by english.alaraby.co.uk — Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Sunday that his new cabinet’s priorities are to mend ties with Arab nations and solve the country’s pressing issues, particularly the energy crisis. “Now is not the time for political (bickering), but rather the time to get to work to lift Lebanon from its crises, put a stop to the collapse, and speed up work on solving the electricity crisis and finding quick solutions to it,” Mikati said in comments to Almodon. Lebanon was plunged into an exacerbating energy crisis this year due to fuel shortages necessary for power plants and private generators, as the Lebanese Central Bank gradually lifts subsidies because of dwindling US dollar reserves. Mikati had previously said that the new government will be forced to lift subsidies completely on fuel, which could push the country further into crisis if no solutions are found immediately.

A 2009 agreement with Egypt recently brought back to light could see Lebanon import natural gas, as well as electricity from Jordan, to help solve the crisis. Electricity expenditure accounts to about half of Lebanon’s sovereign debt. Speaking to Almodon, Mikati preferred not to touch on sensitive political topics to avoid division in his new cabinet, but instead said he looked forward to cooperating with President Michel Aoun to achieve what was necessary. “This must start with a new governmental and political methodology, topped with restoring relations with all states, especially Arab countries. This is what should be focused on in the ministerial statement,” he said. Ties between Lebanon and Gulf states have been rattled in recent years due to repeated attacks on their leaders by Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah. Gulf states have accused the Shia paramilitary group of assisting other Iranian-backed militias, such as Yemen’s Houthis, in launching drone attacks on Saudi Arabia.

By By Dale Gavlak — voanews.com — Following yearlong political paralysis that has sunk its economy, Lebanon finally has a new government. Analysts wonder, though, whether Prime Minister Najib Mikati, the country’s richest man, will deliver the needed reforms to revive the ailing nation and rescue Lebanon from bankruptcy. His Cabinet reinforces the country’s crippling sectarianism and Gulf Arabs will be unlikely to provide financial help as long as Iran-backed Hezbollah maintains a stranglehold on power, the analysts say. Pressing Lebanese politicians to end their political bickering over portfolios, the U.S. and France welcomed the new government, saying urgent action must be taken to tackle the country’s dire economic crisis, especially after the deadly Beirut port blast in August of last year.

Lebanese analyst Dania Koleilat Khatib with the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut told VOA that after more than 13 months of waiting for a new government, the Lebanese people are disappointed with the resulting Cabinet, and desperate to stop the slide toward poverty and chaos they are experiencing. Most critically, she says that the finance minister who needs to resume talks with the International Monetary Fund on unlocking badly needed financial support, is viewed as unlikely to be tough enough on his former employer, the central bank, which is widely blamed for Lebanon’s bankruptcy. “They kept the same sectarian network, the same system,” she said. “People were expecting change. Nothing new, same old, same old because still there will not be any reforms unless the Ministry of Finance is free put by a really independent person.

السياسة الخارجية للبنان يجب ان تعيده الى الدول التي ارتبط بها عبر التاريخ بعلاقات الصداقة والمصلحة. هذه الدول هي التي ينتشر فيها اولادنا او احفادنا ويعملون ويستثمرون ويتخصصون في ربوعها ويقصدونها للاستشفاء. هذه الدول هي التي ساعدت لبنان على الدوام ودعمت جيشه وقواه الامنيه واستثمر اولادها  وصناديقها في وطننا، وانتدبت ضباطها وجنودها الى قوات الطوارىء […]

By Maha El Dahan and Alaa Kanaan BEIRUT (Reuters) – Ibrahim Jaber was laid off when the fast food restaurant where he worked as a chef in Beirut shut down. Unable to find another job, he had to take his daughter out of school to put food on the table at home. Inflation forces tough choices on Lebanese Inflation forces tough choices on LebaneseNOW PLAYING Lebanese activists lead beach clean-up and swim Rage after Texas law restricts abortions, as Supreme Court remains mum on Roe v. Wade | September 5 White House has given no indication Biden plans change in Aug 31 pullout – source Explosion near Kabul airport: “It was quite expected since day one” He is one of many Lebanese who have found themselves facing staggering inflation just as their employers, also hit by the country’s spiralling financial crisis, cut back or close. “I will not register my daughter in school, I can’t afford it,” Jaber said. “The owners (of the restaurant) used to give us a fund for school, now we don’t get it.” Those who kept their jobs have seen the real value of their salaries dramatically reduced as the currency has lost around 90% of its value against the dollar in the past two years. “I would rather work anywhere in the world, even just picking up garbage, than stay in this country,” Jaber said.

Experts are warning of hyperinflation if Lebanon’s deeply divided politicians do not form a government soon to tackle a financial crisis which began in 2019 and threatens to destabilise a country torn by civil war in 1975-90. The World Food Programme (WFP) says food inflation has risen by as much as 557% since Oct. 2019. “We are talking one in five people or families struggling to put food on the table,” WFP spokeswoman Rasha Abou Dargham said. Many families she visits on a regular basis are choosing to skip meals to feed their children while others are relying on the goodwill of nearby bakeries to send them free food every once in a while in order to cope. With the cost of living rising steeply, the caretaker government has promised employees various bonuses, including an increase in their transport allowance by 16,000 Lebanese pounds a day, less than a dollar at the current market rate.

by AP — Lebanon has been without a fully empowered government since the catastrophic Aug. 4, 2020 explosion at Beirut port, which forced the resignation of then Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s government. Rival political groups had been locked in disagreement over the make-up of a new government since then, hastening the country’s economic meltdown. The new Cabinet of 24 ministers headed by billionaire businessman Najib Mikati was announced by the president’s office, and later by the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers, Mahmoud Makkieh. Ministers were handpicked by the same politicians who have ruled the country for the past decades and whose corruption and mismanagement many blame for the country’s current crisis.

The new government announced Friday faces a mammoth task that few believe can be surmounted, including undertaking critically needed reforms. Among its first jobs will be overseeing a financial audit of the Central Bank, and resuming negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a rescue package to stem the country’s collapse. The new Cabinet is also expected to oversee general elections scheduled for next year. Mikati, a businessman tycoon from the northern city of Tripoli and one of the richest men in Lebanon, was tasked with forming a new government in July. He is widely considered to be part of the same political class that brought the country to bankruptcy. He served as prime minister in 2005 and from 2011 to 2013. It was not immediately clear what last-minute compromise resulted in the breakthrough Friday. The announcement of a new government comes after recent U.S. and French pressure to form a Cabinet, after Lebanon’s economic unraveling reached a critical point with crippling shortages in fuel and medicine threatening to shut down hospitals, bakeries and the country’s internet.

  نظراً لتكرار مقولة الوزير الملك في حكومة سعد الحريري الاولى التيشكلها عام ٢٠٠٩ خلال ولايتي، يقتضي الايضاح انها غير صحيحة ولم يعين الشخص المقصود كوزيرملك ولكنه اتخذ موقف الاستقالة بصورة مفاجئة لم تكن متوقعة. الحقيقة انه عندما ابديت رغبتي بتعيين وزير شيعي ووزير سني بالاضافة الى ثلاث وزراء مسيحيين رحب الرئيس المكلفسعد الحريري بالفكرة […]

By Fatima Al Mahmoud — thenationalnews.com — Lebanon’s economic crisis may have put a cap on people’s foreign-currency deposits, but not their creativity. Lbnb, Lebanon’s answer to Airbnb, was created by hospitality designer and architect Nagi El Husseini, 43, to salvage the hard-hit services sector. While the online platform looks a lot like the international equivalent, it charges in Lebanese pounds and serves as a marketplace for homestays, holiday rentals and tourism.

Lbnb’s Lebanese pound denomination gets around the limits on foreign currency cash withdrawals and online spending imposed by Lebanese banks. The restrictions came into effect in the summer of 2019 as Lebanon’s economic crisis began – the value of the Lebanese pound lost more than 80 per cent of its value in a matter of weeks, banks halted withdrawals and limited spending in foreign currencies. US dollars – once used in tandem with the pound – became scarce as the country’s foreign reserves dried up. “Because of the financial crisis, people could not use Airbnb anymore,” Mr El Husseini told The National. “So we created a Lebanese Airbnb where everything is in Lebanese.” The goal, Mr El Husseini said, is to encourage property owners who have spare rooms or houses to put them up for rent and earn a side income. The platform also aims to promote local travel in major Lebanese cities and offbeat villages. “Our motto is travel local, pay local,” he said. “We’re not competing with Airbnb. We’re complementing it and trying to fill the gaps in the market.”

سجعان قزي

@AzziSejean

لم تَنتظر إيران الاتّصالَ بين رئيسِها الجديد إبراهيم رئيسي والرئيس إيمانويل ماكرون، لتُدركَ مدى حَظْوَتِـها لدى فرنسا. منذ العهودِ الملكيّةِ والحَمَلاتِ الصَليبيّة، وبلادُ فارس جُزءٌ من الذاكرةِ التاريخيّةِ الفرنسيّة. الملِكُ لويس الرابع عشر استقبلَ في 19 شباط 1715 سفيرَ السلطان حسين صَفَويّ في قصر ڤرساي. فلاسفةٌ ورحّالةٌ وأدباءُ وشعراءُ فرنسيّون كتبوا بإعجابٍ عن تلك البلادِ التي “لا تَنتشرُ في مروجِها سوى الورود” (ديدْرو)، و”بَلاطُ سلطانِها يَفوحُ عظمةً أكثرَ من البابِ العالي العثماني” (ڤولتير).

وإذا كان الفرنسيّون انتظروا حَملةَ بونابرت إلى مِصر سنةَ 1798 ليُبالوا مباشرةً بالتراثِ المصري، فاكتِراثُهم ببلادِ فارس تنامى منذ القرنِ السادسَ عَشَرَ، وتعَزَّزَ في القرونِ التالية، لاسيّما في عصرِ الأنوارِ مع ڤولتير ومونتسكيو وديدْرو وشاردان وغالان، إلخ… لكنَّ السياسةَ لم تواكِبْ المسارَ الأدبيَّ، ففرنسا كانت مرتبِطةً باتّفاقاتٍ وامتيازاتٍ مع العثمانيّين، من بينِها الحقُّ في حمايةِ مسيحيّي الشرق. ولـمّا أقدَم الملِكُ لويس الثالثَ عَشَر نحو سنةِ 1640على عقدِ اتفاقاتٍ تجاريّةٍ مع الشاه عباس الصَفَويّ وضَمّنَها حقَّ حمايةِ مسيحيّي بلادِ فارس، أفْشلَها العثمانيّون.

كَوّنَ المجتمعُ الفرنسيُّ، السياسيُّ والنخبويُّ، هذه الصورةَ شِبهَ الرومانسيّة لأنه تَعرّف على بلادِ فارس من خلال الأدباءِ والرحَّالةِ الّذين كتبوا عن أُبَّـهةِ سلاطينِها وانفتاحِ شعبِها، عن قِبابِ جوامِعها الزرقاءِ والسمراء، عن البذخِ والليالي الصباحيّة، عن قِصصِ “ألفِ ليلةٍ وليلة”، عن شِهْرَذاد وشَهْرِيار. حتى أنَّ ممثّلِي فرنسا وتوسكانا حاولوا إقناعَ أميرِ جبلِ لبنان، فخرالدين المعني الثاني، بالتحالفِ مع الفرس سنتَي 1607 و1634، فتَحفّظَ خَشيةَ إثارةِ العثمانيّين الّذين وسّعُوا سُلطةَ المعنـيِّين مِن أعالي الشُوفِ حتّى صيدا ومُحيطِها الجَنوبيّ لمُراقَبةِ صَفَوِيِّي البِقاع الشَّماليّ وشِيعةِ بَني عامل في الجَنوب ومَنعِ اتصالِـهم بإيران.

ظلّت صورةُ بلادِ فارس جميلةً في مخيّلةِ الفرنسيّين إلى أن راحَ المؤرِّخون والباحِثون يَتناولون الوجهَ العسكريَّ والدمويَّ للإمبراطوريّاتِ الفارسيّةِ واضْطِهادَهم مسيحيّي جورجيا والأرمن، واجتياحَهم أفغانستان وشعوبًا أخرى في آسيا الوسطى. رغم ذلك، ظلَّ الفرنسيّون يتمايَلون بين بلادِ فارس الحضارةِ والآداب، وبلادِ فارس الحربِ والعنف. لم تَحسِمْ فرنسا خِيارَها النهائيَّ حتّى بعد انتصارِ الثورةِ الخمينيّة سنةَ 1979 لأنّ هناكَ بلادَ فارس أخرى هي آبارُ النَّفطِ والمشاريعُ الكبرى والأسواقُ التجاريّةُ الواسعة.

Egypt’s petroleum minister said today he hoped to export Egyptian gas as soon as possible to Jordan to generate power that will supply Lebanon, Reuters reports. The minister made his remarks after a meeting in Jordan that also included his Lebanese, Syrian and Jordanian counterparts. The meeting was held to discuss a US-backed plan to […]

Beirut – Asharq Al-Awsat A new book by Journalist Abdul-Sattar Ellaz, to be published soon by Dar Riyad Al-Rayes for Books and Publishing, recounts the details of the difficult period during which Tammam Salam assumed the premiership of the Lebanese government – the last under the tenure of President Michel Suleiman and which continued during the presidential vacuum that lasted two and a half years before the election of President Michel Aoun. The book narrates the main obstacles that Salam faced during his tenure, during which he spent more than ten months seeking to form a government of “national interest,” and two years and ten months leading a government that assumed the responsibilities of the presidency with the failure to elect a new president. Asharq Al-Awsat publishes excerpts from one of the book’s chapters entitled, “When We Make Our Brothers Enemies”, which touched on the difficulties that Salam’s government faced in the relations with Arab countries, due to Hezbollah’s role and its interference in the internal affairs of Gulf states, in addition to the positions of then-Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, which were biased towards Iran.

Salam talks to journalist Ellaz about the difficulties he faced due to these interventions, and the negative role played by Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement. He says: “I am from a school that considers politics to be a noble act that has its moral obligations, such as integrity, transparency, and clean hands that must precede other requirements related to knowledge, experience, and administrative competence. I believe that the maneuvers, alliances, and deceptions that political action may involve must stop when they reach the level of harming the higher national interest.” He continues: “Despite my knowledge of the corridors of Lebanese politics, which I accumulated over the years of experience in public work, I was shocked by the performance of these forces that surpassed all national ceilings and proscriptions for the sake of partisan interests.” Asked by the journalist about more details, Salam says: “The Aounists in particular crossed all boundaries and used all means to reach their political goal that is General Michel Aoun assuming the presidency; even if this led to obstructing the state affairs at the expense of the citizens’ interests.”