by voanews.com — AMMAN, JORDAN — Lebanon’s parliamentary election will be the first held since the popular uprising in late 2019, when hundreds of thousands took to the streets demanding an end to the entrenched political and economic patronage system, blamed for multiple dire crises engulfing the tiny Mediterranean country. A spiraling economy has plunged three-quarters of Lebanese into poverty as their local currency has lost some 93 percent of its value. Medicine and electricity are in short supply, while food prices have skyrocketed due to inflation. The economic meltdown, coinciding with the coronavirus outbreak, has posed the worst threat to Lebanon’s stability since the 1975-1990 civil war, observers say.

Over the course of 2021, the heavily-armed Iran-backed Hezbollah Shiite militia and political party, along with its allies, have repeatedly tried to remove the judge responsible for investigating the deadly 2020 Beirut port explosion, accusing him of political bias—a charge independents deny. Many Lebanese are angry that no senior official has yet been held accountable for the country’s worst peacetime disaster. Meanwhile, Gulf Arab states accuse Hezbollah of trying to proliferate drugs into their region via fruit and vegetable imports, straining historic ties with Lebanon. Several activist platforms fielding candidates have formed, analysts say, such as Minteshreen, meaning “from October” and “coming from different backgrounds,” to break down divisions the political elite have fostered, such as voting along sectarian lines.

By Najia Houssari – arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Lebanese security services have imposed a three-week curfew for unvaccinated residents, with fines for those who break it, from 5 p.m. to 6 a.m. until Jan. 9, 2022, amid rising cases across the country. The committee that follows up on coronavirus disease preventative measures said it would exclude those “with at least one vaccine dose or a negative PCR test in the last 48 hours and children under 12.” On Friday, the Ministry of Public Health reported 1,912 new COVID-19 cases, mostly in people between 30 and 39 years old, some of whom had received three vaccine doses. In addition, 14 deaths were recorded. The ministry said: “We have had 22,168 active cases these last 14 days,” adding only 34 percent of people had received two vaccine doses, with the lowest vaccination rate recorded in the Bekaa region.

Lebanese Red Cross Secretary-General George Kettaneh said that “ambulance teams transport 80 to 100 cases to hospitals every day, while over 1,200 oxygen concentrators have been distributed.” So far, Lebanon has had 60 cases of the new omicron variant, but Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad noted it is “rapidly spreading … two and a half times faster than the delta variant.” Those who have received three vaccine doses have greater protection against omicron, he added. Lebanon fears yet another outbreak over the holidays, particularly since the medical sector is exhausted amid shortages in staff, fuel, oxygen, medical supplies and medicines.

by arabnews.com — EPHREM KOSSAIFY — NEW YORK: Ahead of his visit to Lebanon next week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on the country’s leaders to step up their efforts to root out corruption and promote accountability and transparency. “Lasting solutions can only come from inside Lebanon,” he said on Friday in a video message. “It is essential for leaders to put the people first and implement the reforms needed to set Lebanon back on track, including efforts to promote accountability and transparency, and root out corruption.” Guterres expressed his concern for the Lebanese people and the hardships they are facing. He praised them for their “generosity, resourcefulness and hospitality,” qualities he said he has seen first-hand during his visits to the country as head of the UN Refugee Agency.

Lebanon faces multiple crises. In addition to an ongoing financial and economic collapse, it is struggling with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and still reeling from the devastating explosion at Beirut’s port on Aug. 4 last year, which claimed more than 200 lives, injured more than 6,000, left many more homeless and cost the country up to $4.5 billion in damages. “The United Nations mourns with you,” Guterres told the Lebanese people. “Among the youngest victims were two children of UN staff members.” The explosion happened when a large amount of ammonium nitrate, stored at the port for six years without proper safety precautions, ignited. Tensions remain high in Lebanon over the investigation into the blast, and last month this spilled over into street violence that left at least six people dead. Activists and relatives of the victims say that the official inquiry is being hampered by the Lebanese political leadership in an effort to shield politicians and officials from scrutiny. “I know the Lebanese people want answers and I hear your demands for truth and justice,” Guterres said.

BEIRUT, (Reuters) – A British court ruled on Friday in favour of a Lebanese bank in a case brought by a depositor barred from transferring funds abroad because of capital controls in place since Lebanon’s financial system collapsed in 2019. The court ruled that BLOM Bank could be considered to have discharged its debt to the plaintiff, Bilal Khalifeh, by issuing a cheque in Lebanon. Banks have imposed tight controls on accounts, including a de facto ban on transfers abroad and local withdrawals of dollar-denominated deposits in dollars, but the controls have been challenged in Lebanese and international courts.

Banks have sought to discharge dollar-denominated funds via banker’s cheques which cannot be cashed out in dollars and are instead sold on the market at a discount of about three-quarters of their value. The ruling by London’s High Court of Justice, Queens Bench Division, said BLOM Bank was under no obligation to transfer some $1.4 million in Khalifeh’s savings abroad and could be considered to have discharged his account via a cheque deposited with a notary. “The debt due from the Bank was payable in Lebanon and… Mr Khalifeh had no contractual right to require the Bank to transfer funds abroad,” it said.

BEIRUT, (Reuters) – Lebanon’s interior minister on Wednesday ordered the deportation of non-Lebanese members of Bahrain’s dissolved opposition al-Wefaq group after some of them criticised the Gulf Arab kingdom at a news conference in Beirut Lebanon became enmeshed in a major diplomatic dispute with the Gulf last month after former information minister George Kordahi criticised Saudi Arabia over the Yemen war. Bahrain’ interior minister, Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, had earlier on Wednesday called his Lebanese counterpart, Bassam Mawlawi, to tell him that events such as the Wefaq news conference, or Kordahi’s comments, “harm Lebanon and its people”, a statement from Bahrain’s interior ministry said.

The Gulf Cooperation Council, whose leaders met on Tuesday in Riyadh, condemned the news conference held by “a terrorist organization with support from the terrorist Hezbollah” and voiced support for Bahrain in “any measures it takes to protect its security and stability”. At its news conference, Wefaq released a report detailing what it said were rights abuses in Bahrain from 2019 to mid 2021. Gulf monarchies have been alarmed by the rising influence of Lebanon’s armed Iranian-backed Hezbollah group. Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shi’ite Iran have long battled for influence in the region, including in Lebanon, which is struggling with a deep economic crisis. Bahrain’s Wefaq did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

New publication available in Amazon — “ Amazon Link: Sons of Resistance: Bashir Gemayel, Ali Hassan Salameh in “freewheeling and open” Beirut: What Shaped Modern Lebanon From Mitchell Gray:  “It was my honor and privilege to write a book about Lebanon and especially about the Christian resistance that produced, under the worst of circumstances, a […]

سجعان قزي

@AzziSejean

هل اللبنانيّون على حقٍّ في انتقادِ حزبِ الله؟ هل فَهِموا حقًّا رمزيّةَ مواقفِه وأبعادَها؟ أليس حلُّ ألغازِها أجْدى من النِزاعِ معه؟ كلَّ يومٍ يُوجِّه حزبُ الله رسائلَ إلينا، خصوصًا عبرَ مواقفِه المتطرِّفة، ونحن لا نبالي بها، بل نَروحُ نتَّهِمُه بشتّى الاتّهاماتِ ونَتغنّى بوِحدةِ “لبنانَ الكبير”، و”لبنانَ الرسالة”، ولبنان الـــــ 10452 كلم².

لا يَنفكُّ حزبُ الله يَرسُمُ الحلَّ ويَسألُنا أن نَقتديَ به ما دامَ البعضُ يطالبُ دستوريًّا بما يقوم هو به واقعيًّا، أي الفدراليّة أو الانفصال أو التقسيم. يَسألنا لماذا لا نؤسِّسُ مثلَه كانتوناتٍ ونُنشِئُ دورةً اقتصاديّةً مستقلّةً وإدارةً ذاتيّة؟ لماذا لا نَبني، نحن أيضًا، جيشًا خاصًّا من مئةِ ألفِ مقاتل؟ لماذا لا نَستعملُ حقَّ الڤيتو مثلَه ونُعطِّلُ الدولةَ المركزيّةَ وحكوماتِـها ومؤسّساتِـها؟ لماذا لا نَعقِدُ تحالفاتٍ استراتيجيّةً مع دولٍ أجنبيّةٍ على غرارِ تحالفِه العُضْويِّ مع إيران؟ لماذا لا نزايدُ في عَداءِ إسرائيل وإسباقِ اسْمِها بعبارةِ “عدّو” ونُغْنى عن محاربتِها؟

يُدرِكُ حزبُ الله أنه يَعجِزُ عن حكمِ كلِّ لبنان، ويرفُض بالمقابل أن تَحكمَه شرعيّةٌ غيرُ شريعتِه، فمَالَ إلى “الفِدراليّةِ الموسَّعة” حِفاظًا على ذاتيّتِه. ما خلا بيئتَه المباشَرة، اللبنانيّون ــــ مسيحيّين ومسلمين ودروزًا ــــ ضاقوا ذَرْعًا بحزبِ الله ويَدينون يوميًّا خِياراتِه وأداءَه ويعتبرونه، عن حقٍّ أو عن باطلٍ، مسؤولًا عن جميعِ مصائبِهم الجارية. وإذا كان حزبُ الله يَدعونا، بشكلٍ أو بآخَر، إلى إعادةِ النظرِ في وِحدةِ لبنان، فسَبقَ أن دَعوْناه وسألناه إعادةَ النظرِ في مشروعِه لكي نُنقذَ وِحدةَ لبنان. لكن، أيُّهُما أسهلُ: تغييرُ لبنانَ أم تغييرُ حزبِ الله؟ نحن عندَ هذا المنعطَف.

by middleeastmonitor.com — Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker, Nabih Berri, said, Wednesday, his country is under siege, amid a diplomatic crisis with Gulf countries Anadolu News Agency reports. Speaking during a meeting with the head of Lebanon’s Editors-in-Chief Syndicate, Joseph Qossaifi, Berri questioned how Arab countries could open their doors for Israel, while they “close their gates […]

By Najia Houssari — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: The Lebanese pound hit record lows this week, trading at almost LBP29,000 to the US dollar, leading to an intervention from the Banque du Liban that allowed the exchange rate to drop to LBP27,000. This spurred self-employed professionals to call for a national state of emergency to be declared, while the transport sector announced that Thursday would be a “day of anger.” Further exacerbating the situation in Lebanon, the director-general of telecom company Ogero, Imad Kreidieh, said he had applied for an urgent advance to purchase fuel to continue operating the electrical generators for telecom networks. In light of Lebanon’s increasing financial challenges, the purchasing power of Lebanese citizens has shrunk by 95 percent, while the minimum wage has become the equivalent of about $24. “But President Michel Aoun refrained from signing decrees since the Cabinet is not convening, which may lead to the suspension of our services and interruption of internet services,” he added.

The head of the Syndicate of Food Importers, Hani Bohsali, said: “The situation is too dangerous. It is not limited to the exchange rate or price increase. Food security is in danger. Regardless of the ability to secure dollars for imports, the problem has become in the consumer’s ability to purchase goods. Chaos is pervading markets.” The heads of professional syndicates met on Wednesday and expressed “deep concerns about the comprehensive deterioration that has crossed the line and is now threatening the country’s foundations.” The syndicates called for the need to declare a national state of emergency, accompanied by “vigorous work” to initiate a political solution to save the country and put in place a clear and effective rescue plan, especially “in the absence of serious solutions” for social and economic issues. “BDL and the Association of Banks in Lebanon ought to take urgent measures to make it easier for the professional syndicates to withdraw their deposits in Lebanese and foreign currencies as soon as possible,” the syndicates demanded, threatening to sue BDL and ABL, and carry out massive protests.

by reuters — Lebanon’s public prosecutor on Tuesday instructed the security forces to arrest a top politician over the Beirut port blast, a senior judicial source said, setting the stage for a possible confrontation with the lawmaker and his powerful ally Hezbollah. Tarek Bitar, the judge investigating last year’s catastrophic port explosion, first issued a […]