Lebanese bank hostage situation ends after partial funds payout

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BEIRUT,  (Reuters) - A hostage situation in a Beirut, Lebanon, bank ended on Thursday after authorities agreed to grant a Lebanese gunman partial access to his frozen funds in exchange for releasing all six hostages. Bassam al-Sheikh Hussein, 42, entered the Federal Bank of Lebanon branch in the Hamra neighbourhood of west Beirut with a firearm just before noon on Thursday, a security source told Reuters. "He demanded access to around $200,000 he had in his bank account. When the employee refused the request, he began screaming that his relatives were in the hospital. Then he pulled out the gun," the source said. The hostage situation ended after six hours when the bank agreed to give the man around $30,000, his sister and the head of a local banking association told local media. It was not immediately clear if the terms of the settlement included any criminal charges.

Some bank customers managed to flee before he shut the doors on the rest, said the source. At least one elderly man was released from the bank because of his age and government negotiators were deployed to begin talks with the hostage taker, the interior ministry said. The remaining six hostages comprised one customer and five bank employees, including bank manager Hassan Halawi, who spoke to Reuters by phone within the branch. "I'm in my office. He (the hostage taker) gets agitated, then calms down, then gets agitated again," Halawi said by phone before he was released.

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Minister Sejaan Azzi: رئيسُ الخصوصيّةِ اللبنانيّة

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سجعان قزي

@AzziSejean

نتّجِهُ إلى انتخابِ رئيسٍ جديدٍ لجُمهوريّةٍ مختلِفون عليها. كنا نَتخاصمُ على الرئيسِ ونتَّفقُ على الجمهوريّةِ، فصِرنا اليومَ متخاصِمين على الاثنين. كلُّ شعبٍ مُوحَّدٍ تَجمعُه قواسمُ مشتركَةٌ: الحريّةُ والأُخوّةُ والمساواةُ جَمعَت فرنسا الجُمهوريّة. الهويّةُ الجامعةُ المرتبطةُ بالمبادئِ السياسيّةِ الليبراليّةِ والمساواةِ جَمعَت الولاياتِ المتّحدةَ الأميركيّة. الهويّةُ اليهوديّةُ الصهيونيّةُ المتواصِلةُ بأسطورةِ "أرضِ الميعاد" جَمعت دولةَ إسرائيل. الحِيادُ والثقافةُ والشعورُ بالانتماءِ إلى إمبراطوريّةٍ تاريخيّةٍ انْدثَرت جَمعَت دولةَ النمسا الجديدة. التعدديّةُ الحضاريّةُ في نظامٍ فِدراليٍّ حِياديٍّ جَمعَت دولةَ سويسرا.

ماذا يَجمُع دولةَ لبنان؟ وماذا يَجمعُ اللبنانيّين؟ ما هي قواسِمُنا المشترَكَة؟ التقينا لتَجمَعنا القيمُ والحضاراتُ والثقافاتُ والمبادئ حولَ لبنان، لكنَّ هناك من انساقَ وراءَ عقائدَ قوميّةٍ ومشاريعَ دينيّةٍ ومذهبيّةٍ قَضَت على جميعِ محاولاتِ تثبيتِ الفكرةِ اللبنانيّةِ الرائعة. اليوم، باتَ البعضُ يعتبرُ أنْ لا الدينُ يَجمعُنا ولا العقيدةُ ولا الأصلُ الإِثْنيُّ ولا الأعداءُ ولا الحلفاءُ ولا نمطُ الحياة ولا الآلهةُ ولا الأنبياء. وحين نَتكلمُ العربيّةَ، اللغةَ التي تَجمعُنا، فلكي يَشتُمَ بعضُنا البعضَ الآخَر ويُشكِّكَ في وطنيّتِه.

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Implementation Of The Plan To Return The Displaced Syrians

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By By David Sadler -- globeecho.com -- Lebanese President Michel Aoun reviewed the measures that will be adopted to implement the plan for the return of Syrian refugees in phases. According to a statement by the Lebanese presidency, Aoun chaired a meeting today at Baabda Palace, which was attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Abdullah Bou Habib, Minister of Social Affairs Hector Hajjar, and Director General of Public Security Major General Abbas Ibrahim. established by the Lebanese government for this purpose.” After the meeting, Minister Al-Hajjar said that “today a lot of proposals were studied, and a number of steps and procedures were taken, and they will be implemented through the relevant ministries and departments, and they must be consulted in an ascending manner.” other.

He revealed a meeting with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to inform it of several issues related to Lebanese laws, and how to coordinate and work together with each In response to a question about the continuation of the agreement with Damascus, Minister Hajjar said, “The communication with the Syrians has never been interrupted, either on the issue of the displaced or others. On the other hand, the Lebanese President announced today that Lebanon adheres to its rights to its waters and resources. Aoun said, when receiving a delegation that included many Lebanese residing in France, that “Lebanon has gone a long way in the negotiations to demarcate the southern maritime borders, which will be completed in order to reach an agreement in this regard under the auspices of the United Nations and the mediation of the United States of America.”

US issues arrest warrant for Lebanese collector accused of trafficking antiquities

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by thenationalnews.com -- US authorities have issued an arrest warrant for a Lebanese collector who for years advised investigators trying to clamp down on the trafficking of stolen antiquities. Georges Lotfi, 81, has been charged by a New York court with 24 counts of criminal possession of stolen property. His address is listed as a post box in Tripoli, Lebanon, but Mr Lotfi also has properties in New York, France and elsewhere. According to the affidavit filed earlier this month, Mr Lotfi had served as a “valuable source of information on numerous antiquities-smuggling investigations”. “Over the years, the defendant has provided me with detailed information about looting practices globally,” Robert Mancene, a Homeland Security special agent, said in the affidavit.

Mr Mancene said Mr Lotfi “has demonstrated not only his intimate knowledge of the illegal trade in antiquities from the Middle East and North Africa, but also his acute awareness of the hallmarks of looted antiquities from his extended involvement in buying, selling, or otherwise dealing in antiquities — thereby revealing to me his awareness of the stolen nature of his own antiquities”. 'They turned against me' Mr Lotfi also had a long-standing relationship with Matthew Bogdanos, head of the Manhattan district attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit (ATU). Mr Lotfi said he was “not a smuggler” but “a collector”. “I was fighting with them for 10 years to stop illicit trading and they turned against me,” he told the New York Times. The investigation by the ATU began indirectly in July 2017, Mr Mancene said.

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Lebanese Officials Begin Mulling Names of Presidential Candidates

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by english.aawsat.com --- Nazeer Rida  --- Lebanese political blocs have kicked off “cautious” efforts to discuss potential presidential candidates to succeed Michel Aoun, whose term ends in around 80 days. In general terms, the president is expected to be “open” to all parties and blocs, enjoy “internal political consensus”, and be able to address the international community and put Lebanon “on the right track to recovery”. The presidential election needs the attendance of two thirds of the 128-member parliament to meet the desired quorum. A candidate is declared a winner after reaping over two thirds of votes in the first round. This usually demands agreements between various political blocs, rivals and allies alike. Discussions to reach such agreements started about a month ago.

MPs of the civilian protest movement for change have in recent weeks discussed the characteristics of potential candidates without delving into names, said sources monitoring the discussions. Some of the 13 Change lawmakers are in contact with opposition political forces and others to garner their views and attempt to reach possible understandings over the elections, the sources told Asharq Al-Awsat. The Change MPs are in agreement with traditional political forces over some issues and disagreement over others, namely that the president must not be a partisan or military figure. The latter position clashes with the Lebanese Forces that supports the nomination of army commander Joseph Aoun if consensus is reached over him.

Some Change MPs agree with the LF, Kataeb and Progressive Socialist Party over a candidate who is “sovereign” - meaning a figure not affiliated with Iran - and supports the independence of the judiciary, which they view as the foundation of any state seeking transparency and accountability and that wants to combat corruption. They are also aspiring for a president who would approve the financial and economic recovery plan. The Change MPs have stressed their openness to all non-partisan figures. Change MP Ibrahim Mneimneh told Asharq Al-Awsat that the discussions have not been completed yet. He said he wants the election of a president who will pursue reform and has a political and economic vision that “gives hope to the people.”

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Lebanese buyer rejects first batch of Ukrainian grain

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by middleeasteye.net -- The Lebanon-based buyer of the first grain shipment to depart Ukraine since Russia’s invasion has refused to purchase the cargo, according to Ukraine’s embassy in Beirut. The buyer has raised concerns over the quality of the grain, due to the five-month delay in its shipment. The charterer is now looking for a new buyer inside Lebanon or the Middle East, an Istanbul-based ship agent with knowledge of the matter told Middle East Eye. “The ship owner is not happy about the case. It’s been six months of waiting. That is a big cost,” the shipping agent told MEE on condition of anonymity. Last week, the Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni, loaded with about 26,000 tonnes of corn, became the first ship to set off from a Ukrainian port since the Russian invasion. The vessel left under the safe passage of a UN-proposed deal struck between Moscow and Kyiv and brokered by Turkey. As part of the agreement signed last month, a joint command centre (JCC) was set up in Istanbul with personnel from the United Nations, Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey to monitor the shipments of foodstuffs.

Russia and Ukraine account for nearly a third of global wheat exports and the war in Ukraine has led to a worldwide food and energy crisis. The effects of the shortages have been particularly devastating in the Middle East. In Lebanon alone, Russia and Ukraine accounted for more than 70 percent of wheat imports before the war. Food inflation in the tiny Mediterranean country hit 122 percent this year. The wheat shortage in Lebanon has forced people to wait long hours outside of bakeries for subsidised bread, with brawls breaking out among frustrated citizens. The shipping agent said it was possible the Lebanese buyer was trying to renegotiate the price. The Razoni was set to arrive in Lebanon on Sunday, but is currently anchored off Turkey’s southern coast.

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