by reuters — BEIRUT (Reuters) -Saudi Arabia announced on Friday a ban on imports of fruits and vegetables from Lebanon, blaming an increase in drug smuggling, in a measure that will add to Lebanon’s economic woes. Lebanon is already in the throes of a deep financial crisis that is posing the biggest threat to its stability since the 1975-1990 civil war. Its agriculture minister said the move was a “great loss” and that the trade was worth $24 million a year. The Lebanese foreign ministry said it had been informed of the ban through the Saudi embassy and the foreign minister had relayed it to top officials. “Lebanese authorities must exert utmost efforts to control all smuggling operations … to prevent harm to innocent citizens, farmers, industrialists and the Lebanese economy,” the Lebanese foreign ministry statement said.

The ban will take effect from 9:00 a.m. local time on Sunday. Saudi customs authorities at Jeddah had foiled an attempt to smuggle in more than 5.3 million Captagon pills, a type of amphetamine, hidden in pomegranate shipments from Lebanon, said Mohammed bin Ali al-Naim, undersecretary for security affairs at Saudi Customs, according to Saudi Arabia’s SPA news agency. Lebanon’s caretaker interior minister Mohamed Fahmy told Reuters Lebanon was ready to cooperate with all states to stop drug smuggling and that it had already been exerting “tremendous efforts” but that sometimes smugglers might succeed. One Lebanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the ban appeared to be political. “The export of Lebanese vegetables and fruits to the Gulf countries and especially the kingdom was one of the few doors that were still open to bring dollars into the country. Closing this import line increases pressure on Lebanon,” he said.

ذا كنا لا نستطيع منع التهريب بشكل عام ومنع توزيع الكبتاغون وتصدير الاذى الى شباب العالم فكيف نشرع الحشيشة لاهداف طبية كمخرج لتعزيز النمو الاقتصادي … المكتوب يقرأ من عنوانه

BEIRUT, Lebanon, by Dalal Saoud (UPI) — Lebanon is seeking a quick resumption of U.S.-mediated negotiations over its maritime border dispute with Israel, putting on hold new claims to more offshore territory and resorting to arbitration by inviting international experts to step in, according to Lebanese officials and experts. Israel is being asked to refrain from all exploration activity in the disputed area, potentially rich in oil and gas. The move, which came against a backdrop of changing positions by Lebanon caused mostly by political bickering, different delimitation methods and negotiation tactics, was meant to end the impasse in the indirect talks and reach a deal over the disputed area. Lebanon spent 10 years in negotiations to reach a U.S.-mediated framework agreement that paved the way for unprecedented talks with Israel last October.

But the negotiations were suspended after four rounds when the Lebanese delegation, made up of Army generals and experts, presented a new map that would add 550 square miles (referred to as line 29) to the disputed 330 square mile area (referred to as line 23) of the Mediterranean Sea that each side claims is within their own exclusive economic zones. Debt-stricken Lebanon is in dire need of proceeding with oil and gas discoveries that could help overcome its economic woes. Its negotiations with Israel, which has developed offshore natural gas rigs, “have potential to unlock significant economic benefits for Lebanon,” U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs David Hale said during a visit to Beirut last week.

سجعان قزي وزير سابق  @AzziSejean 

منذ سنةِ 1633 وكاتدرائيّةُ الكبوشيّين في ڤيينا تَضُمُّ أضْرحةَ آل هابسْبورغ أباطرةِ النمسا/هنغاريا. وكانت لجنازاتِـهم طقوسٌ خاصّة: عندَ بلوغِ جُثمان الإمبراطور بابَ الكاتدرائيّةِ الـمُقفَلَ، يَسألُ راهبٌ من الداخل: “مَن الآتي؟” فيُجيبُ ضابطٌ: “أنا الإمبراطورُ الفُلاني…” ويَسرُدُ ألقابَ الإمبراطورِ كاملةً. فيَـرُدّ الراهب: “لا نَعرِفُه، مَن الآتي؟” فيُكرِّرُ الضابطُ الجواب: “أنا الإمبراطور الفلاني…” ويُعدِّدُ الألقابَ مختَصرَةً. فيعودُ الراهبُ ويقول للمرّةِ الثالِثة: “لا نعرِفُه، مَن الآتي؟” حينئذٍ يُعلن الضابط: “أنا الإنسانُ الخاطئُ الحقير”. فيَفتحُ الراهبُ البابَ ويتمُّ إِدخالُ النعش.

لا مكانَ للـــ”أَنا” أمامَ الله ولا أمامَ الشعب. ما قيمةُ أمجادِ المناصبِ تجاه اللهِ خالقِ الكونِ، وإزاءَ الشعبِ اللبنانيِّ مصدرِ السلطات (مبدئيًّا). أخَذوا على رئيسِ الجمهوريّةِ قولَه: “أنا ميشال عون”، وتَناسَوا أنَّ هذه الــ”أنا” تَنتشرُ أيضًا بين أركانِ المنظومةِ السياسيّةِ، القديمةِ والمخَضرَمةِ والمستَحدَثة. لدى الزعماءِ الفاشلين قبل الناجِحين. ولدى الـمُعقَّدين قبل الصفائيّين. لدى الّذين صُنِعوا وَهُمْ لا شيءَ قبلَ الّذين صَنَعوا وَهُمْ شيءٌ ما. الــ”أَنا” موجودةٌ كذلك بوَفرةٍ في عددٍ من أحزابِنا ومؤسّساتِنا. هي الديكتاتوريّةُ الـمُضْمَرةُ في الديمقراطيةِّ المعلَنةِ. وأصلًا، الديمقراطيّةُ في لبنان فَشِلَت لأنَّ الديمقراطيّةَ عمومًا هي نظامٌ تَسلْسُليٌّ مترابِطٌ يَسقُطُ بكاملِه حين تَنقطعُ حَلْقةٌ من حلَقاتِه. ولأنَّ أحزابَنا انتَقلَت بــــ”أناها” الديكتاتوريّةِ إلى الدولةِ، وحتّى إلى المعارضَة، عَطَّلت ديمقراطيّتَها. أنّى لدولةٍ أن تكونَ ديمقراطيّةً وأحزابُها ديكتاتوريّة، خصوصًا أنَّ الديكتاتوريّةَ مثلُ الديمقراطيّةِ هما نزعةٌ نفسيّةٌ وثقافيّةٌ قبلَ أن تكونا نِظامًا دستوريًّا. وآخِرُ مثلٍ على ذلك “أَنا” القاضيةِ غادة عون، فـــــ”أناها” ليست “أناها” الشخصيّةَ بقدْرِ ما هي “أنا” بيئتِها السياسيّة.

By abouther.com — President Biden recently announced his nominations for the 11 members he has chosen to steer national security and law enforcement at the White House and across key agencies. And the American leader has tapped Christine S. Abizaid as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. It is one of the agencies the Biden administration is counting on to thwart a rise in terrorism. And If confirmed by the Senate, the Lebanese-American, a former Pentagon and White House official, would be the first woman to hold the post on a permanent basis.

Avril B. Haines, the Director of National Intelligence who oversees the counterterrorism centre, praised the choice. “Christy brings a command of counterterrorism issues, leadership acumen and enterprising approach that will enable her to effectively steer NCTC and lead the CT mission into the future,” he said in a statement. He also added, “Christy is an outstanding selection for this critical position, and I look forward to working with her to protect our nation.”

by english.aawsat.com — Suzanne Mouawad lived through Lebanon’s civil war and built a successful advertising business in the hopeful days after the fighting ended, but she says her country’s economic collapse is breaking her in a way that even missiles did not. Mouawad, 56, comes from a well-to-do background and previously led a privileged life, running her agency as well as a family-owned paper manufacturing business, taking frequent holidays abroad and receiving rent from properties she owns. Now, both the advertising and paper businesses have all but dried up, the tenants can no longer pay the rent, and she finds herself pondering the price of items in the supermarket during her weekly grocery shop. “I didn’t let Lebanon down. It let me down and it hurt me,” she said.

With no end in sight to economic and financial paralysis, Mouawad feels a hopelessness that was not there during the war, which broke out when she was 12 and lasted 15 years. “With war you get a couple of missiles falling one day and then the next day you pick up and you go back to school or back to work and you start producing and making money,” she said. “Now the money is being held at the banks and there is no work.” Stricken Lebanese banks, the biggest creditors to the bankrupt state, have locked customers out of their deposits under informal capital controls imposed without legislation since late 2019 when the country’s financial meltdown started. Any savings people had in Lebanese pounds have lost most of their value, while dollar deposits are inaccessible.

الاحداث- زار رئيس “حركة التغـيير” المحامي ايلي محفوض قبل ظهر اليوم الرئيس الأسبق للجمهورية العماد ميشال سليمان في دارته في اليرزة حيث سلّم محفوض سليمان نسخة عن المذكرة الأممية التي أعدّها مع فريق عمل متخصص وبعد اللقاء، قال محفوض: “إلتقيت الرئيس ميشال سليمان في إطار الجولة على القيادات السياسية التي نتفق معها على النظرة الواحدة وسلمته المذكرة الأممية خاصة وأن سليمان من السياسيين الواضحة مواقفهم لناحية الحياد خاصة أنه في عهده أطلق موضوع إعلان بعبدا . 

by NAJIA HOUSSARI — arabnews.com — Ghada Aoun has six criminal cases and 28 complaints against her Judge Ghada Aoun had been investigating the Mecattaf money exchange company and Societe Generale Bank for allegedly withdrawing US dollars from the market and shipping the funds abroad

BEIRUT: A Lebanese judge who defied a decision dismissing her from an investigation into possible currency export breaches was Tuesday referred to the Judicial Inspection Authority over her actions. Judge Ghada Aoun had been investigating the Mecattaf money exchange company and Societe Generale Bank for allegedly withdrawing US dollars from the market and shipping the funds abroad. She staged two raids on a currency exchange earlier this month, defying a decision from Public Prosecutor Judge Ghassan Oweidat to dismiss her from the case. There have been six criminal cases and 28 complaints filed against Aoun.

Lebanon’s Supreme Judicial Council met the judge on Tuesday, deciding to refer her to the authority and asking it to take the necessary measures. “Any investigation or judicial case will be followed up to the end by the competent judiciary whoever the judge may be and regardless of any considerations outside of the judicial framework,” the council said, emphasizing that judicial authority was exercised by all judges. “It is their responsibility to preserve and protect it, abide by their oath and not mix between their duty and issues that do not come in line with the nature of proper judicial work.” Aoun’s actions gained political traction when she was accompanied on one of the raids by supporters of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), the political party led by MP Gebran Bassil. A number of FPM supporters accompanied Aoun on Tuesday to the vicinity of the Justice Palace in Beirut. They waited for her on the street while she attended the council session, which lasted for 40 minutes and took place amid strict security measures taken by the army and Internal Security Forces.

By Joseph Haboush, Al Arabya — The number two official in Lebanon’s parliament Monday called on the Lebanese army to take over all state institutions and to dissolve the country’s constitution. “All Lebanese agree on the [transparency] of the Lebanese army … and I call on it to take the place of the president, parliament […]

By Kareem Chehayeb — middleeasteye.net — Ever since the Lebanese government appointed him as the army’s commander in March 2017, General Joseph Aoun has seldom commented on the country’s current affairs. But four years later, his voice has been getting louder. Speaking in a dimly lit auditorium last month, Aoun scolded the Lebanese government for cutting the army’s budget in a scathing speech. “Do they want the army or not? Do you want the army to stand on its own two feet or not?” said Aoun angrily, denouncing allegations from unnamed political officials that the military has wasted resources. “We reject anyone who places their hands on the rights of the soldiers.” There have been repeated waves of protests against the Lebanese political system over the past two years over its failure to control inflation and provide fundamental services to the population.

The local currency, the Lebanese lira, has been plummeting since late 2019. Once pegged at 1,500 to the dollar, it has since lost more than 80 percent of its value. Meanwhile, food prices are skyrocketing – by over 400 percent so far, faster than anywhere else on the planet. Lebanese soldiers, once working a rare job in the country that guarantees a semblance of economic security, now earn monthly salaries worth less than $120. That is roughly 25 percent of the cash-strapped country’s minimum wage. Uniform belts are tightening. In June, the army stopped serving meat to its staff. And in February, France delivered $60,000 of food aid to the military, which appears to contain only the basics: cooking oil, carbs and canned food. With the army feeling the effects of Lebanon’s economic crisis much like the rest of the country, the rancour in Aoun’s big statement was clear. The army is a victim of political slander campaigns, he claimed, aimed at destabilising the military and national security. “But to whose benefit?” he asked. “Breaking up the army means the end of the [Lebanese] entity.”