by arabnews.com -- NAJIA HOUSSARI -- BEIRUT: Lebanon has suspended repatriation flights until April 27 for thousands of nationals trapped abroad by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. The Lebanese Cabinet committee tasked with bringing home stranded citizens said the move was designed “to maintain the capacity of hospitals and hotels designated for isolation and to re-evaluate the measures taken.” Meanwhile, Alwaleed Bin Talal Humanitarian Foundation announced that it would bear the costs of flying home students from Italy, France and Ukraine, while Middle East Airlines (MEA), Lebanon’s national flag carrier, has offered a 50 percent discount for students and allowed their family members to pay for flight tickets in Lebanese pounds. The number of recorded COVID-19 cases in Lebanon on Wednesday rose by 17 – including five nationals returning from abroad – to 658. There were 34 people newly infected by the virus among the 2,317 citizens returned to Lebanon between April 6 and 13 on 20 commercial flights, and 356 returnees on 53 private jets, that landed at Rafic Hariri International Airport on the permission of Lebanese authorities.

by DR. DANIA KOLEILAT KHATIB -- arabnews.com/ -- The Lebanese government this week leaked its long-awaited “reform plan,” which is supposed to form the basis for its negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and international donors. The plan is well drafted with technical and professional language and it has many figures, numbers and charts that are guaranteed to impress at first sight. However, it is an austerity plan, where the average citizen will bear the brunt of bailing out the country while existing politicians get a free pass. At the outset, the plan states some realities that have long been denied by the political system. The plan admits that the currency is overvalued, which hinders competitiveness, and that the dollar peg is no longer sustainable. It recognizes that the central bank’s reserves are depleted — something the governor has repeatedly refuted. It also admits that a full-fledged IMF program cannot be avoided. The plan makes other important confessions. The first is to pinpoint the destructive role the central bank played by acting like the government’s cashier and the lethal instruments it utilized; namely the financial engineering that has been in use since 2016. It also admits that the banking sector is too big for the Lebanese economy, standing at about 425 percent of gross domestic product.

It also lays down clear objectives, such as fighting corruption, restructuring debt and the financial system, reforming the public sector, and streamlining expenditures. Though the report says the objectives will be attained if reforms are conducted and if external support is garnered, it still fails to offer a proper execution mechanism, a proper timeline or an indication as to how the Lebanese public and the international donors can verify that the reforms have been conducted. The plan says that the treasury will increase tax audits without giving any explanation about how. The plan talks about tighter control of customs, in ports, airports and at land borders. Again, there is no explanation of how compliance can be measured. Smuggling, which is a large part of Lebanon’s tax evasion, is conducted by influential political parties. It is almost impossible, in the current situation, for the Lebanese government or security forces to stop it. Reforms are impossible with the current political structure. This government was formed only when the corrupt politicians — those who brought the country to its knees — agreed on dividing the positions among themselves and putting their people in the key roles, while they rule from behind the scenes. Will they allow the government to prosecute them? Very unlikely.

by catholicnews.com -- BEIRUT (CNS) -- Catholic patriarchs of the Middle East, in Easter messages from churches barren of the faithful due to the coronavirus, lamented the scourge of the pandemic while evoking the hope of the Resurrection. Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, Maronite patriarch, acknowledged that the COVID-19 threat had deprived the faithful of celebrating Easter in churches. Still, he said, Jesus wants people to be "a bright light in the darkness." "We pray for the recovery of all those infected and the protection of all citizens, as well as those who care for those afflicted with the virus, such as doctors, nurses and family members," he said appealing to the Lebanese people to stay quarantined in order to prevent the spread of the virus. On top of the pandemic, Lebanon is on the edge of economic collapse. Cardinal Rai urged the government to focus on social justice, to preserve the life savings of Lebanese and to recover what he called the state's "looted" funds.

In Beirut, Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan reminded the faithful of the saving power of Jesus. "Would that those who control the affairs of people in this world ... refrain from their selfishness and narrow interests and realize that their might, no matter how great, is so small in front of a virus that the naked eye cannot see, but has spread through the globe with a tremendous speed," Patriarch Younan said. "We, by the power of Our Lord Jesus, who is victorious over death, will inevitably overcome it, and the life cycle will return to normal," he said. "Let us plead with him from the bottom of our hearts to give the whole world a recovery in spirit and body, so that we can live true peace," he added. While acknowledging the negative consequences of home quarantine, Patriarch Younan emphasized that "we can turn it into a blessing and a time of grace, strengthening the bonds of honor and the bonds of family cohesion and relations of brotherhood, friendship and love between us."

  by arabnews.com — DUBAI: Lebanese singer Elissa has just released a new quarantine-inspired song and music video, starring fellow popstar Haifa …