inflamed a Sunni versus Shia conflict whose roots go back to 632 AD following the death of Prophet Mohammad. The conflict was later regenerated with the political vacuum that Americans left with the ousting of the Baathist regime in Iraq. Italian philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli would have advised otherwise, that instead of dissolving the Iraqi army, which was playing the role of “check and balance” to Iran’s influence, the US would have used this army to contain the Iranian expansion and preserve the regional status quo. However, President George W. Bush’s administration unleashed more chaos in the region.

by AP — One of the Arab world’s oldest and most prestigious universities, which endured civil war, kidnappings and various economic crises, is preparing for what may be the biggest challenge in its 154-year history. The American University of Beirut is confronting a global pandemic, a severe recession and the collapse of Lebanon’s currency — all at the same time — and is planning a series of sweeping layoffs and salary cuts in response. AUB president Fadlo Khuri said the school, which ranks among the top 150 in the world, will lay off up to 25% of its workforce, close administrative departments and shelve an ambitious project for a major new medical center. “The layoffs are very painful,” Khuri told The Associated Press in an interview at the sprawling campus on the Mediterranean Sea. “AUB has never had to do this before, we’ve never been forced to have layoffs.”

The American University of Beirut, which operates under a charter from the state of New York, was the first to introduce American education to the Middle East. For generations, it has educated the Arab world’s elite, produced three presidents, around a dozen prime ministers — including Lebanon’s current premier, Hassan Diab — and countless Cabinet ministers and ambassadors. Its vibrant campus has also been a pillar of Beirut’s cultural and intellectual life, with a diverse student body and a history of activism. The announcement has come as a shock to members of the 6,500-strong workforce of AUB and the American University Medical Center. Tens of thousands of Lebanese have already lost their jobs in a worsening economic crisis exacerbated by the coronavirus outbreak. The crisis is rooted in decades of institutionalized corruption and mismanagement that came to a head last October, igniting mass protests. The economic meltdown has plunged the fragile country into deep uncertainty and threatens to unleash further unrest and chaos. Unemployment has skyrocketed to 35%, and nearly half the population lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.

by NAJIA HOUSSARI — .arabnews.com — BEIRUT: The Lebanese real estate sector has witnessed a spike in activity in the past three months despite an economic crisis that has seen the exchange rate of the dollar reach 6,000 lira, four times the official price. Raja Makarem, a property expert and director of Ramco Real Estate, said that sales over the past three months amounts to over $2 billion. He told Arab News that the real estate rush “will continue as long as the Lebanese banks agree to give bank checks to their depositors.” The decline of the real estate sector was one of the major signs of the economic crisis that began in 2012. The crisis peaked after the end of subsidized housing loans and the decline of foreign investment in the Lebanese real estate market. With Lebanon entering the stage of financial collapse in the second half of last year, real estate sector indicators recorded dire results for property value and sales numbers on top of a notable decline in new building licenses.

Property sales fell by up to 70 percent and the prices of apartments, especially larger ones, fell in value by 25 percent on average. In light of banking restrictions on personal savings pushed through last November, and rumors of further measures, many Lebanese have used property as a vehicle to retain personal savings. Jamal Shamas, a property expert, said: “During the last three months, depositors, especially those with large amounts, have been rushing to buy apartments in Solidere, in the heart of Beirut, and apartments on the Beirut waterfront, as these areas maintain their value due to their unique locations.” He added: “I now receive 20 calls per day to procure apartments as an accredited expert for real estate appraisal. “This phenomenon reached its climax when the banks announced that the depositors can withdraw small amounts from their dollar-based savings in Lebanese pounds, with a generous fixed exchange rate, so depositors rushed to real estate to save their deposits.” “These depositors are not all Lebanese; there are Syrians, Iraqis, and Gulf nationals who have accounts in Lebanese banks. Most of the Lebanese are expatriates in Africa or those who work in Arab countries.”

by reuters — Vincent al-Boustani’s local council, in a small town north of Lebanon’s capital, runs a tight ship: staff and volunteers conduct 24/7 patrols, cameras monitor the streets and motorcycles are banned after 9pm. Boustani believes this is the best way to offer security as the economy crumbles, people become poorer and fear of crime increases. “The need for money, for food, I believe things will get even worse. I hope I’m wrong,” he said. “That’s why we must remain alert, aware of the danger…We’re going towards the unknown.” A financial crisis that has swept Lebanon since last year means more and more families have little means to cope as the currency collapses and the state offers little or no help. The country faces what is seen as the biggest threat to its stability since the 1975-1990 civil war.

In the first four months of 2020, murders in Lebanon doubled from the same period last year. Car thefts jumped nearly 50% and burglaries 20%, according to a report by the Beirut-based research firm Information International, based on police data. As the currency plunges, more unrest is feared in a country with a tumultuous history and where sectarian tensions are never far from the surface. The prices of imported foods upon which Lebanese depend have been driven up by a 70% decline in the Lebanese pound’s value since October. A World Food Programme report this month found that 50% of Lebanese, as well as 63% of Palestinians and 75% of Syrians in the country, had feared they would not have enough to eat over the past month.

by alaraby.co.uk — The whereabouts of activist Kinda el-Khatib and her brother Bandar are still unknown after she was arrested by Lebanese state security for publishing comments on social media. It is believed that she was arrested because of a tweet that criticised President Michel Aoun, however security sources revealed that her arrest was based on suspicions that she was allegedly spying for Israel and entering Palestinian territories. A campaign was launched on social media accusing her of being an Israeli agent, and of opposing Hezbollah on social media. A security source told Al-Akhbar that Kinda’s arrest was based on “evidence from the General Security that proves her involvement in contact with people inside Israel,” and accused her of “providing information to the Israelis” as well as entering Israel during a trip to Jordan. The authorities have refused to provide further information about the allegations, and her whereabouts remain unknown. While her brother was released, Kinda remains in the authority’s custody.

Her family are convinced that “her file was ready before her arrest” and insist Kinda’s Twitter account was hacked and her opposition to Hezbollah was also fabricated. Kinda is not the first activist to be arrested by Lebanese authorities. An increasing number of activists in Lebanon are being arrested for social media posts criticising the government’s handling of the weakening economy, the currency crash and its handling of the coronavirus outbreak. According to Kinda’s sister Yasmine, the 23-year-old is currently completing her Masters studies in English literature at the Deanship of the Lebanese University in Beirut, and she is active on social media. She worked as a translator for a period of time with the “International Society for Parliamentary Elections” in the year 2018. The family are planning to get a lawyer to help with Kinda’s release. They have not been able to communite with her since her arrest. “There is complete ambiguity about her file, and they did not allow us to communicate with her, except for the moment she was transferred via the military police in Beirut,” her sister told Al Modon.

by menabytes.com — NymCard, a cloud-based card issuing and processing platform that was founded in Beirut in 2018 has relocated its headquarters to Abu Dhabi, it announced in a statement to MENAbytes, saying that move is aimed to support its regional expansion plans. The startup that allows financial institutions, banks, and fintechs to build virtual card programs for their customers, will continue to operate its Beirut office to serve their clients in Levant. Omar Onsi, the founder and CEO of NymCard in a statement, said, “Abu Dhabi has all the makings of a great fintech ecosystem and we’re very excited to be a part of it. Our headquarters in Abu Dhabi brings us closer to our customers, tech startups, and payment innovators looking for different types of modern payment solutions.” “We’re very honored to have been selected by Hub71 and are grateful to their team for the support they’ve extended to us for relocating our regional operations to Abu Dhabi,” he added.

The Daily Star BEIRUT — : Israeli warplanes were seen flying over Beirut at unusually low altitudes Sunday, while also performing mock raids across other areas of the country in yet another violation of Lebanese airspace. Aside from the capital, the aircraft were reported to have also been spotted flying over Sidon, Hasbaya, Aarqoub, Jabal al-Sheikh, Shebaa farms, Metn, Keserouan, Nabatieh, and Tyre’s Palestinian refugee camps as well as other areas of the south, according to the state-run National News Agency. Although this has become commonplace in recent months, many took to social media to remark on how much louder and longer in duration it appeared to be than usual. “Just another Sunday afternoon in Beirut enjoying the sound of Israeli fighter jets,” one Twitter user said.