by reuters — Lebanon’s prime minister said on Wednesday the government had not interfered with the judiciary’s work, after reports that he had put pressure on a judge who is seeking data from banks in an investigation into the conduct of the central bank governor. Prime Minister Najib Mikati said last month that veteran Governor Riad Salameh, who is at the center of domestic and international probes over allegations ranging from fraud to embezzlement, should stay in his job to avoid adding to problems in Lebanon as it navigates a deep financial crisis. “It is also necessary to clarify what came out yesterday (Tuesday) about matters related to the judiciary. In this context, I say it is not true that we interfered in the work of the judiciary or in any decision taken by the judiciary,” Mikati told a news conference. Al Akhbar and other Lebanese news outlets said Mikati had called Lebanon’s top prosecutor, Ghassan Oueidat, and threatened to resign if Judge Jean Tannous continued to press banks for data in his investigation. The Tannous probe is investigating allegations of embezzlement and other misconduct at the central bank involving about $300 million in gains made by a company owned by Salameh’s brother, Raja.

Oueidat did not respond to a request for comment. Reuters has been unable to reach Raja Salameh and the central bank said it did not have his contact details. Riad Salameh, who has run the bank for almost three decades, has repeatedly denied the accusations of wrongdoing being investigated by Tannous or by other Lebanese and international probes. Two sources told Reuters that members of Lebanon’s state security had visited at least two commercial banks on Tuesday as part of the Tannous investigation, seeking information on the governor’s brother. One of the sources with knowledge of one visit said the security officials initially pressed bank officials hard for data but then suddenly changed tack, softening their demands. “The security forces got friendlier and started asking general questions rather than specifics… and that’s it, and they left,” the source said, asking not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.

By Dale Gavlak — voanews.com — Political opponents of Lebanese President Michel Aoun are resisting his call for a national dialogue conference on the worsening economic crisis and other issues, sensing he may try to use it for his and Hezbollah’s political gain. Meanwhile, the nation’s currency has plummeted further, by more than 15% of its value since the start of the year, leading to more misery for ordinary Lebanese. Michel Aoun, Lebanon’s Christian president who provides political cover for the Iran-backed Shiite Hezbollah militia and political powerbroker, says a national defense strategy could be part of the talks. Lebanon observer Michael Young said calling for a national “defense strategy has particular resonance for Hezbollah.” Writing in Dubai’s The National newspaper, Young said this is “another term for finding a formula to integrate the party’s weapons arsenal into the state.”

Many Lebanese have long called for Hezbollah, which is the only militia to have kept its arms from Lebanon’s 1975 to 1990 civil war, to decommission its weapons. But Aoun’s opponents suspect he may be hedging for talks as a means to corner Hezbollah into bolstering his son-in-law Gebran Bassil’s chances to succeed him in the presidency when his term ends later this year. So far, former Sunni Muslim prime minister Rafik Hariri, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, and Aoun’s Christian rival Samir Geagea have rejected his invitation for talks. Habib Malik of the Lebanese American University told VOA he sees Aoun and Bassil jockeying for influence ahead of elections for parliament in May and those for the presidency later in the year. “It is political theater. Much of it is contrived and calculated with very clear aims in mind. Bassil is sinking fast in terms of any popularity among the Christians and for him to even remotely hope to succeed in the upcoming May elections, let alone be Hezbollah’s candidate for the presidency next November, he’s going to really have to put on a Houdini-like contortion. What we are seeing right now is a calculated move to try and polish his image before any remaining gullible Christians,” he said.

لماذا الإمعان في معاكسة إرادة الشعب اللبناني ومصالحه عبر الإصرار على مهاجمة دول الخليج واستعداء المملكة العربية السعودية؟ ألا تستحق المصلحة الوطنية العليا تجاوز العواطف الشخصية؟ الا يتوجب على الجميع وفي مقدمتهم رئيس البلاد مصارحة “حزب الله” بوجوب التوقف عن الإساءة إلى علاقاتنا الخارجية والإقلاع عن سياسة عزل لبنان عن محيطه والعالم؟ اهكذا تجري التهيئة […]

PARIS (REUTERS) – France’s foreign minister said on Tuesday (Jan 11) the United Arab Emirates would join a Saudi-French fund that aimed to provide support to the Lebanese people. Riyadh and Paris agreed in early December last year to establish a common humanitarian mechanism to alleviate the suffering of the Lebanese as a first step […]

BEIRUT, Jan 11 (Reuters) – A Lebanese judge said on Tuesday she had imposed a travel ban on central bank governor Riad Salameh, who is at the centre of investigations into alleged fraud and other misconduct launched after Lebanon was plunged into a deep financial crisis. Salameh, who said he had no knowledge of the ban and denied any wrongdoing, is being probed by the authorities in Lebanon and at least four European countries, including a Swiss inquiry over alleged money laundering. Salameh, who has been governor for almost three decades, has stayed in his post even as the economy has been crushed by a mountain of debt, the currency has collapsed and swathes of the nation have been driven into poverty. read more

Judge Ghada Aoun told Reuters she had imposed the ban as part of a Lebanese investigation she was leading into Salameh’s conduct and said the next step would be to seek to question him. When asked about allegations ranging from fraud to abuse of public funds being investigated in the Lebanese probe, Salameh said: “These cases raised against me personally are part of the campaign to fool the public opinion.” “All the actions of the central bank are executed according to the law of money and credit and thus are not the actions of one person that takes decisions by himself,” he told Reuters.

CAIRO – Lebanon’s Prime Minster Najib Mikati arrived Monday morning in in Sharm El-Sheikh city to participate in opening ceremony of Egypt’s 4th edition of the World Youth Forum [WYF]. Mikati accompanied President Sisi, Palestinian President Mahamoud Abbas and Crown Prince of Jordan Hussein bin Abdullah II. At the ceremony, President Sisi said that WYF became a platform for dialogue and exchange visions between youth and countries all over the world. He announced officially launching the 4th edition of WYF activities. The forum is held under the slogan of ‘Back Together’, with the participation of young people from 196 countries in Sharm El-Sheikh. WYF activities are expected to take place until January 13. 2021’s WYF agenda includes number of vital topics, which reflect the features of the new reality after Coronavirus pandemic, that affected the lives of millions all over the world.

Participants at the 4th edition of WYF had the choice to participate in the opening session either physically or remotely via the virtual system due to COVID-19. The main session of WYF is supposed to Kick off shortly after the opening ceremony, to be entitled ‘Corona Pandemic: Alarm for Humanity and New Hope’. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Egypt on Sunday to participate in the he fourth edition of Egypt’s World Youth Forum. President Abbas’ two day-visit comes at President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s invitation to attend the forum activities, the Palestinian embassy in Egypt said.

by Dana Halawi BEIRUT, (Xinhua) — Lebanon’s merchants took a hit in 2021 by the country’s unprecedented economic and financial crisis with 35 percent of them shutting down their stores or some branches, according to the Beirut Traders Association. Adnan Rammal, representative of the trade sector in the Economic and Social Council, told Xinhua that a large number of merchants had to close their stores last year as they were unable to cover the expenses in light of the drop in sales from 50 to 90 percent, varying among different sectors. According to Rammal, the sectors that were mostly impacted include furniture, household appliances, electronics and carpets, and the demand for food has also dropped by 40 percent.

Over the past two years, Lebanon has witnessed an unprecedented financial crisis amid the shortage of U.S. dollar, which prompted a steep depreciation of the Lebanese pound. As a result of the collapse of the local currency, citizens saw an obvious devaluation of their salaries. Most of them are employed by the public sector and get paid in local currency, while only an approximate of 20 percent of the Lebanese receiving their salaries in U.S. dollars. Moreover, the financial crisis forced banks to impose heavy restrictions on withdrawals from deposits, which has deteriorated people’s purchasing power. Mohamad Rayes, owner of a men’s clothes shop in Hamra, told Xinhua that sales at his shop dropped by over 80 percent compared to the pre-crisis years of 2017 and 2018, as people have been focusing their consumption on necessities. “If we do not see any improvement in demand during the coming summer season, we will have to close doors and lay off employees,” he said.

NNA – Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, presided over Sunday Mass at “Our Lady’s Church” in the patriarchal edifice in Bkirki. In his sermon, Patriarch Rahi urged the Lebanese state to restore legitimacy to its free decision and the unity of its military authority, and to withdraw from the game of destructive axes […]

by arabnews.com — LONDON: In late 2019, over 50 women came forward and shared their painful testimonies of encounters with Lebanese serial assaulter Marwan Habib. “He followed me into the showers after my boxing lessons and tried to corner me in one of the shower stalls. I pushed him out and filed a complaint,” read one. “I saw him during the thawra (protests) and he tried to convince me to go with him for lunch and stuff when I told him I’m ONLY 15,” another revealed. “I’m a minor. He said he likes young girls. I ran away from him and he kept following me until I threatened to call the police. When I did call them, they did absolutely nothing.” Despite the growing number of allegations, Habib remained free and continued to harass women across the capital.

Last Friday, Habib was jailed without bond after he was arrested for sexually assaulting a woman at a hotel in Miami. Habib met his victim at a club, but later followed her to her hotel and then convinced the clerk to give him a key to her room. Police told reporters that Habib had entered the victim’s room at Hotel Victor in South Beach on Friday night and then sexually assaulted her. The arrest report stated: “Criminal Investigations Division has received various complaints about different females reporting the defendant’s odd and concerning behavior. The defendant is known to pursue females in order to have sex or date them even after they advised them to stop doing so on multiple occasions.” While the Lebanese rejoiced at the news of his arrest, it was long overdue as multiple lawsuits filed against him had fallen on deaf ears.

Princess Basmah has been released after spending three years in detention by dw.com — AFP and Reuters — Saudi authorities have released a princess and her daughter who had been detained without charge for nearly three years, her legal adviser said on Saturday. Princess Basmah Bint Saud bin Abdulaziz al Saud, 57, is a businesswoman, […]