احد مبارك، ازدادت ثقة الشعب اللبناني بالقضاة الذين يصدرون احكامهم باسمه بعد المحاولات العبثية لافشال التحقيق العدلي في انفجار المرفأ. هذا الشعب لن يكتفي بعدم السماح بترهيب فارس سعيد الذي يمثل غداً امام قاضي التحقيق، بل سيحول دون قمع امثاله من المؤمنين “بسيادة الدولة، والدولة وحدها فقط”، كما سيعيد الاعتبار للرأي الحرّ وللشجاعة التي دفع […]

by thenationalnews.com — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has assured Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati of Cairo’s continuing commitment to his country’s “safety, security and stability”. Mr Mikati held talks with Mr El Sisi on Thursday during a visit to the Egyptian capital, where he also met Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly. A presidential statement […]

بالاضافة الى مجلس الامن والجامعة العربية والدول الصديقة، اكتمل عقد دول الخليج في المطالبة بالتحييد وحصر السلاح وضبط الحدود، والآتي سيكون المزيد من الدول وبخاصة دول الجامعة العربية . الم يكن الاجدر بنا الالتزام بما تعهدنا به عام ٢٠١٢ بالاجماع بارادتنا الذاتية على اعلان بعبدا ؟ الفرصة ما تزال متاحة لنا لتطبيق ما اتفقنا عليه […]

By Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will travel to Lebanon later this month to express support for the crisis-struck country, diplomatic sources said Friday. Meanwhile, a French presidential source said Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman invited Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati to visit the kingdom. “[France] and Saudi […]

By trtworld.com — A large explosion hit a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, according to witnesses. On Friday’s explosion occurred after a fire broke out in the Burj al Shemali camp in the country’s fourth largest city, Tyre. Several injuries were reported from the area and ambulances and firefighters dispatched there. The Lebanese army formed […]

By Adnan Nasser – nationalinterest.org — – On a recent trip to Qatar, Lebanese president Michel Aoun met with Qatari emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to discuss ways to assist Lebanon’s unprecedented economic crisis. Tamim publicly expressed solidarity as a reason to support Lebanon. It was an encouraging sign, but there may be another unspoken geopolitical justification. Given that Doha and Riyadh have been at loggerheads over influence in the Arab world, their convergence on Lebanon may be an extension of Gulf rivalries, regardless of previous reconciliation efforts between the two leaders at al-Ula, in Saudi Arabia. The meeting between Aoun and Tamim was cordial. Aoun highlighted that Qatar offered assurances of support for Lebanon in many domains. The two leaders touched on areas such as infrastructure investments for electricity and reconstruction efforts regarding Beirut’s port following the August 2020 blast that killed two hundred people.

For his part, Tamim told Aoun that his country has always supported the Lebanese people and will continue to stand by them. He mentioned the deep historical relationship between the two countries, explaining that he is willing to offer Lebanon a hand of friendship during its difficult financial period. He also praised Lebanese expatriates living and working in Qatar. About 60,000 Lebanese are believed to be in the country.

@AzziSejean

البيانُ المشترَكُ السعوديُّ/الفرنسيُّ (إعلان جَدّة) بشأنِ لبنان هو بيانٌ لبنانيٌّ بامتياز. فقَبلَ أن تكونَ بنودُه “شروطًا” فرنسيّةً وسعوديّةً، هي مطالبُ اللبنانيّين وحاجاتُهم، لكنَّ الدولةَ اللبنانيّةَ، تحت ضغطِ حزبِ الله، أهملَتها وأدْخَلتنا في مسلسلِ أزَماتٍ وكوارث. “إعلانُ جَدّة” هو عمليًّا “إعلانُ بيروت”، ويَصُبُّ مباشرةً في حِيادِ لبنان والمؤتمرِ الدُوَليِّ الخاصِّ بلبنان. كيف؟

غالِبيّةُ بنودِه تُشكِّلُ المرتكزَ الأساسيَّ لحِيادِ لبنان. فحين نَصونُ “الوِحدةَ الوطنيّةَ والسلمَ الأهلي، ونَحصُرُ السلاحَ في مؤسّساتِ الدولةِ الشرعيّة، ونُطبِّقُ القراراتِ الدُوليّةَ 1559 (نزعُ السلاح) و1701 (تحييدُ الجنوب) و1680 (ترسيمُ الحدودِ مع سوريا)”، وحين لا يعودُ لبنان “مُنطلقًا لأعمالٍ إرهابيّةٍ تُزعزعُ أمنَ المنطقةِ واستقرارَها”، حينئذ يَدخُلُ لبنانُ نظامَ الحِيادِ من دون إعلانٍ رسميٍّ. إنّـما يبقى أن نحوِّلَ الحِيادَ من واقعٍ سياسيٍّ وأمنيٍّ إلى واقعٍ دُستوريٍّ يُعطيه صفةَ الثباتِ والديمومةِ من خلالِ رعايةٍ دُوَليّة.

ولأنَّ تنفيذَ “إعلانِ جَدّة” متعذِّرٌ من خلالِ حوارٍ بين القِوى اللبنانيّةِ، يُصبحَ اللجوءُ إلى مؤتمرٍ دُوَليٍّ خِيارًا مفتوحًا. الفِكرةُ بدأت تَشُقُّ طريقَها بهدوءٍ وثباتٍ. ومنذ أيّامٍ صَدرَت تصاريحُ فرنسيّةٌ رسميّةٌ تقترحُ رعايةً دوليّةً لحوارٍ لبنانيٍّ ما. ومنذُ الأشهرِ الأربعةِ الأخيرةِ والفكرةُ تُراودُ اللقاءاتِ الدوليّةَ والعربيّةَ حولَ لبنان. يَتهامَسون بها ويخافون عليها. والبيانُ الفرنسيُّ/السعوديُّ هو أصلًا خطوةٌ متقدِّمةٌ نحو المؤتمرِ الدُوَليِّ تلتقي والخطواتِ الفرنسيّةَ والأميركيّةَ والفاتيكانيّةَ المشترَكة. لكنَّ الخوفَ أن تُجهِضَها الدولةُ اللبنانيُّة كما أجَهضَت جميعَ المقترحاتِ الإصلاحيّةِ الماليّةِ والاقتصادية.

مسيرة عدنان القصار لا يمكن ان توجز في كتاب واحد فانجازاته ومساهماته توزعت دولياً وعربياً ولبنانياً على الاقتصاد والتجارة والزراعة والتربية والثقافة والاستشفاء والسياسة وميادين اخرى متعددة. اطال الله بعمره مثالاً للقادرين على العمل في الشأن العام.   في مقال الاستاذ جورج شاهين اليوم في الجمهورية تحت عنوان : “MBS” مهمة “EM” فمن عليه ملاقاتهما […]

By NAJIA HOUSSARI — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Lebanese money changers refusing to accept older $100 banknotes, known as “white notes,” is causing confusion, particularly after some people were charged an extra $5 fee for exchanging $100 white bills. Dozens of customers flocked to banks to learn more about the news, especially since some of the white $100 notes were issued by banks. A customer told Arab News: “Every Lebanese is keeping a stack of $100 bills in their home for when they need them the most since the banks confiscated our deposits, and no one dares to deposit a single dollar in the bank nowadays.” He added: “I went to my bank to inquire about this new rule adopted by money changers. My daughter told me that one refused to exchange the $100 that she gave him, claiming it was an old edition and he had the right to take $5 as commission if she wanted to exchange it. Who gave them the right to do this? I, my wife and my children all work and we save whatever we make in dollars. Does this mean that our savings have become worthless?” He said: “The bank manager told me that the problem is with money changers, not banks, since they do not have instructions to stop dealing with the old $100 bills; on the contrary, banks are using both the old and new editions. He suggested that I occasionally bring him $200 to $400, in exchange for which he would give me $50 bills until the issue with money changers is resolved.” Over the past few days, the topic of “old, white” $100 and the “new, blue” $100 banknotes has dominated conversation.

Money transfer companies were also said to have refused to deal with the older notes. Some money changers have taken advantage of the ambiguity to impose a $10 fee for exchanging white $100 bills. The confusion was said to said to have been stirred by one of the largest money shipping companies, shut down after it was subject to a judicial investigation into smuggling funds abroad after Oct. 17, 2019 — when the financial crisis hit Lebanon, and in light of which Banque du Liban froze transfers inside and outside Lebanon. Mahmoud Murad, former head of the Syndicate of Money Changers, told Arab News: “This fad has been circulating in the Lebanese financial market for about a week now. We do not know its source, nor who invented it. The problem is that people believe anything in Lebanon.” He added: “People who come to my business to buy dollar bills only accept the blue-colored edition now. We, as money changers, are buying and selling both the old and new editions; nothing has changed.” Murad said: “If the $100 notes are worn-out or torn, we buy them from people but never sell them again. Instead, we give them to shipping companies to return them to the US and replace them with brand-new ones. “But everyone in Lebanon is now a money changer. The Lebanese, the Syrian, the Sri Lankan, the Bengali, the supermarket cashier, the butcher, all engage in exchanging money. Money changers should not be blamed for this.”

by Bassam Zaazaa — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Unvaccinated individuals who spread the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Lebanon could be fined 250,000 Lebanese pounds ($165, or a black-market rate of around $10) under a new law ratified by the country’s parliamentarians on Tuesday. The penalty charge sees an increase on the previous fee of 50,000 Lebanese pounds imposed on people who had not been jabbed but had passed on the virus, the National News Agency reported. However, the updated legislation did not make vaccination against COVID-19 obligatory. Lebanese health officials have been urging the public to get inoculated amid a surge in daily infections with 1,707 new cases and 10 virus-related deaths recorded on Tuesday.

On whether citizens would take notice of the fine, Health Minister Dr. Firas Abiad told Arab News: “Within the economic financial situation in Lebanon, and the poverty level, it will certainly have an impact.” However, Lebanese business manager, Hania Michele, criticized lawmakers for what she described as a “purposeless and meaningless law.” She told Arab News: “It is not my fault if someone contaminates me with COVID-19 which will keep on spreading anyway. I don’t know if they are doing it purposely, to indirectly force the unvaccinated to get vaccinated. “Even those who are vaccinated, they could still get infected and spread the virus. That’s why it’s impractical.” Barber Yousef said less than 40 percent of Lebanon’s population had been vaccinated. “I am unsure if people, who are already bankrupt, would be able to afford paying 250,000 Lebanese pounds. So, why are people not getting vaccinated? “It is not wrong to fine those who spread the virus, but people are broke and don’t have the money to pay for PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests,” he said.