by albawaba.com — Marwan Mahfouz was famous for his work with Al-Rahbani family, as he participated in many of their famous musicals, …

by english.aawsat.com — An Israeli drone crashed inside Lebanon during operational activity along the border, an Israeli military spokeswoman said Sunday. “There …

by arabnews.com -- NAJIA HOUSSARI -- BEIRUT: The government’s coronavirus follow-up committee has issued a series of recommendations to control the spread of the disease as more infections were recorded in all regions of Lebanon this week. It has recommended closing bars, nightclubs and indoor pools, electronic games centers for children, children’s clubs, sports halls and popular markets, as well as banning beach parties and religious and social events for a week. It said that occupancy in restaurants should not exceed 50 percent of capacity in enclosed areas. The recommendations, not yet endorsed by the relevant ministries, were formulated by specialized doctors. The number of cases of COVID-19 infections in Lebanon on Saturday exceeded 3,400 while the death toll rose to 46. The number of infections during the past week increased from an average of 75 cases to 166 a day.

Dr. Abdel-Rahman Bizri, a member of the national committee for infectious diseases, told Arab News: “If Lebanon continues to witness an increase in cases of infection, and as long as the Lebanese do not adhere to the preventive and precautionary measures, then we must get to this level.” “We are currently wavering between the third and fourth phase in confronting the virus, which means that we reached the stage of societal reproduction because the virus is internally spread and not being transmitted by people coming from abroad,” he said. Lebanon reopened its international airport on July 1 for commercial air traffic, with passengers required to be tested and proved free of the virus.

by Michael Fahy -- .thenational.ae -- A sharp increase in consumer price inflation is “a potent illustration of the severity of Lebanon’s crisis”, which could deteriorate unless the government takes urgent action, according to emerging markets research company Tellimer. Official figures published earlier this week showed a year-on-year increase in consumer price inflation from 56.5 per cent in May to 89.7 per cent in June as the value of the Lebanese pound continued to fall, causing the prices of food and other basics to rise.

Although Lebanon officially maintains its currency peg at 1,507.5 pounds to the US dollar, its value on the black market has declined by 75 per cent so far this year. The currency fell by 50 per cent from the end of May, according to Patrick Curran, a senior analyst at Tellimer Research, with the pound currently trading at about 8,200 to the dollar. “Lebanon’s US dollar peg has effectively subsidised imports since its inception in 1997, allowing Lebanon to consume beyond its means, but hollowing out industry in the process,” Mr Curran said. He said the “economy is, thus, extremely import-dependent” and cited the most recent gross domestic product figures from 2018 that showed imports accounting for about 40 per cent of the household consumption.