by reuters -- Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati proposed on Wednesday inviting central bank governor Riad Salameh to a forthcoming Cabinet meeting, the information minister said, an apparent show of support after Salameh was charged with illicit enrichment. Salameh has denied the charge brought against him by a Lebanese judge on Monday. It was the first charge to be brought against the governor, whose wealth is also being probed by authorities in at least five European countries. Information Minister Ziad al-Makary said Mikati had proposed during Wednesday's Cabinet session to invite Salameh "after lots of discussion about the matter of the relationship with the banks." It was an apparent reference to a standoff between Lebanese banks and members of the judiciary who have frozen the assets of seven lenders this month. Banks went on strike earlier this week in protest at the judicial orders. No date had been set for Salameh to attend a cabinet meeting, Makary said.

Denying the charge against him, Salameh said on Monday he had ordered an audit, which showed public funds were not a source of his wealth. His tenure has faced increased scrutiny since the financial system imploded in 2019, the most destabilising crisis since Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war. Judge Ghada Aoun charged Salameh in absentia. Last week, Aoun charged his brother Raja Salameh in the same case and ordered him arrested, and he has since been in detention. Raja Salameh’s lawyer has said allegations of illicit enrichment and money laundering against his client were unfounded.

By Najia Houssari -- BEIRUT: Lebanese President Michel Aoun has sparked Christian anger by defending Hezbollah during his Vatican visit. In an interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica, Aoun said that Hezbollah’s weapons had “no influence in any way” on the security situation of the Lebanese and that “resisting the (Israeli) occupation” was not terrorism. His words led Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi to reiterate his position on the importance of Lebanon’s neutrality. Lebanon’s top Christian cleric told MTV on Wednesday that the country was not a ground for conflict and that its interest lay in neutrality which, he said, maintained its sovereignty and preserved it from Israel and other hostile elements.

There was online anger, with activists sharing photos of dates and events where Hezbollah’s weapons had been “directed at Christians and not in their defense.” These included the assassinations of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the pilot Samer Hanna, and Hezbollah opponents Hashem Suleiman and Luqman Slim. The activists cited a military conflict from May 7, 2008, between Hezbollah militias and pro-government Sunnis after an 18-month-long political crisis spiraled out of control. They also mentioned the clashes that erupted in Beirut’s Tayouneh neighborhood last October between Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, unidentified gunmen, and the armed forces. Activists said the president’s position at the Vatican did not represent them and reminded him that Hezbollah was “listed as a terrorist organization by the nations of the world, including the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council.”

by reuters -- Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry has said it welcomed the “positive points” in a statement by Lebanon’s prime minister, in a sign that Beirut’s tensions with Gulf Arab countries are easing. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati stressed in a statement on Monday the need to stop all Lebanon-originated activities that affect the security and stability of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab countries. He added the Lebanese government is committed to strengthening cooperation with Saudi Arabia, following a phone call with Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah.

The Saudi ministry on Tuesday said it welcomed Mikati’s statement, adding it hoped that it will “contribute to the restoration of Lebanon’s role and status on the Arab and international levels”. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries expelled Lebanese envoys last year in a diplomatic spat that has deepened Lebanon’s economic crisis, following critical comments about the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen by Lebanon’s former Information Minister George Kordahi. Riyadh says the crisis with Lebanon had its origins in a Lebanese political setup that reinforces the dominance of the Iran-backed Hezbollah armed group and continues to allow endemic instability.

By Sunniva Rose -- thenationalnews.com -- A Lebanese judge told The National on Monday that she has charged central bank governor Riad Salameh and his brother with illicit enrichment. Judge Ghada Aoun confirmed in a message that she had charged both men and that Raja Salameh, 61, remained in custody at the time of writing. She ordered his detention on Thursday after interrogating him about his role in allegedly helping Riad to launder money through property purchases in France and Luxembourg.

Riad, 71, defended himself by referring to an audit of the central bank that he commissioned in November. “This audit report was submitted to the relevant authorities in Lebanon and abroad,” he said in response to a question sent by text message from Reuters. Financial experts told The National that the document, which is not public, has no legal value and that Riad handed over information of his choosing. Riad, governor of the Banque du Liban since 1993, did not attend a hearing scheduled for Monday, and Ms Aoun charged him in absentia, Reuters reported. Ms Aoun unsuccessfully tried to force Riad to attend a hearing after he failed to show up three times. Riad told the media that he was at home and at his office in Beirut. He has repeatedly denied accusations of money laundering and illicit enrichment and said his personal fortune came from a past salary as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch and from his inheritance.