BEIRUT, (Reuters) – A British court ruled on Friday in favour of a Lebanese bank in a case brought by a depositor barred from transferring funds abroad because of capital controls in place since Lebanon’s financial system collapsed in 2019. The court ruled that BLOM Bank could be considered to have discharged its debt to the plaintiff, Bilal Khalifeh, by issuing a cheque in Lebanon. Banks have imposed tight controls on accounts, including a de facto ban on transfers abroad and local withdrawals of dollar-denominated deposits in dollars, but the controls have been challenged in Lebanese and international courts.

Banks have sought to discharge dollar-denominated funds via banker’s cheques which cannot be cashed out in dollars and are instead sold on the market at a discount of about three-quarters of their value. The ruling by London’s High Court of Justice, Queens Bench Division, said BLOM Bank was under no obligation to transfer some $1.4 million in Khalifeh’s savings abroad and could be considered to have discharged his account via a cheque deposited with a notary. “The debt due from the Bank was payable in Lebanon and… Mr Khalifeh had no contractual right to require the Bank to transfer funds abroad,” it said.

BEIRUT, (Reuters) – Lebanon’s interior minister on Wednesday ordered the deportation of non-Lebanese members of Bahrain’s dissolved opposition al-Wefaq group after some of them criticised the Gulf Arab kingdom at a news conference in Beirut Lebanon became enmeshed in a major diplomatic dispute with the Gulf last month after former information minister George Kordahi criticised Saudi Arabia over the Yemen war. Bahrain’ interior minister, Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, had earlier on Wednesday called his Lebanese counterpart, Bassam Mawlawi, to tell him that events such as the Wefaq news conference, or Kordahi’s comments, “harm Lebanon and its people”, a statement from Bahrain’s interior ministry said.

The Gulf Cooperation Council, whose leaders met on Tuesday in Riyadh, condemned the news conference held by “a terrorist organization with support from the terrorist Hezbollah” and voiced support for Bahrain in “any measures it takes to protect its security and stability”. At its news conference, Wefaq released a report detailing what it said were rights abuses in Bahrain from 2019 to mid 2021. Gulf monarchies have been alarmed by the rising influence of Lebanon’s armed Iranian-backed Hezbollah group. Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shi’ite Iran have long battled for influence in the region, including in Lebanon, which is struggling with a deep economic crisis. Bahrain’s Wefaq did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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هل اللبنانيّون على حقٍّ في انتقادِ حزبِ الله؟ هل فَهِموا حقًّا رمزيّةَ مواقفِه وأبعادَها؟ أليس حلُّ ألغازِها أجْدى من النِزاعِ معه؟ كلَّ يومٍ يُوجِّه حزبُ الله رسائلَ إلينا، خصوصًا عبرَ مواقفِه المتطرِّفة، ونحن لا نبالي بها، بل نَروحُ نتَّهِمُه بشتّى الاتّهاماتِ ونَتغنّى بوِحدةِ “لبنانَ الكبير”، و”لبنانَ الرسالة”، ولبنان الـــــ 10452 كلم².

لا يَنفكُّ حزبُ الله يَرسُمُ الحلَّ ويَسألُنا أن نَقتديَ به ما دامَ البعضُ يطالبُ دستوريًّا بما يقوم هو به واقعيًّا، أي الفدراليّة أو الانفصال أو التقسيم. يَسألنا لماذا لا نؤسِّسُ مثلَه كانتوناتٍ ونُنشِئُ دورةً اقتصاديّةً مستقلّةً وإدارةً ذاتيّة؟ لماذا لا نَبني، نحن أيضًا، جيشًا خاصًّا من مئةِ ألفِ مقاتل؟ لماذا لا نَستعملُ حقَّ الڤيتو مثلَه ونُعطِّلُ الدولةَ المركزيّةَ وحكوماتِـها ومؤسّساتِـها؟ لماذا لا نَعقِدُ تحالفاتٍ استراتيجيّةً مع دولٍ أجنبيّةٍ على غرارِ تحالفِه العُضْويِّ مع إيران؟ لماذا لا نزايدُ في عَداءِ إسرائيل وإسباقِ اسْمِها بعبارةِ “عدّو” ونُغْنى عن محاربتِها؟

يُدرِكُ حزبُ الله أنه يَعجِزُ عن حكمِ كلِّ لبنان، ويرفُض بالمقابل أن تَحكمَه شرعيّةٌ غيرُ شريعتِه، فمَالَ إلى “الفِدراليّةِ الموسَّعة” حِفاظًا على ذاتيّتِه. ما خلا بيئتَه المباشَرة، اللبنانيّون ــــ مسيحيّين ومسلمين ودروزًا ــــ ضاقوا ذَرْعًا بحزبِ الله ويَدينون يوميًّا خِياراتِه وأداءَه ويعتبرونه، عن حقٍّ أو عن باطلٍ، مسؤولًا عن جميعِ مصائبِهم الجارية. وإذا كان حزبُ الله يَدعونا، بشكلٍ أو بآخَر، إلى إعادةِ النظرِ في وِحدةِ لبنان، فسَبقَ أن دَعوْناه وسألناه إعادةَ النظرِ في مشروعِه لكي نُنقذَ وِحدةَ لبنان. لكن، أيُّهُما أسهلُ: تغييرُ لبنانَ أم تغييرُ حزبِ الله؟ نحن عندَ هذا المنعطَف.

by middleeastmonitor.com — Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker, Nabih Berri, said, Wednesday, his country is under siege, amid a diplomatic crisis with Gulf countries Anadolu News Agency reports. Speaking during a meeting with the head of Lebanon’s Editors-in-Chief Syndicate, Joseph Qossaifi, Berri questioned how Arab countries could open their doors for Israel, while they “close their gates […]

By Najia Houssari — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: The Lebanese pound hit record lows this week, trading at almost LBP29,000 to the US dollar, leading to an intervention from the Banque du Liban that allowed the exchange rate to drop to LBP27,000. This spurred self-employed professionals to call for a national state of emergency to be declared, while the transport sector announced that Thursday would be a “day of anger.” Further exacerbating the situation in Lebanon, the director-general of telecom company Ogero, Imad Kreidieh, said he had applied for an urgent advance to purchase fuel to continue operating the electrical generators for telecom networks. In light of Lebanon’s increasing financial challenges, the purchasing power of Lebanese citizens has shrunk by 95 percent, while the minimum wage has become the equivalent of about $24. “But President Michel Aoun refrained from signing decrees since the Cabinet is not convening, which may lead to the suspension of our services and interruption of internet services,” he added.

The head of the Syndicate of Food Importers, Hani Bohsali, said: “The situation is too dangerous. It is not limited to the exchange rate or price increase. Food security is in danger. Regardless of the ability to secure dollars for imports, the problem has become in the consumer’s ability to purchase goods. Chaos is pervading markets.” The heads of professional syndicates met on Wednesday and expressed “deep concerns about the comprehensive deterioration that has crossed the line and is now threatening the country’s foundations.” The syndicates called for the need to declare a national state of emergency, accompanied by “vigorous work” to initiate a political solution to save the country and put in place a clear and effective rescue plan, especially “in the absence of serious solutions” for social and economic issues. “BDL and the Association of Banks in Lebanon ought to take urgent measures to make it easier for the professional syndicates to withdraw their deposits in Lebanese and foreign currencies as soon as possible,” the syndicates demanded, threatening to sue BDL and ABL, and carry out massive protests.

by reuters — Lebanon’s public prosecutor on Tuesday instructed the security forces to arrest a top politician over the Beirut port blast, a senior judicial source said, setting the stage for a possible confrontation with the lawmaker and his powerful ally Hezbollah. Tarek Bitar, the judge investigating last year’s catastrophic port explosion, first issued a […]

By NAJIA HOUSSARI — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Lebanese President Michel Aoun complained on Monday about the “continued failure” of the country’s Cabinet to convene, disrupting government and judicial work amid a widening rift between Hezbollah and the rest of the political establishment. Aoun, an ally of Hezbollah, made his remarks after Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi attacked “those who obstruct the Cabinet (from) meeting … against the interests of the state and the people,” in a sermon on Sunday. The continued stalemate over the Cabinet stems from a refusal by Hezbollah to adhere to a stance preventing Lebanon from interfering in the affairs of Arab countries. The Cabinet initially stopped meeting on Oct. 12, after Hezbollah and the Amal Movement decided to boycott its sessions in a bid to force the removal of Judge Tarek Bitar from the investigation into the explosion at the Port of Beirut last year. Lebanon is going through stifling economic conditions in light of the collapse of the Lebanese pound against the dollar.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Monday in the presence of the French presidential envoy, Ambassador Pierre Dukan, that “contacts are continuing to find a solution to the government’s situation.” But he added that “calling for a Cabinet session without securing the appropriate conditions may cause more political tension and complicate solutions more and more.” The French envoy — who is also coordinator of international aid for Lebanon — stressed “the necessity of laying down general principles to address the Lebanese crisis before reaching an agreement with the International Monetary Fund.” The ambassador said that the agreement with the IMF should be completed before the next parliamentary elections. On Sunday night, Mikati strongly condemned “affronting the leadership and the people of Bahrain,” after a complaint was lodged by Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs over a press conference held in Beirut for “hostile elements classified as supporting and sponsoring terrorism, for broadcasting and promoting abusive and malicious allegations against Bahrain.”

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s national currency further collapsed Monday, trading on the black market at nearly 20 times its value two years ago, worsening inflation and people’s despair. The Lebanese pound was trading at 27,000 to the dollar on the black market, hitting a new low in its downward trajectory since October 2019 as the […]

by reuters — AMMAN: Lebanon’s top Christian cleric, His eminence Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, on Sunday accused unidentified politicians of using their power to obstruct a resumption of cabinet meetings after a two-month gap, saying they were serving foreign interests. Lebanon’s cabinet, which is focused on re-starting talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) […]