by Michael Jansen -- jordantimes.com -- French President Emmanuel Macron's COVID-cancelled visit to Beirut this week appears to have torpedoed hopes that he would be able to coax Lebanon's squabbling politicians to agree on a formula for a fully-fledged government before the end of the year. Macron has consistently called for an independent government of experts capable of launching reforms put forward in the road map presented by him in September. President Michel Aoun has retorted by rejecting the notion of an independent Cabinet of experts and calling for the usual government of party appointees and demanding for his Free Patriotic Movement one-third of posts and veto power over any decisions. After mediation by France, Maronite Catholic Archbishop Beschara Al Rai, and Hizbollah Aoun now insists on interior and justice portfolios. Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri has rejected this proposition on the ground it is designed to "bypass the French initiative" and would "open the door to the representation of political factions in the government". This is precisely what the French, foreign donors and the International Fund want to avoid.

Hariri resigned following the eruption in October last year of popular protests against the politicians, whose incompetence and corruption have diven Lebanon into an economic crisis. He expected he would be asked to form the very sort of government the people want and he is meant to establish at this time. Instead, the politicians asked Hassan Diab, an academic with no political clout, to put together a new Cabinet. He, also, dreamed he would enlist independent experts but was soon disabused of this idea. The experts he was permitted to appoint were chosen by the very political factions the Lebanese people are determined to oust. Needless to say, the politicians scuppered every attempt Diab made to initiate the reforms demanded by the donors and the IMF. The Lebanese economy continued to slide downwards while resentment has soared against the politicians who refused to budge from their right to decide who would be in the government. One would have thought the politicians would be prepared to cede to the demand for independent ministers following the August 4th explosion of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, which had been stored for six years in Beirut port, levelling it and four neighbouring districts, killing 204 people, wounding several thousand and rendering 300,000 homeless. The politicians were accused of causing this disaster through indifference and neglect. It was the largest man-made explosion since US atomic bombs devastated the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II.

by middleeastmonitor -- When Joe Bejjany was shot with a silencer as he got ready to take his two daughters to pre-school, it shocked not only his mountain village but a country already on edge. No clear motive has so far surfaced for the murder of the 36-year-old Lebanese telecoms employee and freelance photographer on Monday. But that did not stop local media and people wondering aloud whether it was linked to an ongoing investigation into August's devastating blast at Beirut port. Residents of Kahaleh, some 13 km (8 miles) from Beirut, say they want a swift investigation into what they believe was a planned operation of some kind or another. "This is not just about our village. Because today it's Joe, tomorrow it's someone else," said Jean Bejjany, the head of the municipal council and a distant relative. "Are we going to have to protect our own houses and villages?"

A number of recent murky deaths have fuelled similar rumours of links to the explosion, even as security officials say they have no evidence of a connection. Nearly five months since the huge stockpile of chemicals, stored unsafely for years, detonated at the port, that inquiry has yet to yield public results. The blast killed 200 people and ravaged swathes of the capital, compounding a financial meltdown that has also triggered generalised fears over security. Earlier this month, authorities pledged to probe the death of a retired customs officer who was found dead in his home.

by naharnet.com -- Central Bank governor Riad Salameh said on Tuesday the crisis of ending subsidies on the import of basic goods can be solved without reducing the foreign reserves if the new government takes the necessary measures. In remarks to the US-based Arabic-language satellite TV channel, al-Hurra, Salameh described as “exaggerated” the reports claiming that deposits of the Lebanese people in local banks have “evaporated.” He stressed that the dollar liquidity crisis in Lebanese banks began a gradual decline, revealing that the depositors' money was not in the "central" bank. He said a year ago until today, deposits worth 30 billion dollars have been withdrawn from Lebanese banks, 20 billion dollars of which have been used to cover debts. "The debt portfolio decreased significantly in the banking sector from 55 billion to 35 billion dollars today,” he said. “The second part was used to buy real estate, while the third part was taken in cash, and we estimate that approximately 10 billion dollars are with the Lebanese,” he added.

On the problematic issue of lifting subsidies on the import of basic goods, Salameh said we are keen that the Lebanese remain capable of buying medicines, fuel and foodstuff at the official dollar rate of LBP 1500. He said it is up to the government to decide how to rationalize imports, stressing the need to set specific approaches that allow the Lebanese to get their basic needs, while concurrently preserving the bank’s foreign reserves. “The bank still has two billion dollars before touching the foreign reserves,” he said, noting that forming a credible government that inspires confidence in creditors helps restore liquidity back to the country.

By Spencer S. Hsu and Kareem Fahim - Washington Post -- The U.S. government is weighing a request to declare Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman immune from a federal lawsuit accusing him of targeting for assassination a former top intelligence officer who could disclose damaging secrets about the prince’s ascent to power, according to legal documents related to the case. The Saudi government has asked that the prince be shielded from liability in response to a complaint brought by Saad Aljabri, a former Saudi counterterrorism leader and longtime U.S. intelligence ally now living in exile in Canada. A State Department recommendation could also lead to the dismissal of the prince as a defendant in other cases recently filed in the United States, including ones accusing him of directing the death and dismemberment of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018; and of targeting a hack and leak operation to discredit an Al Jazeera news anchor, Ghada Oueiss, in retaliation for her critical reports on Mohammed and the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates

The State Department sent a questionnaire last month to Aljabri’s lawyers, soliciting their legal views on whether it should grant the Saudi request, according to a person close to the family who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the pending litigation and the document, which The Post reviewed. Attorneys for Aljabri and Mohammed and a spokesman for the State Department declined to comment, citing pending litigation. Former Saudi intelligence officer accuses crown prince of ordering his assassination in Canada The request to the Trump administration comes as the State Department, Aljabri’s family and supportive U.S. lawmakers have condemned Riyadh for detaining two of Aljabri’s children in a bid to silence him.