Timour Azhari -- Al Jazeera -- BEIRUT, LEBANON - Lebanon's Central Bank on Friday said depositors with small dollar-denominated accounts would soon be able to withdraw - and withdraw in local currency - money that has been trapped in the Lebanese banking system for almost half a year. The cash will be disbursed at a market rate set daily on an online platform. A senior banking source told Al Jazeera that the platform is expected to be ready within a week to 10 days, at which point the new measures may go into effect. The decision was made public in a circular released by Lebanon's central bank. It will allow people with accounts containing $3,000 or less to withdraw their money in Lebanese pounds at the market rate, which is substantially higher than the official rate. The market rate on Friday stood at 2,800 Lebanese pounds to the United States dollar, compared to the official rate of 1,500 Lebanese pounds to the dollar, according to a daily survey of exchange dealers across the country, published online.

Lebanon's currency has been pegged to the dollar at 1,500 Lebanese pounds for 23 years, but began depreciating on parallel markets last summer due to unsustainable financial policies that cracked under an acute dollar shortage. The dollar shortage was the result of a decade-long economic slump and a slowdown in remittances from Lebanon's large diaspora. Suffering from a dollar liquidity issue, banks imposed increasingly harsh capital controls in November. Depositors had only been allowed to withdraw a few hundred dollars per month from dollar-denominated accounts, forcing many to withdraw cash in Lebanese pounds at the official rate, which was substantially less than the market rate and thereby caused them to incur significant losses. The decision also allows people with accounts in local currency under five million Lebanese pounds ($3,330, at the official rate) to convert their money into dollars at the official rate and then withdraw it in Lebanese pounds at the higher parallel rate. For example, a depositor with three million Lebanese pounds in his or her account would be able to convert it to $2,000 and then convert it back to Lebanese pounds at the market rate of 2,800 Lebanese pounds to the US dollar, which would equal 5.6 million Lebanese pounds. This means the account holder will effectively double his money.

by middleeastmonitor.com -- In recent weeks, accusations have circulated that Hezbollah’s coronavirus response plan is a cover-up for a huge number of unreported COVID-19 cases in Lebanon. Indeed, the Lebanese government, at the Iranian-backed militia group’s urging, continued to allow commercial flights from Iran for more than three weeks after the first confirmed coronavirus case was reported in Beirut on 20 February. Despite the first case, and several subsequent ones originating from the Islamic Republic, which has the most coronavirus cases in the region. Though flights to and from Iran were officially banned from 11 March and Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport was shuttered to all but essential movements of cargo, UNIFIL and diplomatic missions from 18 March, on 21 March, a weekly scheduled Qatar Airways flight from Tehran to Beirut arrived as normal. Lebanese authorities claimed the flight carried cargo. Yet, the continuation of cross-border movement with the region’s worst infected nation, and the origin of Lebanon’s first cases, while nearby states, such as Jordan, took draconian measures to contain the disease, has stoked accusations of a cover-up.

A recent Guardian article noted that “parts of Lebanon and Iraq in particular are likely to be holding thousands more sufferers”, the report cites Lebanese officials who allege that Hezbollah has quarantined several southern towns and villages to hide the extent of the outbreak. A policy analysis from Hanin Ghaddar at the Washington Institute lends credence to this narrative and alleges that the militia group’s health plan is a recognition that it can no longer hide the extent of the coronavirus outbreak. Arguably, it is probable that Lebanon has thousands more cases of coronavirus than reported, but not that Hezbollah is hiding the extent of the outbreak. Official numbers the world over are skewed by a lack of testing, and government advice to corona-suggestive patients to stay home, despite symptoms, to avoid overwhelming healthcare services. These cases, and those that show no symptoms at all – a study in Iceland showed that half of coronavirus carriers show no symptoms – are not included in any official statistics, so it is not just Hezbollah or even Lebanon that is failing to reveal the real number of cases.

by arabnews.com — LONDON: Lebanese superstar Fairuz released a video on Friday of her praying in her home for humanity to be …

by arabnews.com -- NAJIA HOUSSARI --BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities have set up a dedicated domestic violence hotline to deal with a surge in cases of physical, sexual and psychological abuse since the introduction of home quarantine over the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). According to the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW), the majority of reported attacks have been against women and girls. An NCLW spokesperson said: “The psychological pressures caused by the home quarantine in these circumstances (the COVID-19 pandemic), in addition to the economic pressures, have contributed to an increase of physically, morally, psychologically, emotionally and sexually abusive practices inflicted by violent individuals on abused women and girls.” The NCLW, in cooperation with Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces (ISF), has established a special phoneline linked to the ISF’s operations room along with a website for abuse victims and witnesses to report incidents of domestic violence.

Lt. Col. Joseph Msallam, head of the ISF’s public relations division, told Arab News: “March has seen a rise in the number of domestic violence complaints, which reached 48 cases. We quickly move to stop the perpetrators by order of the judicial authorities. “People are losing their temper, and we have seen an increase in quarrels that occur for ridiculous reasons such as car parking. There was a case recorded in a southern suburb of Beirut a few days ago that developed into a murder.” The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Lebanon on Thursday rose by 15 to 494, with 16 deaths and 43 recoveries. Three patients were reported to be in a critical condition and over a period of 24 hours, 539 lab tests were carried out on people suspected of having contracted the virus.