By CALINE MALEK — arabnews.com — DUBAI: One Lebanese man has worked day and night since the devastating Beirut blast of Aug. 4 last year to ensure his lifetime’s work is salvaged from the rubble. In less than six months, Robert Paoli became the first trader to reopen a warehouse in the Port of Beirut Logistic Free Zone following the disaster. “I’ve worked in the freight-forwarding business all my life,” the 57-year-old told Arab News. “I always believed in Lebanon from the beginning, and I worked very hard to create my units in the free zone here.” Beirut’s strategic location on the Eastern Mediterranean coastline made the port a thriving economic asset. But all that changed one Tuesday afternoon when a nearby warehouse containing nearly 3,000 tons of highly volatile ammonium nitrate caught fire. The resulting two explosions sent an enormous shockwave through the port and surrounding districts — taking Paoli’s warehouses with it.

Paoli had spent upward of $1.5 million and poured years of hard work into his new warehouse, which had been due to open for business in just a matter of weeks. All types of goods were already stored there, from electrical appliances and tires to chemical agents. Recalling that horrific day, Paoli said he was lucky to have left his office early, a decision necessitated by COVID-19 restrictions in place at the Logistic Free Zone. As he joined his son for a game of tennis at his club 20 minutes out of town, Paoli received an alarming phone call from a friend about a fire at the port. “Having three units there and a new warehouse in the Karantina area very close to the port, I was anxious” Paoli said. “My other friend who lived across the port couldn’t see anything. But five minutes later, I heard the explosion.” The blast was heard as far away as in Cyprus, at a distance of more than 200 kilometers. About 210 people were killed and 7,500 injured as the shockwave flattened nearby buildings and overturned vehicles. Robert Paoli has spent millions rebuilding devastated warehouse units after the Beirut explosion on August 4, 2020. (Supplied) “I thought a bomb had hit my club,” Paoli said. “We were far away, but it floored us and the windows broke.”

By Dalal Saoud — upi.com — BEIRUT, Lebanon, (UPI) — Lebanon, which has been relying heavily on migrant workers in recent decades, is no longer an attractive destination for them. With the Lebanese pound losing 90% of its value and U.S. dollars scarce, migrant workers have departed in large numbers, leaving behind once well-off employers who are struggling to make ends meet. The comfortable lifestyle enjoyed after the 1975-90 civil war came to an abrupt end with the outbreak of the country’s worst economic crisis in October 2019. The number of migrant workers — who handled low-skilled jobs that Lebanese never accepted, such as porters, concierges, house cleaners and gas pump operators — has been declining rapidly.

According to Information International, a Beirut-based research and consultancy firm, the Lebanese General Security issued 9,780 work permits in 2020 compared to 57,957 the previous year, a decrease of 83 percent. The number of workers from Ghana dropped by 93.9%, the Philippines by 86.3%, Bangladesh by 85.3% and Egypt by 79.2 %. The cause is clear: Lebanese who have lost their jobs and savings at the banks and employers who were forced to close their businesses are no longer able to pay their migrant workers in hard currency with the depreciation of the Lebanese pound. The alarming spread of COVID-19 in the country and hyperinflation added to the plight. Late last year, the evacuation of migrant workers accelerated, with Ethiopia and Sri Lanka sending planes to repatriate their national workers, mostly housekeepers, many of whom had been abandoned by their employers.

by aljazeera.com — France’s foreign minister has cranked up pressure on Lebanese leaders to form a government, urging them in personal phone calls for an immediate halt to what he called “deliberate obstruction” that is driving the country towards collapse. Jean-Yves Le Drian called Lebanese President Michel Aoun, acting Prime Minister Saad Hariri, and parliament speaker Nabih Berri and deplored the seven months of political deadlock that is worsening Lebanon’s economic crisis, according to a statement from the foreign minister’s office on Monday. “The deliberate obstruction of any prospect of an exit from the crisis … by demands that are unreasonable and out-of-date must immediately halt,” it said. “The time has come to strengthen pressure” to end the blockage, it added. Last week, talks between Aoun and Hariri on the formation of a new cabinet broke down. Le Drian is also asking European counterparts to join the push for action. Last year French President Emmanuel Macron proposed a road map to break the political impasse in the former French protectorate.

Worst economic crisis

By Tawfiq Nasrallah — gulfnews.com —Dubai: Lebanon’s food prices have become the highest in the Middle East and North African region, as inflation rates continued to soar amid one of the country’s worst economic crises to date, Al Arabiya reported. According to the World Bank periodic assessment of the repercussions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic on food price inflation in the MENA region, it was found out that between February 14, 2020 and March 8, 2021, prices in Lebanon surged across all food categories. The country’s inflation rate in 2020 rose to almost 85 per cent, Lebanese media reported, adding that it hit its highest point since 1992. By the end of 2020, inflation stood at 145.8 per cent. The World Bank assessed food prices of five main food categories in 19 different countries across the region, including carbohydrates, fruits, meats, dairy products and vegetables.

Fresh and frozen cattle meat prices jumped by 110 per cent during the assessment period, indicating the highest increase in price for this item in the region. Lebanon, Syria, and Djibouti were the only three countries to record a rise of over 35 per cent in this category. The average price increase in this category across the rest of the region was 11 per cent. The price of eggs increased by an average of 7 per cent for the rest of the region while Lebanon, Djibouti, Iran, Syria and Yemen saw a rise of more than 20 per cent in the price of eggs. Potato prices in Lebanon rose by just over 71 per cent, accounting for the highest in MENA while the prices of frozen chicken rose by 68.4 per cent. The World Bank also found that the prices of apples and oranges in the country grew by 58.2 and 58.4 per cent respectively.

by arabianbusiness.com — Born during Lebanon’s civil war, the Barbar restaurant is now expanding from its humble beginnings across the Gulf, bringing the popular Beiruti street food to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The 43-year-old Barbar will open its doors on Dubai’s Hessa Street around mid-May. In partnership with Kitch, the iconic Beirut restaurant will further expand in the GCC with eight restaurants and cloud kitchens planned for the UAE and 20 in Saudi Arabia, four of which will start operating in Riyadh in the second quarter of this year. Kitch said it will also open two Barbar restaurants in Qatar by the beginning of 2022. Mohammad Ghaziri launched Barbar in 1979 during the Lebanese civil war as a small manouche bakery in front of the famous Piccadilly theatre in the heart of Beirut. Within the first few years of opening, the restaurant gained fame and was visited by singers, artists, and celebrities who performed at the theatre.

Barbar remained open for the remainder of the war and continues to remain open 24/7, though it briefly shut its doors during government-mandated coronavirus lockdowns. Today, Barbar is regarded as a tourist attraction. Out of the 700 items on Barbar’s Beirut menu, 160 menu items will make the trip to the GCC in a condensed version of the menu which still includes shawarma, falafel, barbecue, some cocktails and staple sandwiches. Hybrid cloud kitchen concept Kitch targets GCC growth after Saudi, UAE launch “Choosing from 700 items is not an easy task, but the most important thing is providing the same experience for consumers here that is found in Lebanon in terms of the quality of food, the variety, the most popular items and the overall service,” said Walid Hajj, co-founder and CEO of Kitch. Keeping the Beirut feel Similar to the Beirut version, regional Barbar will be within the affordable price range but Hajj invoked the Big Mac index to illustrate that prices will be based on what is considered reasonable in the country of operation.

By NAJIA HOUSSARI — arabnews.com — . BEIRUT: Lebanon’s impoverished prisons could be hit by rioting and widespread unrest if overcrowding and hunger among inmates worsens, observers warn. The claim by prisoner representatives and human rights delegates comes as Lebanon’s economic crisis leads to a collapse in many state institutions. Hunger, as well as diseases linked to malnutrition and hygiene, are a growing issue in Lebanese prisons, especially those in poorer areas, where many prisoners rely on their families for food and medical care. Prisoners fear they are being “left behind” as the country’s economic and fiscal woes cut the value of the minimum wage by almost 90 percent, plunging many communities into poverty. Mohammed Sablouh, a lawyer and prison committee rapporteur at Tripoli’s Bar Association, told the parliamentary human rights committee that “hunger has found its way into Roumieh prison.” Roumieh, the country’s central prison facility, is considered better than other prisons in the governorates.

Sablouh told Arab News that the prison kitchen normally feeds about 800 inmates with no outside support, while the remaining prisoners receive money from their families to buy food from the prison’s store. However, the country’s economic crisis meant that most of the prisoners — about 3,200 — now depend on prison meals after the prices of goods in the prison’s store increased and most families were unable to provide the inmates with enough money. Sablouh added: “The quantity of food provided by the prison kitchen has decreased dramatically, and meat has disappeared.” Fruit is also scarce, he said. “Two inmates now share an apple. Dairy products have been replaced with jam — what can a diabetic inmate do?”

By Naharnet –– The United States and the European Union are reportedly expected to discuss the controversial situation in Lebanon during a virtual meeting on Monday, Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Saturday. The daily quoted prominent sources who said the meeting will be held through a ‘Zoom’ meeting on Monday, and will address the “Lebanese […]

by AP — BEIRUT — Lebanon’s private sector is stepping in to speed up the vaccination campaign against coronavirus by importing at least 1 million doses of Russian vaccines, with the aim of reopening businesses around the country hit by an unprecedented economic crisis. The first batch of 50,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccines arrived early Friday, making Lebanon one of few nations where the COVID-19 vaccine rollout is being boosted by private sector initiatives. Lebanon, a small nation of six million people including around one million Syrian refugees, began its inoculation campaign in mid-February after finalizing a deal for some two million doses with Pfizer. According to Lebanese Health Ministry, the country has so far received 224,640 Pfizer-BioNTech doses over the past six weeks with nearly 100,000 doses already administered. Lebanon’s government also began receiving AstraZeneca vaccines this week, with 33,600 doses that arrived on Wednesday. The Pfizer vaccines are funded by the World Bank while AstraZeneca vaccines will be provided under the U.N.-backed COVAX program.

Lebanon is currently in the grips of the worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history, which has been exacerbated by the lockdown measures related to the pandemic. Tens of thousands have lost their jobs and the local currency has lost 90 per cent of its value against the dollar, leading to inflation and shortages in food products and medicines. According to the World Bank, more than half the population is now living under the poverty line. Jacques Sarraf, a Lebanese businessman and head of the Lebanese Russian Business Council, said he hoped the import of the Russian vaccines would help safely reopen businesses around the country. “Our first target will be private companies, factories, banks — and this is important to reactivate institutions,” he told The Associated Press in an interview. Sarraf, who played a major role in bringing the Sputnik V vaccines to Lebanon, said priority will be given for employees at companies and business institutions, including those of Lebanon’s national carrier Middle East Airlines and the Banking Association. He added that with the private sector moving in, the numbers of people inoculated daily will multiply by more than three times compared with the current pace. Sarraf said the Sputnik V will be sold at a price of $38 for the required two doses, in addition to hospital fees. The minimum monthly salary in Lebanon is currently 675,000 Lebanese pounds, the equivalent of about $60.

By By Masood Farivar – voa.com — A former U.S. military translator pleaded guilty Friday of divulging classified information to a Lebanese national with suspected ties to the Lebanese Hezbollah. Mariam Taha Thompson, 63, who worked as a contract linguist for the U.S. military from 2006 to 2020, pleaded guilty to one count of delivering […]

by reuters — The U.S. ambassador to Beirut called on Lebanese politicians on Thursday to set aside their differences to rescue the country from its many crises, after months of wrangling that has blocked agreement on a new government. She joined a chorus of foreign officials urging fractious leaders to agree on a cabinet to […]