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By Nizar Ghanem Founder of the Depositor’s Union of Lebanon Alex Ray Analyst at the Beirut-based think tank Triangle – Today, Lebanon has an enormous $72bn hole in its national finances. That figure alone, by any measure of the law, maths or logic should mean that Lebanon’s banks are bankrupt. Yet since the onset of the financial crisis, Lebanon’s banks and their supposed regulator, the Banque du Liban (BDL), have been making a bizarre ontological argument to avoid paying back their depositors and officially declaring bankruptcy. Despite there being no official capital controls, more than 60 of the country’s commercial banks have adopted the policy that a US dollar is not really a US dollar if it was deposited into a Lebanese bank before the financial crisis. Instead, they claim, a pre-crisis dollar is equal to a Lebanese pound and can only be withdrawn at a severely reduced rate – some 90 percent less than the current value of an American dollar on the black market. But any US dollars deposited to these same banks after the financial crisis would be “fresh” dollars, and thus, they can be withdrawn or exchanged with another currency at their real value at any time. Lebanese banks are basically claiming that not all debts to depositors are created equal. Naturally, millions of Lebanese are not on board with this. After enduring this absurd policy for three long years, a few desperate depositors have taken matters into their own hands.

There are near-weekly bank hold-ups across Lebanon, but with a twist: People have been threatening to use violence in banks not to steal other people’s money, but to obtain access to their own savings. Some believe, however righteous the depositors’ anger may be, threatening violence is a step too far. But when you think about how these people have lost their homes or found themselves unable to meet their families’ most basic needs, including food, education and medical care, – simply because a bank is not giving them access to their own money – it becomes hard to compare these acts to “normal” bank robberies. In any country with a functioning social contract, the banking sector’s invented distinction between “fresh” and “old” money would have gone to court, and a sane judge would have ordered the bank to either pay up or declare bankruptcy – but not in Lebanon. In Lebanon, the judiciary is so scared to take on the banks – many of which are owned by political elites – that they are allowing the banks’ white-collar theft to continue, citing “exceptional circumstances”.

by Nada Atallah  — thenationalnews.com – Lebanon plans to drastically raise taxes to boost the cash-strapped state’s revenues, but experts fear that the Lebanese will not be able to pay the new rates after three years of economic collapse, which pushed more than three quarters of the population into poverty. Lebanon’s public revenue fell by half in 2021 as the country grappled with a financial meltdown described as one of the world’s worst economic crises. The government currently generates taxes at the old pegged exchange rate, but Lebanon’s 2022 budget published on Tuesday introduced a new “effective rate” for taxes on salaries earned in dollars. Finance Minister Youssef Khalil confirmed to The National on Monday that the new rate for taxes will be set according to Sayrafa, the official exchange rate platform managed by the Central Bank, where the Lebanese pound is trading at about 30,000 to the dollar.

This is about 20 times higher than the current official rate. The local currency’s official rate had been set at 1,507 per dollar since 1997, before unravelling after the economic crisis unfolded in 2019. “This is a skyrocketing increase. The budget includes a 25 per cent tax for annual incomes above 675 million Lebanese pounds, which is only $16,875 per year”, tax lawyer Karim Daher said. The new rate for tax collection will be implemented once the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank issue a decree. Lebanon to raise exchange rate for taxes, fees and customs duties Legislators included higher tax brackets in the budget to alleviate the financial effect on taxpayers. But experts fear the adjustment is not enough for an impoverished population grappling with one of the highest inflation rates in the world.

سجعان قزي

انتهَت الـمُهلةُ الدُستوريّةُ لانتخابِ رئيسِ الجُمهوريّةِ اللبنانيّة، وبدأت الـمُهلةُ السياسيّةُ. الـمُهلةُ الأولى كانت مُحدَّدةً بشهرين، أما الأُخرى فمفتوحةٌ إلى ما شاءَ القَدَر. والقدرُ في لبنان هو التعبيرُ المرادِفُ لقِلّةِ الوطنيّةِ والمسؤوليّة. الـمُهلةُ الدُستوريّةُ كانت محصورةً ـــ مبدئيًّا ـــ بقرارِ الكتلِ النيابيّةِ: يَنتخِبون أو لا يَنتخبون رئيسًا صُنِع في لبنان. الـمُهلةُ السياسيّةُ تَستأثر بها، علاوةً على الأطرافِ الداخليّةِ، المحاورُ الإقليميّةُ والدُوَليّةُ، وتَرتَبطُ بأصغرِ حدثٍ في الـمِنطقةِ إلى أكبرِ صراعٍ دُوَليٍّ. اليومَ لبنان دولةٌ بلا دستور. يُدارُ مِزاجيًّا. هذه نهايةُ دولةٍ ما لم تُنقَذ سريعًا. وإذا كان الإنقاذُ متوافِرًا، المؤسفُ أن الحوارَ بين القوى اللبنانيّةِ الأساسيّةِ هو “أكذوبةٌ سياسيّة”. الحوارُ إرادةٌ قبلَ أن يكونَ جدولَ أعمال. في لبنان الإرادةُ غائبةٌ وجدولُ الأعمال مُختلَفٌ عليه. منذ ثلاثةِ أيّامٍ (14 ت2)، بفضلِ إرادةِ الاتفاق، تَوَصّل الرئيسان الأميركيُّ والصينيُّ إلى معالجةِ أصعبِ المشاكلِ السياسيّةِ والعسكريّةِ والاقتصاديّةِ بينهما في ثلاثِ ساعات.

سابقًا كان يَتعذَّرُ تقسيمُ لبنان حتّى لـمّا كان “مُقسّمًا”. اليومَ، صار يَصعُبُ توحيدُه حتى لو كان بعدُ “موحَّدًا”. تَعذُّرُ التقسيمِ قديمًا كان بفَضلِ وجودِ مشروعٍ لبنانيٍّ واحدٍ وحياةٍ لبنانيّةٍ واحدةٍ تُؤالِفُ بين جميعِ الطوائف ولو مع مطالباتٍ بتعديلاتٍ دستوريّة (الطائف). أما صعوبةُ توحيدِ لبنان اليومَ فبِسببِ نموِّ مشاريعَ غيرِ لبنانيّةٍ وانتشارِ نَمطِ حياةٍ غيرِ لبنانيٍّ حتى داخلَ كلِّ طائفة. افترق الإنسانُ ولو بَقيت الأرضُ 10452 كلم². الإشكاليّةُ الآن كيف نُحافظُ على وِحدةِ لبنان الكيانيّةِ مع إعادة التقسيماتِ المناطقيّةِ في إطارِ لامركزيّةٍ موسَّعةٍ. لا يُجدي التَعنّتُ والتَنكُّرُ للتحوّلاتِ التي طرأت على البُنيةِ البشريّةِ والمجتمعيّة اللبنانيّة. في حياةِ الأممِ تَنتهي مراحلُ لتبدأَ أخرى جديدة، ومختلفةٌ أحيانًا. بين 1798 و1958 غَيّرت فرنسا ستّةَ عشرَ نظامًا بين ملكيٍّ وإمبراطوريٍّ وجُمهوريّ. وكان أبرزُها الملَكيّةَ المطلَقة والملكيّاتِ الدُستوريّةَ والإمبراطوريّاتِ، فالجُمهورياتِ الأولى والثانية والثالثة والرابعة والخامسة مع الجنرال شارل ديغول سنة 1958. كانت التغييراتُ الدُستوريّةُ حاجةً أدّت إلى تَقدّمِ فرنسا ولو بالأوجاعِ والدماء.

PARIS, (Reuters) By John Irish — Senior Lebanese politician Gebran Bassil said on Thursday he was working to find a compromise candidate for the presidency who would be able to push through crucial reforms, but that he would run for the post himself if he deemed a chosen candidate a bad option. Lebanon has had neither a head of state nor a fully empowered Cabinet since Michel Aoun’s term as president ended on Oct. 31 – an unprecedented vacuum even by the standards of a country that has enjoyed little stability since independence. The vacuum marks a new phase in the crisis that has hit Lebanon since its financial system collapsed in 2019, impoverishing a large swath of people, paralysing banks and fuelling the biggest wave of emigration since the 1975-1990 civil war.

The presidential post is reserved for Christians, but part of the standoff reflects rivalries among the community as well as crucial political and religious balances in the country. “I am the head of the biggest parliamentarian bloc and it is my total right to be the candidate and promote myself but I see that the existence of Lebanon is much more important than this and it’s now the existence of Lebanon that is at stake,” Bassil, a Maronite Christian, who is one Lebanon’s most influential politicians, told Reuters in an interview. “I took the decision not to present myself in order to avoid the vacancy and facilitate the process of ensuring a good profile with a high possibility of success. I did not do this to have the vacancy and a bad person to fill the void,” he said. “I will not accept to have a bad president and in that case of course I would run.” With politicians showing no compromise in a tussle over state power, some political sources and analysts say a compromise on the presidency may demand the type of foreign mediation that has saved Lebanon from such standoffs previously.

By Najia Houssari – arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Lebanon’s parliamentary blocs are pushing conflicting views over what should top the priority list of the crisis-hit country, with one MP warning of a “social explosion” if a policy of “patchwork solutions” remains unchanged. Some blocs believe that electing a president is the most pressing issue, while others say that legislation should be prioritized. This divergence reflects the depth of the political crisis that Lebanon is facing more than two weeks after President Michel Aoun’s departure from the presidential palace. Repeated failures to elect a successor have raised fears of a “power vacuum” in the country. In a meeting on Tuesday, 19 MPs representing 32 independent and reformist MPs in the Kataeb Party, the Democratic Renewal Movement, Project Watan, and the Independent Parliamentary Coalition said that “electing a president remains the priority.” The MPs said they will refuse to take part in legislative sessions, claiming these will “consolidate a presidential vacuum.”

A parliamentary source said this stance would be viewed as problematic by Speaker Nabih Berri and other blocs that support “legislation of necessity.” Some deputies who voted for presidential candidate Michel Moawad during the fifth parliamentary session said that “electing a president immediately is the key to realign the work of institutions, in accordance with the constitution and to save Lebanon.” Two other blocs, the Lebanese Forces and the Progressive Socialist Party, share the same position, but failed to attend the meeting on Tuesday. According to those present, the meeting was “an attempt to shape a significant opposition bloc in parliament that coordinates with other opposition blocs on presidential elections and future matters.”

Nada Atallah — thenationalnews — Cash-strapped Lebanon is hoping to fill state coffers by raising the exchange rate for taxes, fees and customs duties, Caretaker Finance Minister Youssef Khalil told The National, as the country reels from three years of economic collapse. Lebanon will abandon the official rate of 1,507 pounds to the US dollar and introduce a combination of higher exchange mechanisms in accordance with the currency’s market value. Government revenue has shrunk dramatically, with the Lebanese pound’s market rate value sinking to about 40,000 to the dollar. A number of official exchange rates have sprung up since Lebanon’s economy collapsed in 2019 and unifying them is one of the main reforms demanded by international lenders for Beirut to access billions of dollars in loans.

Lebanon’s financial crisis explained: what happened and why is the country stuck? “We do not have any other choice,” Mr Khalil said. “The fiscal situation has become unsustainable: we collect at the official rate but we spend at the parallel one.” Taxes and fees will be paid based on the flexible rate set by Sayrafa, an official platform managed by the Central Bank, currently trading at about 30 000. The change comes as part of the 2022 budget voted in September by Parliament, which should be applied on Tuesday after weeks of delay. “Tax policies will be adjusted to limit the impact on vulnerable households,” Mr Khalil said. Customs duties will be calculated based on another rate of 15,000 per dollar. The minister said the switch, which should take place in mid-December, was expected to benefit public finances greatly.

By Najia Houssari — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Lebanon’s prosecutor general Judge Ghassan Oueidat charged Mount Lebanon Public Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun on Monday with “spreading false news, violating job duties, inciting sectarian strife, inciting conflict between the nation’s components, humiliation, slander and abuse of power.” It is the first allegation of its kind made by the judiciary against a member of the judicial body in Lebanon. Aoun’s opponents accuse her of showing bias in favor of the Free Patriotic Movement and former president Michel Aoun, and following the faction’s orders to prosecute Banque du Liban Gov. Riad Salameh and officials in the banking sector on corruption charges.

The lawsuit filed by Oueidat comes two weeks after the end of former president Michel Aoun’s term. The controversial judge posted a photo on Twitter last week of a list of politicians, businessmen and banking figures including Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, his wife Randa Berri and former prime minister Fouad Siniora. She claimed that the figures smuggled tens of billions of dollars combined into Swiss bank accounts. She captioned the photo: “I do not know how valid this information is, but why don’t the people whose names appear on this list reveal their accounts with Swiss banks for the sake of transparency only?” The list did not include the name of any individual in the faction to which she is affiliated — the FPM.

Aoun’s tweet provoked angry reactions, with activists revealing that the list had previously been published by WikiLeaks but did not contain factual information. Activists accused Aoun of undermining the legal profession by publishing information without fact-checking. Aoun deleted the post the same day, tweeting: “I did not accuse anyone. The list had been shared in the media; I was not the first to post about it. “In any case, if any public prosecution receives this information, it is its duty to open an investigation. No investigation was conducted in this regard, although everyone knows that many did transfer money abroad, regardless of the amounts.” Aoun’s initial tweet, however, prompted Berri and his wife to file a legal complaint against the judge. Oueidat listened to the testimony of Berri’s attorney, Ali Rahal, who reiterated his complaint against Aoun. But Aoun did not appear before Oueidat and quickly filed a complaint against him before the Civil Court of Cassation. Oueidat referred a copy of the claim to the Judicial Inspection Board.

Beirut: «Middle East» The “Our Lady of the Mountain Meeting”, the “National Assembly” and the “National Initiative Movement”, which are gatherings that include political and media figures opposed to “Hezbollah”, submitted a memorandum to Patriarch Bechara al-Ra’i in support of his positions, calling for Bkerke to move and establish a “broad national front” To liberate legitimacy, positive neutrality, the international conference for the sake of Taif, the constitution, and the resolutions of international legitimacy for the sake of Lebanon,” based on the positions of the Patriarch.

The memorandum was read by Dr. Radwan El-Sayed, addressing the sponsor by saying: “You were and still are, as is the case of the Bkerke patriarchs, a model of the good shepherd who steps forward and calls for the care of the common good by calling on all officials to adhere to Lebanon’s founding principles, to distance it from the game of murderous nations, and to return to meaning. Noble politics as a fine art to serve man and the citizen and not to serve a particular person, as you said years ago, as you insisted on national partnership, far from exclusivity and dependence. And when you saw what was happening other than all of that, as if we are being ruled by an enemy government or it is ruling an enemy people, you announced the objection in the name of the citizens and in the name of the country, and no one is more deserving of that than Bkirki.” He added: “You have called for the liberation of legitimacy, for neutrality, and for national salvation and its precursors, a government of non-partisan specialists. You have finally reached the call for an international conference to save Lebanon, which will help restore the principles and principles, foremost of which is the National Accord Document, the Constitution, and the resolutions of international legitimacy.” He affirmed: “We stand with you and behind you in the call that we understand and trust, a sincere and responsible call in two directions.

By ROSEMARY FEITELBERG – THE TIES THAT BIND: Tiffany Trump decided on an Elie Saab wedding gown for her nuptials Saturday to Michael Boulos, and she wasn’t the only one sporting that designer label. Her billionaire husband was also dressed in a black tuxedo by the designer, a Trump spokesman confirmed Saturday. Elie Saab was also the designer of choice for Trump’s mother, Marla Maples, and for her half sister, Ivanka Trump. The 29-year-old bride wore a ballet-neck embellished gown with a tapered waist and extravagant sweeping train. She carried a small bouquet of lilies. Former president Donald Trump donned a tux to walk his youngest daughter down the al fresco aisle at his 20-acre estate Mar-a-Lago. The wedding march started beneath an arch of pastel-colored hydrangeas.

Representatives for Elie Saab, a Lebanese-born designer popular with celebrities including Jennifer Lopez, Julia Roberts and Halle Berry, did not respond to requests for comment Saturday. In March, Saab returned to the Paris runway for the first time since the 2020 Beirut explosion decimated his home city, and also damaged his home and atelier.

The one-shoulder trend got a serious boost by a few of the Trump women during the pre-wedding festivities and at the wedding. The former president’s second wife – Maples – sported a mint green one-shoulder pantsuit to Friday night’s rehearsal dinner, and his third and current wife Melania donned a metallic gold one-shouldered Dolce & Gabbana halter dress with a bias fit for the same event. The trio posed together for photos. Maples, who was married to The Donald from 1993 through 1999, wore a fitted lilac-colored dress for the wedding with one strap over the right shoulder.

CNN — By Kate Bennett — After three days on hurricane watch, Tiffany Trump breathed a sigh of relief. The weather in Palm Beach, Florida, was finally easing and the forecast for Saturday, her wedding day, looked sunny and warm. Two people familiar with the bride-to-be’s mood tell CNN that Donald Trump’s younger daughter, his only child with second wife Marla Maples, had been “stressed” about the late-season storm and what it might mean for her Mar-a-Lago celebration with 25-year-old Michael Boulos, her boyfriend of four years. But even though Tropical Storm Nicole is moving on, the Trumps may still be in for some tumult over the weekend. They’re gathering as their patriarch makes moves toward a 2024 presidential run, a prospect not everyone in the family is excited about. Some of them are signaling they don’t want to be involved much, if at all, sources close to the family tell CNN.

Three people familiar with the former president’s activities say he is not in the best of spirits. Many of the high-profile candidates he endorsed in the midterms failed to secure a win, and now some Republicans are whispering about his dwindling influence over the party. Trump is “cranky,” says one of the people. At present, say those who are familiar, Trump is more focused on his “special announcement” on Tuesday, when he may – or may not – announce his planned third run for the presidency. His mind is consumed with the 2024 political landscape and where and how he will fit into it. But first he has to get through one other job: Father of the bride.

Trump typically likes being the center of attention at his private club, which also serves as his home, but only if he’s being congratulated or in the mood for accolades. The run-up to Tiffany’s big day has been rough and, as the skies clear and her guests descend on Mar-a-Lago, sources say the former president is lying low. Two of the people familiar with Trump’s mood say he has also been on the outs with his wife, Melania Trump, after a post-election day news report said she got the brunt of his ire after Dr. Mehmet Oz’s loss in his run for the US Senate. The New York Times reported that Donald Trump blamed Melania Trump for his endorsement of the TV doctor; during a rally this year, he mentioned his wife was a big Oz fan.