The Daily Star BEIRUT: Washington remains committed to assisting the Lebanese Army, the U.S. defense secretary said Saturday. U.S. military aid to Lebanon has been a point of contention as some argue that it is benefitting Iran-backed Hezbollah. “In terms of security assistance, we’ve committed a lot to the Lebanese Armed Forces and we will […]

by aljazeera.com — Timour Azhari — Beirut, Lebanon – Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Saad Hariri has said he is charting a new political path from within his party after a 2016 deal with President Michel Aoun that brought him to power became “history”. “I’m here, I’m not going anywhere; I’m staying in my country, in my house among my family and in political work,” Hariri said on Friday, in his first public speech since resigning on October 29 amid widespread protests against a ruling elite blamed for corruption and steering the country into an acute financial crisis. Addressing a crowd of thousands of supporters outside his residence in the capital, Beirut Lebanon’s leading Sunni politician said he had received criticism from within his party over the past months and acknowledged “shortcomings” – but said “the decision now is to enact change”.

“The Future Movement will remain,” he said, referring to his party. His comments came during a public event to mark the 15th anniversary of the assassination of his father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Rafik Hariri was killed along with 21 others when a massive bomb exploded as his convoy passed through the centre of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, on February 14, 2005. Prosecutors at The Hague-based Special Tribunal for Lebanon investigating Hariri’s assassination have said that the Syrian government was at the heart of the plot, which was carried out by members of the pro-Iran Hezbollah group. Damascus and Hezbollah have denied involvement. A ruling in the case is expected this year. In defence of ‘Haririism’ Members of the leaderless protest movement, as well as Hariri’s political opponents, have pointed to the policies of Hariri’s father – termed “political Haririism” and dating back to 1992 – as the source of Lebanon’s massive economic woes today. The country is saddled by the third-largest debt burden in the world as a percentage of its gross domestic product and is facing the worst financial crisis in its history, which may soon push it to default on debt repayments. Much of Friday’s event was dedicated to responding to these claims. A video aired at the beginning of the commemoration blamed Lebanon’s dire situation on a “series of obstructions” carried out by Lebanese parties allied with Syria over the years.

Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Lebanese central bank has set an interest rate cap of 4% on dollar bank deposits and a cap of 7.5% on Lebanese pound deposits, according to a circular reported by several major Lebanese news outlets on Thursday. The circular, published by al-Jadeed, LBC and MTV, set a […]

by thenational.ae — Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Thursday pledged not to run in the future parliamentary elections or support any candidates. Deputy Prime Minister Zeina Akar and the other 18 members of Cabinet also signed up to Mr Diab’s pledge not to run in the next election. The current administration is a departure in Lebanon where the bulk of ministers are usually also MPs. In recent years, discussions have been raised about having a government not also elected to parliament as it prevents one body overseeing the work of the other. However, many senior figures – including former prime minister and Future Movement head Saad Hariri or former foreign minister and Free Patriotic Movement head Gibran Bassil – served multiple times in both chambers. No elections are scheduled until 2022 although some have suggested that a vote should be held early given mass anger on the streets since October.

Mr Diab stated his Cabinet’s plan to astain from standing on January 21. “There are no MPs [in the government], and no candidates for the next parliamentary elections,” he said. His would be “a government of specialists that will only be held accountable to the language of science, reason and expertise and the interest of the nation,” he added. Months of anti-government protests have rocked Lebanon, with demonstrators calling for a change in political leadership.

by bbc.com — Japanese carmaker Nissan has filed a civil lawsuit against its former chairman, Carlos Ghosn. The suit, filed at Yokohama District Court, seeks an initial amount of $90m (£69.5m). The company said it aims “to recover a significant part of the monetary damages inflicted on the company by its former chairman”. Mr Ghosn, who faces financial misconduct charges in Japan, said the firm’s “manoeuvres” were continuing. He is currently in Lebanon after jumping bail in Japan.

He said in response to the lawsuit: “Nissan’s manoeuvres continue: this complaint is made public on the eve of the Japanese group’s financial results. “We note that after months of announcing damages of 35 billion yen, Nissan is now claiming 10 at the moment. Mr Ghosn’s lawyers will react on the merits of the case once the content of the claim has been brought to their attention.” Nissan said it expects the amount claimed in damages to “increase in future” as it seeks to recover fines it expects to have to pay to regulators because of Mr Ghosn’s alleged misconduct. The company also said that it may pursue separate legal action over what it called “groundless and defamatory” remarks made by Mr Ghosn in a news conference he held in Beirut. At the conference, Mr Ghosn said: “My unimaginable ordeal is the result of a handful of unscrupulous, vindictive individuals.”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund stands ready to provide advice and technical assistance to Lebanon in its efforts to avoid a financial collapse, a spokesman for the global lender said, confirming the government had asked for help. “We stand ready to assist the authorities,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said in a statement. “Any decisions on debt are the authorities’, to be made in consultation with their own legal and financial advisers.”

by Arab news –NAJIA HOUSSARI – BEIRUT: Senior Lebanese politicians are expected to refuse to pay an external debt on time and are seeking technical assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Lebanese President Michel Aoun said: “The financial and economic crises that Lebanon suffers from can no longer be solved easily and have necessitated relatively harsh measures for the Lebanese, and the cost today is higher than before.” On Wednesday, Aoun warned that “everyone who reached out to the treasury will be tried according to the law before a special court specializing in financial crimes against public money.”

By NAJIA HOUSSARI — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: The streets of Beirut erupted in fury once more on Tuesday as protesters tried to block members of parliament from holding a vote to approve the government of new Prime Minister Hassan Diab. Riot police fired tear gas and water cannon, and demonstrators lobbed rocks at security forces and hurled eggs and paint at MPs and ministers as they arrived at parliament. Protesters tore down walls to use stones as missiles, and set fire to a branch of one of Lebanon’s biggest banks, BLOM. Flames engulfed the building as demonstrators smashed the facade and furniture. At least 370 people were injured in the clashes, and 45 were treated in hospital. One MP, Salim Saadeh of the Syrian Social National Party, suffered head injuries when protesters smashed up his car. He was treated at the American University Hospital, before returning to parliament to vote with a swelling on his forehead and around his left eye. Protesters also pelted the cars of ministers Damianos Kattar and Ghazi Wazni with stones and eggs. The Minister of Public Works and Transport, Michel Najjar, traveled to parliament on the pillion seat of a motorcycle.

In the end, the protest failed — the vote of trust in the new government went ahead, with 63 voting in favour, 20 voting against, and one abstention. Nevertheless, the protesters, many of whom had slept overnight in freezing temperatures in Riad El-Solh and Martyrs Squares, had made their point. “People are suffering and the government is not listening,” said demonstrator Lama Tabbara, 34. “It takes a long time to uproot an old rotten tree, and that’s what the government represents.” Another protester, Christopher, 26, said: “We are here to reject Diab’s government and to say that the Lebanese people have no confidence in it — even if MPs vote to support it.” He said the new ministers may appear to be qualified but they still depended on “the parties that destroyed the country.”

by naharnet — Maronite Archbishop of Beirut Boulos Abdul Sater on Sunday noted that “a true leader is one who resists the naturalization (of refugees) and one who chooses to leave rather than disappoint or harm his people.” “A true leader is not one who believes that the country is a property for him and […]

by themedialine.org — DIMA ABUMARIA — One critic says that with so much poverty, few today talk about ‘resistance’ against Israel, the Iran-backed Shi’ite group’s primary raison d’etre Anti-government protestors continued to take to the streets of Beirut over the weekend, declaring their lack of confidence in the country’s new prime minister, Hassan Diab, and his cabinet. As the new government’s biggest backer, the Iran-backed Hizbullah movement is seeing its popularity wane and possibly losing its legitimacy as a resistance movement. “The government failed before it even started,” Ali Amin, a Lebanese analyst and journalist who writes for the London-based Al-Arab newspaper, told The Media Line, explaining that people were revolting against an entire political system but were given a new government with the same platform and same political powers. “Hizbullah is a key party in forming this new government and is perhaps its primary backer, as [the government] could never have been formed without Hizbullah’s support for its leader and members,” he said. “The ongoing battle here is between the new government and the street, which rejects it and is expressing this through protests.”

The protests have been taking place since mid-October, when people rose up against a new tax on the use of internet-based communications programs like Whatsapp. The protests widened to express a deep dissatisfaction with economic mismanagement, corruption and sectarianism. Under relentless pressure, Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri resigned on October 29. But since the beginning, demonstrators have vowed not to leave the streets until there is a government of experts rather than politicians who merely represent the country’s many ethnic and religious groups. Amin adds that Lebanon is expected to witness a wave of new demonstrations on Tuesday as the parliament gathers for a vote of confidence in the new government, noting that the majority of lawmakers are in the sway of Hizbullah and its allies.

Bloomberg/Beirut — Some foreign holders of Lebanon’s Eurobonds are expressing support for a government debt restructuring as the clamour grows among local politicians to skip a payment due in weeks. At a private meeting days ago with government representatives, a number of foreign funds that own Lebanese sovereign bonds, including a $1.2bn note due March 9, argued that the crisis-ridden country would be better off restructuring rather than paying its debt, said a person familiar with the matter, declining to identify the investors. In a suggestion that the fallout can be contained, they said Lebanon’s bonds were already discounted on their balance sheets, according to the person, who asked not to be named because the information isn’t public. Most of Lebanon’s bonds maturing beyond this year trade at between 35 and 40 cents on the dollar. The March notes fell around 2 cents to 87 on Thursday, still above their low of 76 on January 29.

Central bank governor Riad Salameh has told officials including the new Prime Minister, Hassan Diab, that he is willing to pay the debt if instructed by the government, people familiar with the talks said. He’s already helped repay nearly $5bn of bonds in the past year. While Diab is in favour of meeting Lebanon’s debt obligations this year, according to a local media report, he hasn’t yet made a final decision. The decision will come down to a choice of who should bear the cost of easing one of the world’s biggest debt burdens, estimated at over 150% of gross domestic product last year, as hardships mount after months of protests. Lebanon is enduring its worst financial crisis in decades, with the central bank rationing dollars and nationwide unrest over what many fear could be an imminent collapse. Despite a spotless record of servicing international debt, consensus is fraying in Lebanon as almost $3.5bn in Eurobond principal and interest payments come due by June. Bankers say local lenders, which hold most of the country’s Eurobonds, favour a repayment to avoid blowing a hole in their balance sheets. The most recent payment of $1.5bn, made by the central bank in November, was criticised by some local politicians who said Lebanon should instead use what’s left of its reserves on buying much-needed imports. A group of lawmakers aligned with a majority in parliament is lobbying the government to seek technical assistance from international institutions before making a final decision. They’re trying to convince the premier and others that Lebanon risks a crisis and violence similar to Venezuela, which defaulted on its debts in 2017.