Lebanese PM says new cabinet prioritising energy crisis, restoring relations with Arab states

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by english.alaraby.co.uk -- Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Sunday that his new cabinet’s priorities are to mend ties with Arab nations and solve the country’s pressing issues, particularly the energy crisis. "Now is not the time for political (bickering), but rather the time to get to work to lift Lebanon from its crises, put a stop to the collapse, and speed up work on solving the electricity crisis and finding quick solutions to it," Mikati said in comments to Almodon. Lebanon was plunged into an exacerbating energy crisis this year due to fuel shortages necessary for power plants and private generators, as the Lebanese Central Bank gradually lifts subsidies because of dwindling US dollar reserves. Mikati had previously said that the new government will be forced to lift subsidies completely on fuel, which could push the country further into crisis if no solutions are found immediately.

A 2009 agreement with Egypt recently brought back to light could see Lebanon import natural gas, as well as electricity from Jordan, to help solve the crisis. Electricity expenditure accounts to about half of Lebanon’s sovereign debt. Speaking to Almodon, Mikati preferred not to touch on sensitive political topics to avoid division in his new cabinet, but instead said he looked forward to cooperating with President Michel Aoun to achieve what was necessary. "This must start with a new governmental and political methodology, topped with restoring relations with all states, especially Arab countries. This is what should be focused on in the ministerial statement," he said. Ties between Lebanon and Gulf states have been rattled in recent years due to repeated attacks on their leaders by Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah. Gulf states have accused the Shia paramilitary group of assisting other Iranian-backed militias, such as Yemen’s Houthis, in launching drone attacks on Saudi Arabia.

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New Government for Lebanon but Analysts Wonder About Real Reforms

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By By Dale Gavlak -- voanews.com -- Following yearlong political paralysis that has sunk its economy, Lebanon finally has a new government. Analysts wonder, though, whether Prime Minister Najib Mikati, the country’s richest man, will deliver the needed reforms to revive the ailing nation and rescue Lebanon from bankruptcy. His Cabinet reinforces the country's crippling sectarianism and Gulf Arabs will be unlikely to provide financial help as long as Iran-backed Hezbollah maintains a stranglehold on power, the analysts say. Pressing Lebanese politicians to end their political bickering over portfolios, the U.S. and France welcomed the new government, saying urgent action must be taken to tackle the country’s dire economic crisis, especially after the deadly Beirut port blast in August of last year.

Lebanese analyst Dania Koleilat Khatib with the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut told VOA that after more than 13 months of waiting for a new government, the Lebanese people are disappointed with the resulting Cabinet, and desperate to stop the slide toward poverty and chaos they are experiencing. Most critically, she says that the finance minister who needs to resume talks with the International Monetary Fund on unlocking badly needed financial support, is viewed as unlikely to be tough enough on his former employer, the central bank, which is widely blamed for Lebanon’s bankruptcy. “They kept the same sectarian network, the same system," she said. "People were expecting change. Nothing new, same old, same old because still there will not be any reforms unless the Ministry of Finance is free put by a really independent person.

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President Michel Sleiman: السياسة الخارجية للبنان يجب ان تعيده الى الدول التي ارتبط بها عبر التاريخ بعلاقات الصداقة والمصلحة

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السياسة الخارجية للبنان يجب ان تعيده الى الدول التي ارتبط بها عبر التاريخ بعلاقات الصداقة والمصلحة.
هذه الدول هي التي ينتشر فيها اولادنا او احفادنا ويعملون ويستثمرون ويتخصصون في ربوعها ويقصدونها للاستشفاء.
هذه الدول هي التي ساعدت لبنان على الدوام ودعمت جيشه وقواه الامنيه واستثمر اولادها  وصناديقها في وطننا، وانتدبت ضباطها وجنودها الى قوات الطوارىء الدولية منذ اكثر من ٤٠ عاماً واستشهد وجرح منهم المئات.
هذه الدول هي التي جلّ ما
تطلبه منا هو الحياد والحياد فقط… لا اكثر !

Inflationary Pressures Force Lebanese to Make Tough Choices

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By Maha El Dahan and Alaa Kanaan BEIRUT (Reuters) - Ibrahim Jaber was laid off when the fast food restaurant where he worked as a chef in Beirut shut down. Unable to find another job, he had to take his daughter out of school to put food on the table at home. Inflation forces tough choices on Lebanese Inflation forces tough choices on LebaneseNOW PLAYING Lebanese activists lead beach clean-up and swim Rage after Texas law restricts abortions, as Supreme Court remains mum on Roe v. Wade | September 5 White House has given no indication Biden plans change in Aug 31 pullout - source Explosion near Kabul airport: "It was quite expected since day one" He is one of many Lebanese who have found themselves facing staggering inflation just as their employers, also hit by the country's spiralling financial crisis, cut back or close. "I will not register my daughter in school, I can't afford it," Jaber said. "The owners (of the restaurant) used to give us a fund for school, now we don't get it." Those who kept their jobs have seen the real value of their salaries dramatically reduced as the currency has lost around 90% of its value against the dollar in the past two years. "I would rather work anywhere in the world, even just picking up garbage, than stay in this country," Jaber said.

Experts are warning of hyperinflation if Lebanon's deeply divided politicians do not form a government soon to tackle a financial crisis which began in 2019 and threatens to destabilise a country torn by civil war in 1975-90. The World Food Programme (WFP) says food inflation has risen by as much as 557% since Oct. 2019. "We are talking one in five people or families struggling to put food on the table," WFP spokeswoman Rasha Abou Dargham said. Many families she visits on a regular basis are choosing to skip meals to feed their children while others are relying on the goodwill of nearby bakeries to send them free food every once in a while in order to cope. With the cost of living rising steeply, the caretaker government has promised employees various bonuses, including an increase in their transport allowance by 16,000 Lebanese pounds a day, less than a dollar at the current market rate.

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Lebanese leaders form government after 13-month stalemate & Line up (read more)

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by AP -- Lebanon has been without a fully empowered government since the catastrophic Aug. 4, 2020 explosion at Beirut port, which forced the resignation of then Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s government. Rival political groups had been locked in disagreement over the make-up of a new government since then, hastening the country’s economic meltdown. The new Cabinet of 24 ministers headed by billionaire businessman Najib Mikati was announced by the president's office, and later by the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers, Mahmoud Makkieh. Ministers were handpicked by the same politicians who have ruled the country for the past decades and whose corruption and mismanagement many blame for the country’s current crisis.

The new government announced Friday faces a mammoth task that few believe can be surmounted, including undertaking critically needed reforms. Among its first jobs will be overseeing a financial audit of the Central Bank, and resuming negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a rescue package to stem the country’s collapse. The new Cabinet is also expected to oversee general elections scheduled for next year. Mikati, a businessman tycoon from the northern city of Tripoli and one of the richest men in Lebanon, was tasked with forming a new government in July. He is widely considered to be part of the same political class that brought the country to bankruptcy. He served as prime minister in 2005 and from 2011 to 2013. It was not immediately clear what last-minute compromise resulted in the breakthrough Friday. The announcement of a new government comes after recent U.S. and French pressure to form a Cabinet, after Lebanon’s economic unraveling reached a critical point with crippling shortages in fuel and medicine threatening to shut down hospitals, bakeries and the country’s internet.

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Lbnb: local Airbnb launched in Lebanon in answer to banking crisis

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By Fatima Al Mahmoud -- thenationalnews.com -- Lebanon’s economic crisis may have put a cap on people’s foreign-currency deposits, but not their creativity. Lbnb, Lebanon's answer to Airbnb, was created by hospitality designer and architect Nagi El Husseini, 43, to salvage the hard-hit services sector. While the online platform looks a lot like the international equivalent, it charges in Lebanese pounds and serves as a marketplace for homestays, holiday rentals and tourism.

Lbnb's Lebanese pound denomination gets around the limits on foreign currency cash withdrawals and online spending imposed by Lebanese banks. The restrictions came into effect in the summer of 2019 as Lebanon's economic crisis began – the value of the Lebanese pound lost more than 80 per cent of its value in a matter of weeks, banks halted withdrawals and limited spending in foreign currencies. US dollars – once used in tandem with the pound – became scarce as the country’s foreign reserves dried up. “Because of the financial crisis, people could not use Airbnb anymore,” Mr El Husseini told The National. “So we created a Lebanese Airbnb where everything is in Lebanese.” The goal, Mr El Husseini said, is to encourage property owners who have spare rooms or houses to put them up for rent and earn a side income. The platform also aims to promote local travel in major Lebanese cities and offbeat villages. “Our motto is travel local, pay local,” he said. “We’re not competing with Airbnb. We’re complementing it and trying to fill the gaps in the market.”

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