BY EDWARD GABRIEL, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR -- TheHIll — In a last-ditch effort to wake up Lebanon’s political leadership, Undersecretary of State David Hale recently visited Lebanon to underscore the urgent need for a reform-minded government before the country becomes a fully failed state. Upon his departure, he said, “(The Lebanese are) suffering because (their) leaders have failed to meet their responsibility to put the country’s interests first and to address the mounting socio-economic problems … but it’s not too late.” Unfortunately, Hale’s plea appears to have fallen on deaf ears. Joblessness, lack of access to basic health care, and inability to feed their families are factors that continue to erode the lives of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese citizens. Lebanon’s leaders apparently cannot be convinced to quit their sectarian and self-serving bickering over an economic rescue plan or a new government. Although Hale said it’s not too late to form a government capable of addressing the citizenry’s needs, it is becoming increasingly evident that the country could face financial collapse within weeks. Now is the time for the Biden administration to switch gears to protect U.S. interests in Lebanon. Three immediate actions would be wise:

First, it is imperative that the U.S., along with the French and others, outline a plan that assures the Lebanese people that the world has not forgotten them and is prepared to assist them, the International Monetary Fund, and other partners with a recovery program — once an effective government is put in place.

by thenationalnews.com -- Gareth Browne -- Lebanon’s farmers are rushing to find new buyers for their produce 48 hours after a Saudi ban on fruit and vegetable imports from the country sent prices dropping. At the fruit and vegetable market in Beirut’s Madina Al Riyadiye, the wholesale price of lemons has dropped by 40 per cent in two days, while the price of bananas is down more than 50 per cent. A ban on all fruit and vegetables transiting or originating from Lebanon was introduced by Riyadh on Sunday morning, after millions of amphetamine pills were discovered hidden in a shipment of pomegranates. Saudi Arabia says it has seized more than 600 million pills coming from the country over the past six years and claims Lebanon is being to flood the region with narcotics. Lebanon’s Syndicate of Fruit and Vegetable producers criticised the suggestion that a Lebanese farmer was responsible for the pomegranate shipment that put the industry at risk. Lebanon orders crackdown on smuggling after Saudi Arabia bans produce The ban has left crises-hit Lebanon with yet another problem to deal with: a vast excess of fruit and vegetables.

Exports to the Gulf account for 55 per cent of trade in this sector, the Lebanese farmers’ association says. As the surplus of produce causes domestic prices to collapse, traders are desperately trying to find other buyers for their fruit with sell-by dates approaching. “It’s not only Saudi Arabia. It’s about all the Gulf markets,” says Mahmoud Al Sanousi, floor manager at Al Fadl trading company’s banana-processing plant in Adloun. “We have refrigerated products that transit through Saudi Arabia to Kuwait and Qatar. "We have trucks currently on the road to Dubai and Kuwait. Now they have to go back or dispose of the products. “If this is not solved soon, we are going to be throwing a lot of fruit out.”

by arabnews.com -- NAJIA HOUSSARI -- BEIRUT: A pomegranate shipment hiding millions of Captagon pills entered Lebanon in stages through the Masnaa border crossing with Syria, a Lebanese customs official has claimed in an interview with Arab News where he tried to lessen his country’s responsibility for the drug-stuffed fruit shipment which has recently caused Saudi Arabia to ban all fruit and vegetables imports from Lebanon. The narcotic-stuffed shipment was seized in Dammam last Friday. On Monday President Michel Aoun said Lebanon was keen not to endanger the safety of any country, while caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab said neither Lebanon nor its people would accept any harm caused to the Saudis. “We are with the Kingdom in combating smuggling networks and pursuing those involved,” Diab said.

Preventing smuggling from Lebanon’s borders was the focus of a meeting chaired by Aoun, with ministers and officials from security and customs services taking part. Saudi Arabia was urged to “reconsider” its ban, which came into effect on Sunday, and Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi was assigned to communicate and coordinate with the Kingdom’s authorities to “follow up the procedures to discover the perpetrators and prevent the recurrence of such odious practices.”​ But a customs source revealed the scale of the challenge, as well sharing insights into the smuggling process. “It is a constant war with smugglers and it needs advanced equipment while we work manually,” the customs source told Arab News. “The quantity of pomegranates that contained Captagon tablets entered Lebanon in stages on more than one truck at the end of January through the Masnaa border crossing with Syria. Documents of the consignments indicated that the pomegranates were imported for internal Lebanese consumption and bear a certificate that they are of Syrian origin and not intended for transit.”

NNA – Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Beshara Boutros Rahi, called on Lebanese officials to keep the judicial body away from the vicious circle …