(Bloomberg) — French investigators will arrive in Beirut on Jan. 18 to speak with Carlos Ghosn, the former chairman of Nissan Motor …

Christine Douglass-Williams -- weeklyblitz.net -- Turkey, which has been bullying Greece for some time, recently threatened the EU that it shouldn’t “dare” to impose sanctions over Turkish aggression toward Greece and Cyprus. For the past few months, Greece has been bolstering its military, amid Turkey’s ongoing “provocative statements” and “near-daily” threats of war. Particularly worrying with the latest spy news development is Lebanese involvement. Turkey is feared to be expanding its influence in Lebanon and shipping weapons there. Turkey has also been working with Qatar to shape Libyan politics. The two countries were reportedly setting up a military training camp to train Muslim Brotherhood troops in Libya. Both Libya and Lebanon are marked by instability, which Turkey has demonstrated its eagerness to settle. Given its aggressive expansionary ambitions, its opportunism is expected. Days ago, Greek police “detained a Turkish consular official on suspicion of spying… in a case likely to further strain troubled relations between the two NATO allies.”

By Linda Bordoni -- vaticannews -- In a letter addressed to the head of the Church in Lebanon, Pope Francis makes an urgent appeal to political and religious leaders and to the international community to help the nation surmount the grave crisis in which it finds itself and resume a normal existence. Writing on Christmas Eve to His Beatitude Cardinal Béchara Boutros Raï, Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites and President of the Assembly of the Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops of Lebanon, the Pope says his words are for the “Lebanese people, without distinction of community or religion.” They are words, he says, “of comfort and encouragement as we celebrate the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.”

Sharing his concern and sorrow to see the suffering and anguish that has engulfed Lebanon undermining its resilience and resourcefulness, the Pope says, “It is even more painful to see you deprived of your precious aspirations to live in peace and to continue being, for our time and our world, a message of freedom and a witness to harmonious coexistence.” In particular, Pope Francis expresses his sorrow for the many young people of Lebanon “robbed of any hope for a better future.”

Reuters -- caretaker finance minister said it would contact a consulting firm to resume a forensic audit of the central bank, a key condition for foreign aid that has hit a roadblock. Parliament agreed this week to lift banking secrecy for one year, after the restructuring consultancy Alvarez & Marsal pulled out of the audit, saying it had not been given information it needed. “It was decided based on the law from parliament and government decisions to contact the firm A&M to resume the forensic audit,” caretaker Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni’s office cited him as saying after meeting with the president. A presidency statement later quoted Wazni as saying the firm had recently sent a letter to the central bank that showed its willingness to resume work with the Lebanese government. Such an audit is on list of reforms donors have demanded before helping Lebanon out of its financial crisis, rooted in decades of state waste and graft. Central Bank governor Riad Salameh said last month that he favoured an audit but that disclosing the accounts of local banks would require a change in legislation. Some Lebanese officials have accused Salameh of using bank secrecy laws to justify withholding information.