By NAJIA HOUSSARI — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Lebanese President Michel Aoun has approved an exceptional loan of up to LBP300 billion ($197 million) for the state electricity company to import fuel before supplies run out, according to an official statement. His approval came days before the country was due to experience a total power blackout. The hours for electricity rationing in various regions reached minimum levels on Monday morning, with supply to some areas no longer exceeding half an hour a day, and there were increased protests from people after generator owners hiked their service tariffs so that bills became more than LBP700,000 a month, whereas the minimum wage is LBP675,000 a month. The head of the General Confederation of Lebanese Workers in Lebanon, Bechara Al-Asmar, said that less than 5.51 percent of the population enjoyed the “blessing of electricity, fuel, communications and food in their palaces, not concerned with the daily deaths at the doors of hospitals, the oppression and the anger in people’s hearts every moment.” He warned of a “great explosion” that would spare nobody, no matter how high up they were or what position they occupied.

On May 28, the finance minister in the caretaker government, Ghazi Wazni, sent a request to the Banque du Liban (BDL) to open four credits worth $62 million to supply electricity production plants with fuel, but the BDL requested government approval. On Monday afternoon, Aoun agreed to issue the “exceptional approval” for the credits so that Electricite du Liban (EDL) could purchase fuel through the treasury advance. “The rationalization of subsidies will not currently include fuel or diesel used by generators,” a Finance Ministry source told Arab News. “It is currently limited to gasoline, along with medicines for incurable diseases and wheat, in order to ensure the continuation of pumping life into the arteries of the state.” The source also said that the BDL governor, Riad Salameh, had “reduced the reserves from $15 billion to $14 billion in order to be able to spend.”

By Agnes Helou — defensenews.com — BEIRUT — The Lebanese Navy expects to receive seven offshore patrol vessels, including four with help from France and three Protector-class OPVs that are part of U.S. military aid. “Currently, there is coordination with French shipbuilders to supply Lebanon with four OPV frigates, of 65- and 75-[meters] length each,” Navy Commander Senior Capt. Haissam Dannaoui, told Defense News recently. The French ships are not part of that country’s military assistance to Lebanon, he added, but they will be financed through a loan from France in accordance with the Rome 2 Conference, a 2018 ministerial meeting in Italy in support of Lebanon’s armed forces. France is expected to open a credit line of 400 million euros (about $488 million) to allow the Lebanese government to purchase French military equipment. “In regard to the specifications and cost of these vessels, we are still negotiating them, and we hope to reach an agreement soon,” Dannaoui responded June 3 to Defense News questions. In early May, the U.S. Defense Department notified Lebanon of planned delivery in 2022 of the three Protector-class patrol boats. The ships will help counter regional threats and keep maritime passages open, the U.S. State Department said May 21 in a statement after the first Defense Resourcing Conference to discusses deepening the two countries’ security collaboration.

Overall, the State Department announced $120 million in fiscal 2021 for Lebanon from the foreign military financing program, administered by the Defense Department. The amount increased $15 million from the year before. “These vessels will help protect the Lebanese coast and territorial waters. The Lebanese coast length is about 150 km, and patrol vessels will secure customs protection, prevent smuggling and illegal immigration, and the territorial waters against terrorist attacks,” said Lebanon Parliament member Wehbe Katicha, a retired Army general. He pointed out that the timing of receiving the vessels will facilitate securing the Lebanese oil exploration in the Mediterranean.

By Sunniva Rose — thenationalnews.com — The fiance of a 27-year-old firefighter who died in the Beirut port blast last August said he would distribute food parcels to the poor to mark their planned wedding day on Sunday. In an emotional Facebook post, Gilbert Karaan paid tribute to “heroine” Sahar Fares. “Our wedding cocktail will be to provide 100 food boxes in the two towns you loved the most, Jdeideh and Qaa – and some medical examinations for the elderly,” he wrote. Ms Fares, a paramedic, became a symbol of Lebanon’s trauma after the blast. She was the only woman in the team of 10 firefighters dispatched by the Beirut Fire Brigade to extinguish a fire raging at the port early evening on August 4.

All 10 firefighters were killed after rushing to the port to fight the warehouse fire, unaware that the burning building housed a dangerous cocktail of chemicals, including thousands of tonnes of ammonium nitrate. More than 200 people were killed and 6,000 injured in the explosion. Senior government officials, including President Michel Aoun, later admitted that they knew that the ammonium nitrate had been stored unsafely there for years. In media interviews in the aftermath of the explosion, Mr Karaan said he had been on the phone to his fiancee while she ran for cover after the fire intensified and stored items exploded. The line went dead as she ran. The couple had been planning their wedding at the time. Photographs posted by Mr Karaan alongside his Facebook message showed Ms Fares smiling and wearing a white dress.

by reuters — French prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation into money laundering allegations against Lebanon’s central bank governor, Agence France-Presse reported on Sunday. Riad Salameh is under investigation in relation to possible conspiracy and organised money-laundering, AFP said, citing a source with knowledge of the case. Salameh’s French lawyer Pierre-Olivier Sur dismissed the allegations as a politically motivated “communications operation” in a statement sent to Reuters by the bank governor on Sunday. Responding last month to the underlying legal complaint against him by anti-corruption group Sherpa, Salameh said he had demonstrated that his wealth had been acquired before he took up his bank post in 1993.

The French financial prosecutor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sherpa filed the complaint against Salameh in April, citing investments including millions of euros in property. Lebanon opened its own investigation in April following a Swiss legal request alleging that more than $300 million had been embezzled from the central bank via a company owned by Salameh’s brother. Salameh had no comment at the time when asked by Reuters about the opening of that investigation and actions related to it, including the sealing of his brother’s office and the confiscation of files.

dailystar.com.lb — BEIRUT: The Lebanese pound fell for a fifth day in a row Saturday, trading at LL13,500 against the dollar on the black market. Exchange dealers said they were buying the dollar for LL13,450 and selling it for LL13,550, compared to an average LL13,450 Friday. The pound has lost nearly 90 percent of its […]

By NADIM SHEHADI OLGA KAVRAN — arabnews.com — NEW YORK CITY / BEIRUT: With the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) facing a severe financial crisis and the threat of imminent shutdown, it is imperative to highlight the significance of its recent judgment and the critical importance of permitting the tribunal to complete its mandate. Shutting down the STL now, on the eve of its second major trial, would send a wrong and dangerous message with implications for international criminal justice as a whole and especially for Lebanon. Amid the continuing assassinations in Lebanon and the region, the STL is a unique demonstration of how a rules-based international order can act through multilateral initiatives as a force for justice. Such an institution would be difficult to create today, with tit-for-tat vetoes paralyzing decisions at the UN Security Council. Shutting the STL down, therefore, would be an irreversible decision, and the resulting damage would be unthinkable.

A new generation in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Palestine and around the region is calling for justice and accountability from its leadership and the international community. Backing the tribunal and the completion of its mandate supports these aspirations for a better future. The STL is needed more than ever and we should be discussing its expansion rather than its closure. It is the first tribunal of its kind to consider terrorism as an international crime. Trillions have been spent to battle terrorism; the international community cannot balk at a few million for the only instrument it has to fight terror legally. The STL issued its judgment on Aug. 18, 2020, more than 15 years after former prime minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination and just two weeks after the deadly Aug. 4 port blast. The judgment convicted Salim Ayyash, but stopped short of blaming Hezbollah or the Syrian government. While the verdict was found lacking and largely ignored in Lebanon, there have been continuous calls for international support to achieve justice and accountability for the many unaddressed crimes committed in the country, including the port explosion.

by Toufic Baaklini Richard Ghazal — nationalinterest.org — A defining news headline in the early days of the Biden administration is the president’s pledge to re-engage Iran in a nuclear deal. However, a very different discussion is taking place on Capitol Hill. In March, Senator Bob Menendez, Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Lindsey Graham led forty-one of their colleagues in a letter to President Joe Biden on Iran policy. The letter notes that while they disagree on the nuclear deal, they remain united on “addressing the wide range of illicit Iranian behavior,” and list Tehran’s support for Shia militias and terrorism across the region as priority items of concern. The Biden administration has made a commitment to work with Congress on matters of foreign policy. Harkening the bipartisan concern about Iran is an important place to start.

As the Washington Post’s David Ignatius recently noted, re-entering the Iran Nuclear Deal “isn’t an Iran policy. Biden should think bigger — and push back at a bullying regime that’s unpopular at home and feared abroad.” Hitting at Iran’s dangerous foreign policy is a necessary top priority. Iran is deadly ambitious to control the Shia Crescent, the predominantly Shia-controlled or populated areas including Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Bahrain, and Yemen. Iran falsely claims to serve the interests of these Shia communities, when in reality it seeks to exploit them in pursuit of its dangerous geopolitical vision, rooted in religious extremism, ancient concepts of civilizational warfare, and oppression of all dissidents. Biden can confront this by supporting traditional defense partners in the region, such as the Lebanese Armed Forces. However, this is only half of the picture.

By NAJIA HOUSSARI — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: A new documentary launched on Friday has revealed the poverty being experienced by the Lebanese, as the country continues to grapple with a deep economic and financial crisis as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. The documentary is from the major humanitarian agency CARE International and sheds light on the “complicated and dangerous circumstances” that the Lebanese are facing. Five people from Beirut and Tripoli are featured in the film, including 60-year-old Youssef Bitar who sleeps on the roadside, and dreams of a home-cooked meal and a roof over his head. He used to sell antiques in a popular Sunday market and had a good standard of living but, due to the lockdown, could not work or earn money. “Where do I go?” he asks. He has not showered for four months.

Chady, who is 16, left school and started working to support his father. “I earn LBP75,000 ($49.75) a week. I keep a small amount in order to buy juice and a sandwich on Sunday,” he said, his eyes tearing up. He sold his cellphone for LBP500,000 to give the money to his father. He dreams of neat clothes, a phone, a school, and a car. Bujar Hoxha, CARE Lebanon country director, said: “The documentary is trying to shed some light on the complicated and dangerous circumstances a large number of Lebanese families face these days. As the number of families below the poverty line increases day by day, our concern is growing and we see that the worst is yet to come.” Nadine, who lost her eyesight aged 11, said fruit and vegetable prices were extremely high and that she was scared “on a daily basis” of being unable to feed her children. “My neighbor and parish help me as well, but that does not make me feel safe. I dream of regaining my eyesight to see the features of my children’s faces.”

by 180post.com — Bechara Ghanem el Bone –

ما هي أهداف وأبعاد المبادرة البابوية الجديدة لعقد لقاء كنسي مسيحي لبناني جامع في الفاتيكان في الأول من تموز/ يوليو المقبل؟ وما هي أجواء التحضيرات وما هي النتائج  المتوخاة، داخلياً وخارجياَ؟ بكثير من التعجب والإستغراب تابعت الدوائر الفاتيكانية ردود الفعل والتعليقات التي رافقت إعلان البابا فرنسيس إستضافة اللقاء المسيحي الموسع لرؤساء الكنائس المسيحية في لبنان، ورأت أنها “جاءت متسرعة وتحمل الكثير من التأويلات والمغالطات البعيدة عن الواقع”. فبعد 48 ساعة على الإعلان البابوي، أبدت الأوساط المتابعة لملف العلاقات الفاتيكانية – اللبنانية في روما تحفظها وإستهجانها على ما أوردته بعض وسائل الاعلام وقالت إنه “من نسج الخيال وتنقصه الدقة والمعرفة”. وقد أعطت هذه الأوساط التوضيحات الآتية:

أولاً، العنوان: اليوم اللبناني الطويل والمميز الذي سيستضيفه البابا شخصياً سيحمل عنوان “معاً من أجل لبنان”. ثانياً، المشاركة: الدعوة وجهت إلى رؤساء الكنائس المسيحية في لبنان الكاثوليكية والأرثوذكسية والإنجيلية، وهي محصورة بالقيادات الدينية وليس هناك أي ممثل لأي فريق سياسي لبناني. ثالثاً، المسار: كشفت هذه الأوساط أن المبادرة لعقد هذا اللقاء تعود إلى بطريرك طائفة الأرمن الأرثوذكس في لبنان الكاثوليكوس أرام الأول الذي تواصل مع الفاتيكان وتولى سفير لبنان لدى الكرسي الرسولي فريد الياس الخازن مهمة المتابعة والتنسيق مع الدوائر الفاتيكانية بهدف تنفيذ هذه المبادرة والإعداد لتوجيه الدعوة البابوية. وقد بدأ التفكير بهذا المشروع بعد وقت قصير من حصول الإنفجار في مرفأ بيروت في آب/ أغسطس الماضي واستمرت الإتصالات البعيدة عن الأضواء عدة أشهر قبل إتخاذ قرار نهائي بشأن عقد اللقاء وكيفية ترجمته.

By Courtney Mares — cathlicnewsagency — Four patriarchs have already confirmed their attendance at the Vatican’s day of prayer for Lebanon hosted by Pope Francis. The pope announced earlier this week that he had invited the leaders of the main Christian communities in Lebanon to the Vatican on July 1 to “pray together for the gift of peace and stability.” Lebanon has faced a financial and political crisis for months, as politicians have failed to form a government to implement reforms after the devastating explosion in Beirut’s port last August. Archbishop Joseph Spiteri, the apostolic nuncio to Lebanon, has said that all the heads of the Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christian communities in Lebanon have been invited to the prayer meeting, which will be presided over by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica. These are the leaders who are expected to attend the Vatican’s day of prayer for Lebanon:

Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai As the Maronite Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, Cardinal Rai has served as the leader of Maronite Catholics, predominantly based in Lebanon, for more than 10 years. The Maronite Church is the largest of the Eastern Catholic Churches that are sui iuris, or self-governing, and in full communion with Rome. It celebrates the liturgy in Aramaic and Arabic according to the West Syriac Rite. The 81-year-old cardinal is an outspoken preacher, who has called on the country’s political leaders to “overcome the logic of partisan interests” and form a government to rescue the country. Rai met with Pope Francis at the Vatican in November and briefed the pope on the country’s “bitter economic crisis.”