By Najia Houssari  -- arabnews.com -- The cost of food in Lebanon has skyrocketed 700 percent over the past two years, and more importantly, the increase has picked up pace in recent weeks, according to a Crisis Observatory report released on Wednesday. The Crisis Observatory is an interdisciplinary research program launched by the American University of Beirut (AUB) to track the repercussions of the economic crisis in Lebanon. The report reflected the current state of the country as malls and shops, usually bustling with Eid Al-Adha celebrations, were empty and stagnant this week as much of Lebanon’s middle class can no longer afford to go shopping due to the dramatic increase in prices. All of this is amid the country’s inability to form a government as Lebanon is teetering on the edge of social and economic collapse. While the AUB Crisis Observatory report revealed staggering financial shortcomings, it also concluded that Lebanon could turn into the “Venezuela of the Mediterranean” and it predicted a majority of the Lebanese people would struggle to secure their minimum needs without the help of relief institutions.

The report said the exponential and weekly increase of basic food prices is an indicator that the country is “slipping into hyperinflation.” The price of a basic food basket increased by more than 50 percent in less than a month, it said, while clothing has become somewhat of a luxury. Families complained about their inability to buy new clothes for their children on Eid Al-Adha because, as one mother put it, the pants she used to buy at 30,000 pounds are now sold for 400,000 pounds. “We were expecting to see more customers on Eid Al-Adha, but people’s purchasing power has plummeted,” Therese, owner of a bar in Beirut, said. “Lebanese expatriates who came to summer in Lebanon have helped revive the tourism a little bit, but we are afraid of what will happen once they leave.”

by by aljaridanews.com --

في الحلقة الاولى من حديث الرئيس ميشال سليمان الى موقع “الجريدة نيوز ” أشار فيها الى عزم الادراة الاميركية “التغيير ” في سياستها  التي لا تؤيد التمديد لأي رئيس للجمهورية في لبنان  ،ولكن يبدو أن المسؤولين الاميركيين قد عملوا الى تبديل هذه السياسة وقال دايفيد هيل للرئيس سليمان : ” أنا هنا لأطرح معك هذا الموضوع لمصلحة البلد”  أجاب سليمان : أبدا ،مع العلم أن هناك مسؤولين عرب وأجانب كانت لديهم نفس الرغبة ، وهذا الكلام نفسه قلته للرئيس الفرنسي فرنسوا هولاند الذي عمل على هذا الموضوع منذ أكثر من ٨ اشهر من انتهاء ولايتي في نيس لدى تسليمي شعلة الالعاب الفرنكوفونيةالسابعة.
جواب الرئيس سليمان كان لدايفيد هيل كالتالي : أنا إّذا بدي مدّد يجب أن يكون هذا الامر لمصلحة البلد ، أضاف سليمان في جوابه لدايفيد هيل : لدي مواقف حادة من حزب الله ، وإذا بقيت على مواقفي هل أستطيع أن أحكم ؟ طبعا لا ، وإذا اردت التراجع عن هذه المواقف بماذا أستطيع أن أخدم البلد بعد ان افقد مصداقيتي ؟ وبالتالي قلت ، الخروج بما أنا هو عليه افضل إذ ربما يخلق صدمة ايجابية حيث يتداعى الجميع الى تجنب الفراغ،  فأردف هيل : اتمنى ان تقبل ولفترة قصيرة وقلت له الاّن ادارتك وانت تحترماني وتزورني لنقل هذه التمنيات اما ما اتوقعه لاحقاً هو ان تتصل بي في الهاتف لاقبل تمديد فترة التمديد الاولى اذا قبلتها ، وهذا ما قلته للرئيس هولاند في اّخر لقاء معه في الخامس من اذار عام ٢٠١٤ في قصر الاليزيه خلال اجتماع المجموعة الدولية لدعم لبنان حيث قال لي هولاند : فخامة الرئيس انا إقترحت عليك أن تمددّ منذ ثمانية أشهر وكان جوابك لي “أنه من الناحية الدستورية لا يحق لي ” لكنني سألت  و إستوضحت الامر  وكان الجواب : نعم يمكن أن يحصل التمديد من خلال تعديل دستوري وهناك سوابق قد تم تسجيلها في لبنان ، جوابي كان : فخامة الرئيس نعم لديك الحق ، لكن لدي مواقفي الواضحة وإذا كنت تقبل  أن أتراجع عنها عندها يمكن الحديث في هذا الموضوع .

By Najia Houssari -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun announced on Monday that parliamentary consultations to choose a new prime minister will begin on July 26. Lebanon has been run by a caretaker government for nearly a year. Meanwhile the nation’s currency has collapsed, many people have lost their jobs and banks have frozen customers’ accounts in what has been described as one of the most severe financial crises the world has seen in modern times. Saad Hariri, who was chosen as prime minister-designate nine months ago, resigned on Thursday after months of negotiations with Aoun failed to result in the formation of a new government. The previous administration, led by Prime Minister Hassan Diab, resigned amid public anger following the explosion at Beirut’s port on Aug. 4 last year. Since then, the escalating financial collapse has fueled hunger, unrest and fuel shortages as the country struggles with its worst crisis since the civil war that began in 1975. The Central Bank’s foreign reserves are rapidly running out and the nation’s currency has lost most of its value since 2019, pushing more than half of the population into poverty amid soaring prices.

A delegation from the US Department of Treasury’s Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes office arrived in Beirut on Monday. It will meet “with financial sector interlocutors and civil society groups to engage in discussing issues related to corruption, illicit finance and counterterrorism,” according to the US Embassy in Lebanon. Dana Stroul, the US deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, warned on Saturday that “the inability of the Lebanese to put food on their tables could lead to violence.” She also expressed concerns that “the failure to form a government and Hezbollah’s ongoing attempts, due to the support it receives from Iran, to challenge the Lebanese state” are “keeping Lebanon weak and not providing an alternative to the legitimate government.” She added that “the Pentagon is closely monitoring the situation and encouraging Lebanon’s leaders to take prompt steps to prevent the outbreak of this type of violence.” Meanwhile the results of Syndicate of Engineers elections in Beirut on Sunday suggested that voters are beginning to take matters into their own hands.

The opposition Syndicate Revolts coalition, which formed during the Oct. 17, 2019 revolution, achieved a resounding victory over the ruling parties that is unprecedented in the history of syndicate elections in Lebanon.

Israeli NSO Group is well known for selling hacking software to government clients

By Lindsay Kornick | Fox News -- The Washington Post neglected to reference an Israeli firm’s Democratic connections when releasing an investigation into a hacking scandal. On Sunday, the Washington Post published an article titled "Private Israeli spyware used to hack cellphones of journalists, activists worldwide." The investigative report revealed the Israeli firm NSO Group was responsible for the successful hacks of 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, activists, and business executives. The piece explained, "Military-grade spyware licensed by an Israeli firm to governments for tracking terrorists and criminals was used in attempted and successful hacks of 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, human rights activists, business executives and two women close to murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to an investigation by The Washington Post and 16 media partners."

The investigation also emphasized that other phones could have likely been targeted as well, conflicting with the NRO Group’s original claim of only targeting terrorists or suspected criminals. This investigation led to the NRO Group’s name trending through Twitter as well as several critiques from journalists. However, the 4000-word article neglected to reference the firm’s connections to an advisor for President Joe Biden. In a Twitter thread, New York Times reporter Kenneth Vogel explained that the NSO Group had paid the company SKDK, the Democratic-aligned firm of Biden advisor Anita Dunn until late 2019. "The Israeli firm NSO GROUP was behind the spyware used to hack journalists & human rights activists, a @WashingtonPost investigation reveals. Not included in the story: NSO GROUP paid @SKDK (BIDEN adviser ANITA DUNN's firm) for advice until late 2019," Vogel tweeted. He further explained, "NSO GROUP also paid BEACON GLOBAL STRATEGIES (a firm started by JEREMY BASH, an MSNBC analyst who served as CIA & Pentagon chief of staff under OBAMA) until early 2020