by Dana Halawi BEIRUT, (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's merchants took a hit in 2021 by the country's unprecedented economic and financial crisis with 35 percent of them shutting down their stores or some branches, according to the Beirut Traders Association. Adnan Rammal, representative of the trade sector in the Economic and Social Council, told Xinhua that a large number of merchants had to close their stores last year as they were unable to cover the expenses in light of the drop in sales from 50 to 90 percent, varying among different sectors. According to Rammal, the sectors that were mostly impacted include furniture, household appliances, electronics and carpets, and the demand for food has also dropped by 40 percent.

Over the past two years, Lebanon has witnessed an unprecedented financial crisis amid the shortage of U.S. dollar, which prompted a steep depreciation of the Lebanese pound. As a result of the collapse of the local currency, citizens saw an obvious devaluation of their salaries. Most of them are employed by the public sector and get paid in local currency, while only an approximate of 20 percent of the Lebanese receiving their salaries in U.S. dollars. Moreover, the financial crisis forced banks to impose heavy restrictions on withdrawals from deposits, which has deteriorated people's purchasing power. Mohamad Rayes, owner of a men's clothes shop in Hamra, told Xinhua that sales at his shop dropped by over 80 percent compared to the pre-crisis years of 2017 and 2018, as people have been focusing their consumption on necessities. "If we do not see any improvement in demand during the coming summer season, we will have to close doors and lay off employees," he said.

NNA – Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, presided over Sunday Mass at “Our Lady’s Church” in the patriarchal edifice in …

by arabnews.com -- LONDON: In late 2019, over 50 women came forward and shared their painful testimonies of encounters with Lebanese serial assaulter Marwan Habib. “He followed me into the showers after my boxing lessons and tried to corner me in one of the shower stalls. I pushed him out and filed a complaint,” read one. “I saw him during the thawra (protests) and he tried to convince me to go with him for lunch and stuff when I told him I'm ONLY 15,” another revealed. “I'm a minor. He said he likes young girls. I ran away from him and he kept following me until I threatened to call the police. When I did call them, they did absolutely nothing.” Despite the growing number of allegations, Habib remained free and continued to harass women across the capital.

Last Friday, Habib was jailed without bond after he was arrested for sexually assaulting a woman at a hotel in Miami. Habib met his victim at a club, but later followed her to her hotel and then convinced the clerk to give him a key to her room. Police told reporters that Habib had entered the victim’s room at Hotel Victor in South Beach on Friday night and then sexually assaulted her. The arrest report stated: “Criminal Investigations Division has received various complaints about different females reporting the defendant’s odd and concerning behavior. The defendant is known to pursue females in order to have sex or date them even after they advised them to stop doing so on multiple occasions.” While the Lebanese rejoiced at the news of his arrest, it was long overdue as multiple lawsuits filed against him had fallen on deaf ears.

Princess Basmah has been released after spending three years in detention by dw.com — AFP and Reuters — Saudi authorities have released …