middle-east-online.com — BEIRUT – Lebanese student Fatima Jaber’s family is struggling to pay off multiple loans with double-digit interest rates. Even before the start of protests that have forced out Lebanon’s prime minister, her confidence was fading in a financial system long regarded as a pillar of stability. But now, like many Lebanese, she thinks the system is broken.

The loss of trust is eroding liquidity in the banking sector, increasing concerns that banks may not be able to help the government fund high budget and current account deficits. One of the world’s most indebted countries, Lebanon has a public debt equal to about 150% of its gross domestic product. “We need a change to the system because everyone has at least one loan from the bank and the rates are very high and we can’t pay them,” said Jaber, 22, as she and a small crowd protested outside the central bank in the capital, Beirut. Dollar loans have to be repaid in the same currency, which is especially difficult because there is a hard currency squeeze in Lebanon. With big banks’ websites showing the annual interest on some loans is about 27%, any people are in dire straits.

Central bank governor Riad Salameh sought to ease concerns on Monday, saying the bank had a usable foreign cash reserve of $30 billion and total assets of $38 billion. The central bank has taken steps to protest depositors by ensuring no bank would fail and will seek to lower interest rates through liquidity management, he said. But the imposition by banks of controls on dollar withdrawals and transfers overseas has failed to rebuild confidence.

by middleeasteye.net — Violence flared-up in Lebanon on Wednesday following the killing of a protester and a televised speech by President Michel Aoun overnight which triggered fresh rage against the country’s sectarian leadership. Clashes broke out Wednesday afternoon at the Jal el-Dib bridge and highway, a major route from Lebanon’s north to the capital, between protesters blocking the thoroughfare and local residents armed with knives and sticks. A video circulated on social media showed one man shooting into the air and pointing the machine gun towards protesters. A separate video showed protesters disarm the man and smashed the car in which he had arrived. At least four people were injured, local media reported. The Lebanese army intervened later in the afternoon to reopen the road. Hundreds also gathered along a highway leading to the presidential palace in Baabda as Lebanese army officers and riot police placed metal barriers and barbed wire on the road.

Security forces have been criticised for failing to adopt similar measures earlier this month when supporters of Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) gathered near the palace to support the president and his son-in-law, FPM leader Gebran Bassil. Aoun had invited protesters to send a delegation to meet with him, but the offer yielded no results. Previous invitations were also turned down as protesters argued it was not possible to appoint representatives to speak on behalf of the leaderless movement. Two main intersections – the Ring Bridge above Beirut’s central district and the Chevrolet intersection in the capital’s southern outskirts – were also blocked by protesters on Wednesday. Scuffles broke out between protesters and army officers at the Chevrolet intersection in the morning as the officers attempted to reopen the roads. No serious injuries were reported. Protesters also occupied the Cola intersection in east Beirut late on Wednesday.

Fight at a roadblock

by reuters.com — Ellen Francis, Laila Bassam —BEIRUT (Reuters) – President Michel Aoun said on Tuesday Lebanon faced a catastrophe if protesters did not go home, igniting a new wave of demonstrations during which a protester was shot and killed after an altercation with Lebanese soldiers near Beirut. The shooting in Khaldeh south of Beirut was the first of its kind in nearly four weeks of nationwide protests against Lebanon’s ruling elite, escalating tensions in a country mired in deep political and economic crisis. The man who was killed was a member of the political party led by Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, a civil war adversary of Aoun. Jumblatt urged his supporters to remain calm during a visit to the hospital where the man had been taken. In a statement, the army said a soldier had opened fire to disperse protesters who were blocking a road in Khaldeh, wounding one person. The soldier was detained and the incident was under investigation.

Addressing protesters in his interview, he said, “If you continue in this way, you will strike Lebanon and your interests.” “We are working day and night to get the situation in order. If they keep going, there is a catastrophe. If they stop, there is still room for (us) to fix things,” he said. As Aoun’s interview was ending, protesters blocked several main roads across Lebanon, some with burning tyres. Linda Boulos Mikari, protesting on a road north of Beirut, said Aoun’s interview had brought her back onto the street. “We are tired of the authorities always (acting) as if we are doing nothing. The president goes live and talks to us as if we are children, ‘go home’. Respect us a little,” she said.

AOUN FOUND HARIRI “HESITANT” ON BEING PM

by gulfnews.com — Bassam Za za, Special to Gulf News—  Beirut: A video of a Lebanese protestor kissing Sky News Arabia’s anchor surprisingly while she was live on air went viral yesterday and triggered debate on social media. Lebanese popular anchor Darine El Helwe was on live broadcast with UAE-based Sky News Arabia from Riad Soloh Square […]

by news.mb.com.ph — Nearly four weeks into nationwide protests calling for the ouster of the ruling elite, radical changes demanded by demonstrators have not been implemented. The peaceful protests against corruption and sectarianism have paralysed Lebanon, worsening an economic crisis that has brought the country to the brink of default. Central bank governor Riad Salameh — increasingly under fire for his monetary policies — insisted however that deposits were safe and the country’s currency would remain pegged to the dollar. “The central bank’s first and foremost goal is to protect the Lebanese pound’s stability,” he told a news conference.

The bank has taken measures “to protect depositors and protect deposits”, he said. Salameh said he had asked local banks to lift restrictions imposed after protests started on October 17. Recent decreases in capital inflows have cause dollar shortages, leading banks to cap withdrawals. On the unofficial market, the greenback has sold at up to 20 percent more than its official rate. While Salameh insisted the financial sector would remain solvent, trust in the central bank has plummeted and outside the news conference dozens of protesters voiced their anger. “All of them means all of them. Salameh’s one of them,” they chanted, in a variation of a common call for all political figures to resign.

– Victory of sorts –

If a post shared on Instagram gets zero likes, did the moment even really happen? Instagram’s chief, Adam Mosseri, announced that beginning next week, Instagram will begin hiding the “likes” counter on some users’ accounts in the U.S. The users in the test will be able to see the likes on their photos or videos, […]

by gulfnews.com — Beirut: Beirut is a city awash with construction sites. Sleek condominium buildings are constantly being erected, towering over a population that increasingly cannot afford the cost of living. Developers have gobbled up the city’s public space and privatised beaches. But in recent weeks, protesters have begun reclaiming their city, tearing down the metal slats that boarded up the abandoned Grand Theatre, a pre-civil-war relic, and taking over the Egg, an oddly-shaped unfinished cinema, empty for more than 50 years. On the first two nights of unrest last month, the protesters hid in the abandoned structures from police wielding tear gas and batons. Wael Zorkot, 24, hunkered down with them until a column of security forces flushed them out and forced them down the street. He had been with the protesters from the beginning, airing his frustration over the political and economic conditions in his country.

Zorkot said he works at least four days a week bartending at two bars to pay for his education and living expenses, typically finishing at 4am and catching some sleep before going to class. His father owns three stores in their hometown of Zrarieh in southern Lebanon, selling clothes, toys and motorcycles, but life is still tough. His mother is battling cancer and flies to France every four months for treatment because it is too expensive in Lebanon. “I have a lot of plans,” he said about the future. “But not here.” Dozens of young protesters, when asked about their futures, also said they want to emigrate.

The Lebanese economy on average creates no more than 3,000 jobs a year, said Jad Chaaban, an economics professor at the American University of Beirut, but the need is at least 20,000. “There’s a huge mismatch, because of the bad situation in the country, the lack of economic reforms that stimulate job creation, the fact that the government is very corrupt and only invests in projects that are not geared for job creation,” Chaaban said. Lebanese college students benefit from a good education system but at graduation cannot find suitable jobs. He said they endure a period known as “waithood” – waiting for visas to emigrate and for things to change – and grow frustrated with the economic situation.

By Ellen Francis, Reuters — BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanese are protesting outside failing state agencies they see as part of a corrupt system in the hands of the ruling elite, as well as at banks they deem part of the problem. Protesters accuse sectarian political leaders of exploiting state resources for their own gain through networks of patronage and clientelism that mesh business and politics. Where have Lebanese protested and why?

ELECTRICITE DU LIBAN (EDL)

Lebanon’s electricity sector is at the heart of its financial crisis, bleeding some $2 billion in state funds every year while failing to provide 24-hour power. “This is one of the peak symbols of corruption,” said Diyaa Hawshar, an electrician protesting outside state power firm EDL in Beirut. “We pay two bills, one for the government and another for generators.” “It’s about carving up the cake, with deals on power barges and overhauling power plants, shady deals in public and under the table,” he said. “Every minister who comes makes promises. They come and go.” Power cuts can last several hours every day. People and businesses rely on so-called “generator mafias” who often have political ties and charge hefty fees to keep the lights on. The average household ends up paying $300 to $400 a month on average for electricity, said Jad Chaaban, economics professor at the American University of Beirut. Lebanon’s minimum wage is the equivalent of $450 a month. “It is an insult for a lot of people to keep paying for services that are dysfunctional and at the same time funding the parties and travel of corrupt leaders,” he said.

The government has for years touted plans to overhaul the sector including new power stations, fixing the grid and stopping electricity theft. But the Lebanese saw no tangible progress by the time the prime minister resigned last week. “People have to beg for their rights…for a few hours of electricity at home,” said Mia Kozah, a university student. “It should be one of the simplest matters. Enough humiliation.”

MOBILE OPERATORS

Reuters – Lebanese bank staff are facing abuse from customers angered by restrictions on their access to their cash, the employees’ union said on Friday, reflecting intensifying pressures in an economy gripped by its deepest crisis since the 1975-90 civil war. With Lebanon paralysed by political and economic turmoil, its politicians have yet to make progress towards agreeing on a new government to replace one that was toppled by an unprecedented wave of protests against the sectarian ruling elite. Saad Hariri, who quit as prime minister last week, is determined that the next government be devoid of political parties. A sectarian cabinet would not be able to secure Western assistance, a source familiar with his view told the Reuters News Agency. He is still seeking to convince the powerful, Iran-backed Shia group Hezbollah and its ally the Amal Movement of the need for such a technocratic government, the source said. Hariri’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.

Leading Christian politician Samir Geagea warned of great unrest if supplies of basic goods run short and said Lebanon’s financial situation was “very, very delicate”. One of the world’s most heavily indebted states, Lebanon was already in deep economic trouble before protests erupted on October 17, ignited by a government plan to tax WhatsApp calls and taking aim at rampant state corruption.

‘Clients with guns’

by catholicherald.co.uk — A long-awaited decision to restore a celebrated church in Iraq desecrated by ISIS has been hailed as a turning point in the struggle to keep Christianity alive in one of its most ancient heartlands. Syriac Catholic Archbishop Petros Mouche of Mosul thanked Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) for committing itself to repair the Great Al-Tahira Church (Church of the Immaculate Conception), Qaraqosh (Baghdeda), the largest Christian town in the Nineveh Plains. The plan to restore the church’s fire-damaged interior is one of a series of building projects across Nineveh announced by ACN. Speaking to ACN, Archbishop Mouche said: “For us, [the Great Al-Tahira] Church is a symbol. This church was built in 1932, and it was the villagers of Baghdeda who constructed it. “For this reason, we want this symbol to remain as a Christian symbol to encourage the people, especially the locals of Baghdeda, to stay here. “This is our country, and this is a witness that we can give for Christ.”

ACN has approved 13 other projects to rebuild church properties across the region – all of them damaged and desecrated by ISIS. The charity approved plans to reconstruct the Najem Al-Mashrik Hall and Theatre in Bashiqa, a town occupied by both Christians and Yazidis – a project which will enable the venue to once again play host to wedding ceremonies and other celebrations. Local priest Fr Daniel Behnam said: “This project will help ensure the survival of Christian families and provide them with important services. “In particular, it will help young people, providing a space for pastoral, cultural and youth activities.”