By NAJIA HOUSSARI -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, commander of the US Central Command (USCENTCOM), has stressed the importance of the strong partnership between the US and the Lebanese Armed Forces. He reaffirmed the importance of preserving Lebanon’s security, stability, and sovereignty, and underscored the importance of the strong partnership between the US and Lebanese militaries. Gen. McKenzie arrived in Beirut amid protests against this visit organized by supporters of Hezbollah on the road leading to Rafic Hariri International Airport, while Lebanese troops took extreme measures to prevent protesters from approaching McKenzie’s convoy. The Information Office of the Lebanese Presidency issued a statement noting: “(General) McKenzie met with President Michel Aoun who praised the cooperation between the Lebanese and US armies in matters of training and armament, and hoped to further develop the military cooperation between Lebanon and the US.”

Aoun pointed out to “the support that the Lebanese Army received from the US Army in 2017 during the battle of Aarsal against Daesh and Al-Nusra,” and added “the (Lebanese) army succeeded in eliminating terrorist dormant cells and continues pursuing them.” The statement noted that McKenzie confirmed the “continuous support of the US military command to the Lebanese army that is defending Lebanon’s independence and sovereignty at all levels including combat and continuous high-level training.” Gen. McKenzie was accompanied by USCENTCOM officials and officers, as well as the US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea, and US Defense Attaché Robert Meine. The US Embassy in Lebanon said: “The one-day visit to Lebanon also included meetings with senior Lebanese political and defense leaders, including representatives of the Ministry of Defense and the Lebanese Armed Forces, office calls at the US Embassy, and a brief stop at memorials honoring the memory of those who have perished in service to their country.”

 By SARAH EL DEEB -- BEIRUT (AP) - A Lebanese businessman serving a five-year sentence in the United States for providing millions of dollars to the militant Hezbollah group arrived Wednesday in Beirut after his early release, local media reported. Kassim Tajideen was sentenced last year in a federal court in Washington for his role in a money laundering conspiracy aimed at evading U.S. sanctions. He was arrested in Morocco and extradited to the U.S. in 2017, where he was charged with laundering money for Hezbollah. A State Department official said the U.S. government had opposed Tajideen's motion for compassionate release but in the end the court ruled in his favor. Tajideen, who was designated as a terrorist in 2009, would remain on a terrorist list and his assets would remain blocked, the official added. The fact that he is being released early doesn't diminish the severity of his crime, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. There was no immediate comment from Lebanese officials on Tajideen's early release.

Lebanon's National News Agency reported Tajideen's arrival. A local Lebanese TV station, LBC, broadcast a video taken with a mobile phone of his arrival at the Beirut airport. He stepped out of a small jet, wearing a face mask as a necessary coronavirus precaution. The video shows a man rushing toward Tajideen, hugging him and stooping down to Tajideen's feet in celebration of his release. A federal judge in Washington had ordered Tajideen's release in May. The National, an English language newspaper in the United Arab Emirates, said the 64-year-old Tajideen was granted compassionate release due to health conditions and fears of coronavirus infections in prison. The U.S. Department of Justice had contested the release. Tajideen was accused of conspiring with at least five other people to conduct over $50 million in transactions with U.S. businesses in violation of sanctions barring him from doing business with U.S. nationals and companies because of his support for Hezbollah. Washington has designated the Iran-backed Hezbollah a terrorist group. Tajideen pleaded guilty last December and agreed to forfeit $50 million.

By HUSSAIN ABDUL-HUSSAIN -- asiatimes.com -- Lebanon is in a state of severe economic stress. The price of almost every good has soared beyond the ability of many citizens. Legions are out of work. Businesses are locked in a dire existential struggle. There is perhaps no more accurate judgment on the state of an economy than the currency market. In this respect, although the Lebanese pound remains officially – fantastically, one might add – pegged at roughly 1,500 to the US dollar, in truth it takes close to 9,000 pounds to exchange for a dollar. That is an 83% devaluation in the market’s faith in the economy. Many Lebanese, however, are unaware that their national crisis is in fact of Lebanon’s own making. Mostly, they blame an American embargo – one that does not really exist. This misplacement of blame blinds the country to the real cause of its malaise: Hezbollah. Except for sanctions imposed by the US Treasury Department’s anti-terrorism arm, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, on a few Lebanese entities and individuals connected to Hezbollah – the self-claimed “party of God” – there is no financial restriction on the state of Lebanon or any of great substance against its institutions, public or private.

But even without being under sanctions, foreign direct investment – usually the engine of economic growth – shies away from Lebanon. Foreign investors are simply unwilling to bring their money into a country that lives in a state of perpetual war, with Hezbollah currently involved in regional entanglements – in Syria, Yemen and Iraq – or threatening to go to war with Israel. When the Friends of Lebanon group convened an international donor conference two years ago that came to be known as Cedre, it pledged a rescue package worth US$11 billion. The only conditions were that Beirut should get its act together and eradicate corruption and privatize state utilities – especially the highly inefficient Electricité du Liban.

by middleeasteye.net -- Kareem Chehayeb -- Lebanon’s iconic Casino du Liban was once where the richest of the region came to play. Standing on the cliffs above the Mediterranean, 20 kilometres north of Beirut, it has been dubbed as the Monte Carlo of the Middle East. Though much-loved and revered as a monument to Lebanon’s better days, the casino, which is part-owned by the state, could find itself soon out of the public’s hands. Lebanon’s economy is in freefall. The currency has lost some 80 percent of its value in recent months and officials are eyeing ways to raise liquidity, including selling off some of the state’s most prized assets, such as the casino. Like the rest of the country, Casino du Liban is emerging from a coronavirus lockdown. A disinfectant booth greets visitors at the entrance, and men in jumpsuits busy themselves outside, preparing for another round of sanitisation.

Portraits of former Lebanese heads of states and international celebrities in the entrance hall put the casino front and centre of the country and region’s history. Lebanon’s casino has hosted a slew of high-ranking officials and celebrities, including the shahs of Iran, King Abdullah of Jordan, and even Osama bin Laden. It was considered “impressive culturally, but also socially”, Mona Fawaz, professor of urban studies and planning at the American University of Beirut, told MEE. But aside from flaunting social status and enjoying cultural events, it was also a place to do business and “meet important people”, she said. In fact, Fawaz said, business networking at Casino du Liban was integral to commence major development projects in Lebanon, like in Hay El-Sellom, the country’s largest informal settlement just south of Beirut. “Back in the 1950s, [the developer] knew he had to go there to meet important people to get services and other supplies to the neighbourhood,” Fawaz says. “That’s how he met all these important people to bring in asphalt and other things to that neighbourhood.” Nothing of the sort has been possible in recent months, however. Coronavirus forced an 80-day closure, and though scores of mask-wearing men and women can be seen playing the slot machines, the casino’s restaurants are still shut, as are other gaming areas.