by Najia Houssari arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Lebanese banks are quietly letting employees go as they seek to close branches and reduce operational costs amid the collapse of the local currency, the Lebanese pound. It comes after the country’s central bank tightened regulations against commercial banks. While some are downsizing domestically, other banks are opting to sell assets abroad. The number of branches estimated to have closed ranges between 300 and 400 out of a total 1,100. Employees and contractors have been the first to feel the effects of the decisions. George Al-Hajj, president of the Federation of Syndicates of Bank Employees, said that 2021 has been “very hard” for bank employees in Lebanon, adding: “Although no statistics have been conducted to show the exact number of laid-off employees, their number does not exceed 4,500.” But more bank workers are expected to be dismissed in the near future. “We are in the middle of the storm, and the crisis will persist until Lebanon reaches an agreement with the International Monetary Fund on the restructuring process of the banking sector,” said Al-Hajj.

The number of employees of the banking sector in 2018 was estimated to be about 26,000, working for 61 banks. Since 2019, the sector has lost more than 17 percent of its workforce. Dr. Jassem Ajaka, an economic and strategic expert, warned that “up to 50 percent of bank employees will be laid off.” He told Arab News: “After the deterioration of the economic situation and the suspension of banking activities due to the decision to block financial transfers, the banking sector is no longer making profits. “Banks are not charities, and the reality is hard for everyone.” “The banking sector’s employees constitute a very important share of the middle class in Lebanon and eradicating this group from the economy will further harm Lebanese society.” Al-Hajj said: “In 2019, the federation saw this crisis coming and urged banks seeking to fire employees to inform the Ministry of Labor of their intentions. Some banks did, but others did not, and thus we do not know the exact number of laid-off employees.” He added: “The banks’ excuses for mass lay-offs were many: Sometimes it was because the bank was applying an early retirement system, sometimes it was a resignation at a request from the administration, and other times it was the termination of contracts due to economic reasons.”

by politico.com — Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has said he escaped unhurt after a drone attack on his home inside Baghdad’s high-security Green Zone. A drone laden with explosives struck the building, injuring six of his bodyguards in an apparent assassination attempt, officials said. Mr Kadhimi called for “calm and restraint from everyone”. The […]

The General Assembly of Beirut Bar Association held a meeting on Sunday at the request of the bar’s president Melhem Khalaf to implement the agenda in order to elect a new president and members of the Bar Council. However, the session was postponed for loss of quorum until November 21, pursuant to article 38 of […]

The General Assembly of Beirut Bar Association held a meeting on Sunday at the request of the bar’s president Melhem Khalaf to implement the agenda in order to elect a new president and members of the Bar Council. However, the session was postponed for loss of quorum until November 21, pursuant to article 38 of […]

احد مبارك …. ازاء الاضطرابات المتدحرجة من حولنا والانهيارات الارتدادية المتوالية في لبنان، علينا رفع الصوت السيادي في كل امر وفي كل حين . كما ينبغي تضمين بيانات المرشحين في النقابات، في الروابط المارونية وغير المارونية، في الاحزاب والجامعات والجمعيات، في النوادي والمنتديات  وفي النيابة والبلديات وكل المناصب السياسية والاقتصادية، الاهداف التالية :  السيادة والحياد، […]

By Bassam Zaazaa — arabnews.com — DUBAI: Lebanese expats are angry with the government in Beirut, fearing they could lose touch with their families if the Internet goes down because of the country’s ongoing energy and financial problems. The director general of telecoms company Ogero, Imad Kreidieh, warned on Thursday that Lebanon’s Internet service could go down within 10 days due to a lack of US dollars and insufficient quantities of the diesel needed to keep broadcast stations and backup generators operating. Electricite du Liban has only been able to secure power for a few hours a day for institutions and households since June, especially after a government subsidy on diesel was lifted, and fuel prices have continued to increase. Fuel is being made available only in dollars and at a black market rate. Kreidieh said that Ogero’s budget was in Lebanese pounds, which has been devaluing against the dollar, leaving the company unable to obtain the currency needed to purchase the required quantities of diesel.

The situation has led Lebanese expats in the Gulf and Europe to slam Beirut. UAE-based corporate banker Rana Arbid said that if the Internet collapsed, then so would she. She accused Beirut of being “irresponsible and useless” and blamed the ruling elite for jeopardizing people’s lives and the means of communication. “No Internet means no channels that connect people together, especially for us Lebanese living abroad,” she told Arab News. “Internet and mobile applications are our tools and means to communicate with our relatives and friends.” Najib Youssef, a Germany-based sales manager, blamed an “unproductive government and administration” for disconnecting the diaspora from their families. “This government is just like previous ones, it is an infertile cabinet. By far, it has failed at administering the country. It has participated in killing all service sectors including telecommunications. If this happens, and I guess it will, that means killing us (expats) emotionally and mentally as the Internet is the only means to communicate with people inside,” said Youssef, who feared his two children would miss out on video chats with their grandparents every weekend.

By Najia Houssari — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: The families of those arrested in the Tayouneh violence that occurred on Oct. 14, along with the families of those arrested in the Khalde incident that took place in early August, are up in arms over what they allege are the “biased actions” of the judicial authorities. The families have in recent days been reacting angrily about the lack of arrests of anyone associated with Hezbollah regarding either incident, “although the party and its gunmen were clearly involved in both.” The families are questioning whether the Lebanese military judiciary is turning a blind eye on those involved in the violence, or if the institution was shaken by the pressure Hezbollah exerts on every aspect of the state. Clashes had erupted in Khalde, south of Beirut, between Hezbollah members and residents affiliated to Arab tribes known as the “Arabs of Khalde,” during the funeral of Hezbollah official Ali Shibli. Two people died and several civilians were injured as a result.

The first acting military investigative judge, Judge Fadi Sawan, issued an indictment for the Khalde incident two days ago, referring 32 defendants, including 23 detainees from the Arabs of Khalde, to the military court for trial. However, he disregarded all Hezbollah affiliates who were involved in the clashes. Sawan requested that the defendants be tried for “forming an armed group with the intent of committing crimes against people, murder, attempted murder, inciting sectarian strife, vandalism and the use of unlicensed war weapons.” Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said that what happened in Khalde was “attempted murder, this massacre was committed by a gang.” He demanded that “all those involved, whose faces and names are well-known, be held accountable.”

كلنا يَعرف أنَّ دولةَ لبنان ما بَلغت مرحلةَ انهيارٍ شاملٍ كهذه التي بَلغَتها في ظلِّ هذا العهد، عهدِ حزب الله. وكُلّنا يَعرِفُ أنَّ دولةَ لبنان ما مرّةً ورَّطَت اللبنانيّين بقطيعةٍ ديبلوماسيّةٍ وسياسيّةٍ واقتصاديّةٍ مع دولِ الخليجِ كهذه التي ورَّطَهُم بها هذا العهد. واليوم زادَت معرِفتُنا ـــ فالثقافةُ نَبعٌ لا يَنضُب ـــ بأن دولةَ لبنان لم تَـنْزوِ في عُزلةٍ تامّةٍ كهذه التي انْتبَذَه فيها هذا العهد. الحقيقةُ ليست تجنيًّا، بل جرسُ إنذارٍ للالتحاقِ بالحقّ.

نَفهمُ أن تَطلُبَ دولةُ لبنان وَساطةَ أميركا مع دولةِ إسرائيل، العدوّ، لترسيمِ الحدودِ وتحديدِ حِصّةِ لبنان في المربَّعاتِ النفطيّة. لكنّه مُستهجَنٌ أنْ تَستجْديَ دولةُ لبنان شَفاعةً فرنسيّةً وأميركيّةً وقطريّةً وعُمانيّةً في أزْمتِها مع السعوديّةِ ودولِ الخليجِ العربيِّ، الشقيقةِ والصديقة، وهي مَن كانت تَتوسّطُ لنا مع الآخَرين لحلِّ أزَماتِ لبنان ووقْفِ حروبِه ومساعدتِه ماليًّا واقتصاديًّا. وغريبٌ بالمقابل، أنَّ الدولتين الوحيدتَين اللتَين لا يحتاجُ لبنانُ إلى وسيطٍ معهما هما: سوريا وإيران، أي الدولتَين اللتَين بسببِ تحالفِ الحكمِ اللبنانيِّ الحاليِّ معهما استراتيجيًّا، خَسِرنا أصدقاءَنا التاريخيّين ووُضِعنا في سجنٍ انْفراديّ.

العُزلةُ اللبنانيّةُ مزدوِجة: عُزلةُ دولةِ لبنان عن شعوبِ العالم، وعُزلةُ شعبِ لبنان عن دولته. وأصلًا إنَّ مُشكلةَ العالمِ مع لبنان هي ذاتُها مُشكلةِ اللبنانيّين مع حزب الله. وقبلَ أن تَسحَبَ دولُ الخليجِ الأربعُ سفراءَها من لبنان، سبَقَها الشعبُ اللبنانيُّ وسَحَبَ ثقتَه من دولتِه وأجْلى أجيالَه عنها وقَطعَ عَلاقاتِه معها. وكانت انتفاضةُ 17 تشرين الأوّل 2019 إحدى مظاهرِ هذه القطيعة.

By Maria Maalouf — arabnews.com –– While campaigning ahead of last year’s US presidential election, Joe Biden made many suggestions that then-President Donald Trump had made a huge mistake by pulling America out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal signed between the P5+1 world powers and Iran three years after it was concluded in 2015. Biden had doubts that Trump had done the right thing regarding Iran. The irony now is that members of his administration have also expressed doubts over whether Tehran intends to stop itself from gaining possession of nuclear weaponry. In a TV appearance this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “We still believe diplomacy is the best path forward for putting the nuclear program back in the box that (it) had been in under the agreement, the so-called JCPOA. But we were also looking at, as necessary, other options if Iran is not prepared to engage quickly in good faith to pick up where we left off in June.”

There are many problems with the statements made by Blinken. First, there is a great deal of contradiction between the way the Biden administration has expressed its doubts over Iran’s real intentions regarding its nuclear program and its strong desire to quickly resume the negotiations with Iran in Vienna. Second, the Biden White House seemingly lacks the courage to make clear-cut declarations about Iran cheating on every aspect of its nuclear program. A fair question is: If Biden and members of his national security team are critics of Iran’s nuclear policy, why have they accepted it as a serious negotiating partner? There is little logic to what Biden and his team are saying on Iran — that all difficulties can be overcome by the supposition that engaging Tehran in negotiations will make it more responsible in its foreign policy and defense policy. Dangerously, there is still too much vagueness regarding the Biden administration’s policy toward Iran.

by english.alaraby.co.uk — Israel’s state broadcaster has hosted controversial Lebanese writer and journalist Maria Maalouf on its Arabic-language service Kann News, in the first ever appearance of a Lebanese woman on Israeli TV. In her interview, Maalouf – who is well-known for her strong anti-Hezbollah stance – said: “Hassan Nasrallah and Iran’s party in Lebanon have taken the state hostage and returned it to the stone age. The recent crisis with Saudi Arabia demonstrates that Hezbollah has alienated Lebanon from its Arab surroundings”. “I’ve told Nasrallah that he is a murderer, that he has killed the children of Yemen, Syria, and Iraq… and our citizens in the port of Beirut”, she added. Maalouf informed viewers that she plans to visit Israel, adding that she has had positive interactions with American Jews who she has found to be “loving towards others… unlike the Palestinians who are only interested in taking Arab money”.

The YouTube clip of Maria Maalouf’s interview has since been removed from Kann News’ official page, but recordings can still be found online. In response to her comments, lawyer Ghassan al-Mawli – representing a number of former Lebanese prisoners who served sentences in Israeli jails – has filed a case against Maalouf in a Lebanese military court “for the crime of communicating and collaborating with the Israeli enemy”. Maria Maalouf began her career as a host of mainstream political programmes on Lebanese television. In 2017, she made headlines for calling on Israel to assassinate Nasrallah, and again in 2020 after insisting “Palestine is not my struggle” in the wake of the UAE-Israel normalisation deal. Maalouf now resides in the United States, where she works for Hawas TV. No peace agreement exists between Israel and Lebanon and media appearances by Lebanese citizens on Israeli TV, and vice-versa, are extremely rare.