Mistaken identity: Lebanese man held in Greece on hijacking suspicion released

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By BASSEM MROUE | Associated Press  -- BEIRUT — A Lebanese citizen who was detained in Greece on suspicion of involvement in a 1985 TWA hijacking and set free after it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity is in good health and expected to fly back to Lebanon, the man and his wife said Tuesday. Mohammed Saleh's wife, Leila, said by telephone from her home in the southern Lebanese port city of Sidon that she spoke with her husband, who also sent her his photos as proof that he is fine and staying in a hotel while he completes necessary paperwork ahead of his return home. The 65-year-old man was arrested Thursday on the resort island of Mykonos, where he stopped during a cruise. The name on his passport came up on a European police computer system as that of a man wanted by Germany over the hijacking, in which an American was killed.

The police statement said German authorities were unable to identify the suspect and finally said Monday afternoon that they wouldn't be seeking his extradition because he was not the man they wanted. The Greek police never released the man's name. On Tuesday morning, Saleh sent a short text message: "I am still working on the release documents. I am free but there are some measures in order to get a visa." Saleh needs a visa now to be able to go to Athens as those going on cruises don't need one since they only spend a few hours on the island.

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Lebanese c. bank says dollars available, customer demand met

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BEIRUT, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh said on Monday that Lebanese banks were meeting customer demand for U.S. dollars which are still available at ATMs in most banks, if not all of them. “Dollars are available in Lebanon and the talk that we see in social media and sometimes in the media is exaggerated and has goals,” Salameh said in a televised news conference. He said any measures taken at ATMs were down to the policy of each individual bank, adding: “But dollars are still available in the ATMs, perhaps not in all the banks, but in most of the banks,” he said. Any transaction a customer could not carry out at an ATM could be completed at the bank counter, he added. (Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Toby Chopra) Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Lebanese PM talks to Saudi minister about support for economy

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BEIRUT (Reuters) - Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri spoke to the Saudi finance minister on Saturday about support for the Lebanese economy and preparations for the first meeting of a bilateral council, his media office said. Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said on Wednesday that Riyadh was in discussions with the Lebanese government about providing financial support, lifting Lebanon’s dollar-denominated government bonds. Lebanon, one of the world’s most heavily indebted states, faces financial strains linked to a slowdown in capital inflows needed to meet the financing needs of the government and the import-dependent economy. Years of low growth have also weighed.

Central bank foreign assets have been in decline. These, excluding gold, fell around 15% from an all-time high in May last year to $38.7 billion in mid-September. In a phone call, Hariri and Jadaan discussed “preparations to hold the first meeting of the Lebanese-Saudi joint committee and ... the agenda that includes agreements and memorandums of understanding that are intended to be signed”. They also discussed “ways leading to the support of the Lebanese economy and the participation of the Saudi private sector in projects included in the Cedre conference”, a reference to a major infrastructure investment program.

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Temporary closure of Lebanese Future TV: A sign that online video is the future?

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by ameinfo.com -- Earlier this week, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Al Hariri announced that he will be temporarily shutting down his family-owned TV station, Future TV, after being on air for 26 years. “It is with great regret I announce today a decision to suspend the work of Future TV and payment of dues to the channel’s employees. This is due to the same financial reasons that led to the closure of the newspaper Al-Mustaqbal,” said Hariri in a statement. Hariri explained that it is essential that “the people of Future TV, all the Lebanese public, and the Arab brothers know that the channel will not be shut down and the decision is not to suspend its work permanently and turn it into a part of the past. The channel is rather announcing the end of a period of its journey to be able to address the accumulated financial burdens.”

According to Middle East Monitor, “Future TV employees have been on strike since early August over unpaid wages, a crisis that has continued for years but has aggravated in recent months.” AMEinfo also heard of this first-hand from a disgruntled employee working for the station. He is one of about 300 employees and freelancers working for the troubled station.

'Show me the money'; dollar-hungry businesses squeezed in Lebanon

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BEIRUT (Reuters) by Lisa Barrington and Ellen Francis -- Cars line up to fill their tanks but the worker at the gas station in Lebanon’s capital city waves them off, standing by the ‘Strike!’ signs. “No fuel today,” he shouts. The day of industrial action, replicated at petrol pumps across the country, was not really about fuel, it was about the dollars needed to pay for it, or rather the lack of them. “We don’t want a crisis ... the sector is bleeding,” said Fadi Abu Chakra, a spokesman for fuel distributors who led the strike this week. “We (get paid) in Lebanese pounds, and we need dollars to pay importers. Where are we supposed to get dollars if the banks are not giving them?”

A stagnant local economy and a slowdown in cash injections from Lebanese abroad have reduced the central bank’s foreign currency reserves, making it difficult for businesses to buy the dollars they need from banks. Some say they are being forced to go to money exchange houses which charge rates above the official peg of 1,507.5 pounds to the dollar. Lebanon has not seen such financial strains since its 1975-1990 civil war. The steady pressure has raised concerns for the stability of a country where political tensions - local and regional - are never far from the surface, and which hosts around a million Syrian refugees.

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Report: SA is Cutting Visa Fees for Lebanese

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by naharnet.com -- Obtaining a Saudi visa is about to become cheaper for Lebanese nationals. The Lebanese Broadcasting Station TV said on Saturday that Saudi authorities aim to cut down the fees to obtain all kinds of visa entry for Lebanese. The fees will be reduced to $80 dollars, which is equivalent to SR 300. According to the Saudi Embassy website, for non-U.S. passport holders the visa fee is one hundred and thirty-four U.S. dollars ($134.00) for multiple entries and fifty-four U.S. dollars ($54.00) for a single entry. The visa fee is one hundred and eight U.S. dollars ($108.00) for U.S. passport holders.