US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf told Lebanese MPs that the solution today is in the hands of Lebanese officials who must bear the responsibility for getting the country out of this situation it has reached. MPs Elias Bou Saab, Mark Daou, Neamat Freim, and Yassin Yassin held a meeting […]

by arabnews.com — AFP — GENEVA:UN rights experts voiced deep concern Thursday at the slow pace of an investigation into the killing of Lebanese intellectual Lokman Slim two years ago, demanding that Beirut ensure accountability. “It is incumbent on the Lebanese authorities to fully investigate and bring to justice the perpetrators of this heinous crime,” the four independent experts said. “Failing to carry out a prompt and effective investigation may in itself constitute a violation of the right to life.”

A secular activist from a Shiite family, 58-year-old Slim was found dead in his car on February 4, 2021, a day after his family reported him missing. His bullet-riddled body was found in southern Lebanon — a stronghold of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement of which he was heavily critical. In their statement, the UN special rapporteurs on extrajudicial executions, the independence of judges and lawyers, the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the situation of human rights defenders voiced outrage that no one responsible for his assassination had been identified. “Shedding light on the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Lokman Slim and bringing those responsible to justice is also part of the State’s obligation to protect freedom of opinion and expression,” said the experts, who are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but who do not speak on behalf of the world body. “A culture of impunity not only emboldens the killers of Mr. Slim, it will also have a chilling effect on civil society as it sends a chilling message to other activists to self-censor,” they said.

by al-monitor.com – Adam Lucente — Lebanese officials devalued their currency on Wednesday amid the ongoing economic crisis. The devaluation is still well below the dollar exchange rate on the street, and multiple rates remain in place in Lebanon. Lebanon’s central bank, Banque Du Liban, lowered the official exchange rate to the US dollar from 1,507 to 15,000 pounds, multiple outlets reported. Bank governor Riad Salameh told Reuters Tuesday that the move constitutes an effort to unify different exchange rates in the country. What it means: The official 1,507 rate for the Lebanese pound was in place from 1997 until now. The rate on the street correlated to the official rate until 2019 when the Lebanese economic crisis began. Since then, the Lebanese pound has lost more than 90% of its value on the parallel street exchange market.

The pound, aka lira, has been falling even more on the street in recent weeks. On Wednesday, one US dollar traded at more than 62,000 pounds. The new official rate therefore does not resemble the rate the public is using, despite the devaluation decision. The official rate and the street rate are two of several dollar-to-lira exchange rates in Lebanon. Banque Du Liban’s Sayrafa rate, which is used for international card payments, ATMs and e-commerce, remains at 38,000 to the dollar, the bank said in a statement Tuesday. There are also separate rates for fuel prices, public sector salaries and other things, according to The Associated Press.

BEIRUT, (Reuters) – Lebanon will adopt a new official exchange rate of 15,000 pounds per U.S. dollar on Feb. 1, central bank governor Riad Salameh said, marking a 90% devaluation from its current official rate that has remained unchanged for 25 years. The shift from the old rate of 1,507 to 15,000 is still far […]