By alhadeel.net —

في حوار عبر الهاتف اجرته الشراع مع الرئيس ميشال سليمان دعا فخامته الى ان تلتئم هيئة للحوار بصورة فورية للخروج من الانسداد الحاصل . .. وشرح الرئيس سليمان في هذه المسألة قائلاً: ” انا مع الدعوة الى الحوار لمتابعة البحث من النقطة التي انتهت اليها الحوارات السابقة مثلاً: 

١ – مناقشة الآلية التنفيذية لتطبيق اعلان بعبدا وبخاصة التحييد

٢- مناقشة الاستراتيجية الدفاعية التي يجب ان تختصر بعد انقضاء هذه السنوات بوضع جدول زمني لا يتعدى السنة والنصف للتخلي عن السلاح على ان يوضع قرار استعماله خلال هذه المدة عند رئيس الجمهوريةوبطلب من قيادة الجيش في كل حالة .”

by apnews.com — ZEINA KARAM and BASSEM MROUE — BEIRUT (AP) — Since the civil war, through wars with Israel, militant bombings and domestic turmoil, Lebanese have considered their military as an anchor for stability, one of the only institutions standing above the country’s divisions. But the military is now threatened by Lebanon’s devastating financial collapse, which the World Bank has said is likely to rank as one of the worst the world has seen in the past 150 years. The economic meltdown is putting unprecedented pressure on the U.S.-backed army’s operational abilities, wiping out soldiers’ salaries and wrecking morale. The deterioration puts at risk one of the few forces unifying Lebanon at a time when sectarian tensions and crime are on the rise amid the population’s deepening poverty. “Such a decline could be harbinger of the kinds of instability not seen since the last time Lebanon’s political elites gutted or set adrift the Lebanese armed forces, namely in the five years leading up to the 1975-1990 civil war,” said Aram Nerguizian, senior advisor of the Program on Civil-Military Affairs in Arab States at the Carnegie Middle East Center.

The military itself has raised the alarm, unusual for a force that is perhaps unique in the Middle East in that it largely remains outside politics. Army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun warned in a speech to officers in March that soldiers were “suffering and hungry like the rest of the people.” He also openly criticized the political leadership, which has been paralyzed by infighting and has done almost nothing to address the crisis. “What are you waiting for? What do you plan to do? We have warned more than once of the dangers of the situation,” he said — a startling comment since army officers are not allowed to make political statements. A senior army official confirmed to The Associated Press that the economic situation has greatly affected morale. “There is no doubt that there is great resentment among the ranks of the military,” the official said. The official noted that “many duties are demanded of the military,” including maintaining internal stability. “The leadership is worried over developments in the security situation on the ground and the ability to deal with this issue,” the officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Supporting the army is crucial to avoid Lebanon falling into chaos, he added.

by news.un.org — “The explosion at the Beirut port has accelerated a lot of things, that’s for sure”, said Deputy Special Coordinator Najat Rochdi, who is also UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, speaking to reporters at the UN in Geneva, referring to the deadly blast last August that killed around 200 and devastated the city. She said necessary political reforms had not been carried out “on time”, despite widespread warnings over the looming economic and financial crisis, that “a lot of analysts had already predicted…We’re not talking about something that takes us by surprise today. I think everyone knew about it”. Between April 2019 and April this year, the consumer Price Index has increased by more than 208 per cent and the price of food and beverages increased by 670 per cent. As a result, over half of the Lebanese population is now living in poverty.

Public services wrecked “The crisis in the economy, the currency devaluation, as well as the governance vacuum has meant a breakdown of public services at a time when they are most needed”, said Ms. Rochdi. She added that “the pandemic has worsened a situation which was already fragile”. The Deputy Special Coordinator said international confidence had been hit by the failure to form a functioning government, deterring investors, and exacerbating the failure of the banking system and other public institutions. Extreme poverty rose threefold during the past two years. More and more Lebanese households are unable to afford basic services like food, health, electricity, water, internet, and child education. “The country is in the middle of a phase of hyperinflation, eroding the value of the national currency, people’s purchasing power and what remains of their trust in their leaders and institutions”, said Ms. Rochdi.

by gulf-times.com — The Commander of the Lebanese Army, General Joseph Aoun, has expressed thanks and gratitude to Qatar, for the valuable assistance and generous support to his country and its citizens, in the wake of the explosion at the Beirut Port. This came during his meeting on Monday with HE Director-General of Qatar Fund […]

By Najia Houssari – arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Public prosecutors in Lebanon have been instructed to crack down on the monopoly on foodstuffs and oil derivatives as political, security and diplomatic concerns grow over explosive daily protests. The spontaneous protests are also demanding access to medicine, fuel, hospitalization and electricity. The Crisis Observatory at the American University of Beirut warned that “the risk of Lebanon falling into the rank of failed states has become a reality after it fell 36 places over five years.” Its rank in 2021 was among the 34 most failed states out of 179 states. The Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, Judge Ghassan Oueidat, on Monday called on public prosecutors in Lebanon to “strictly pursue the monopoly of foodstuffs and oil derivatives, after there has been a lot of refraining from selling these subsidized materials, or selling them at prices that exceed the set price.”

Judge Oueidat said that what is happening “are crimes stipulated by law and must be prosecuted, and shops, warehouses and stations belonging to the suspects must be sealed with red wax.” The judicial procedure came as trade unions and civil bodies prepare for a general strike that begins on Thursday to push for the formation of a government. On Monday, unions of food industries, bakeries, transport workers and taxi drivers announced that they would respond to Thursday’s strike. Bechara Al-Asmar, head of the General Labor Union, told Arab News: “Our move will be escalatory. I don’t know if the strike will last more than a day; we will see what happens Thursday.”

by digitalstudiome.com — The Director’s Fortnight running from 7th-17th July 2021 will showcase the director’s debut film titled The Sea Ahead at the 74th Cannes Film Festival. Ely was previously awarded the Palm D’Or award for Best Short Film at the 68th Cannes Film Festival for his film Waves’98. When in production, The Sea Ahead […]

احد مبارك طالما لم نتوصل الى تشخيص واحد ومنطقي لاسباب الانهيار فلن يمكننا معالجة الوضع  الاقتصادي اطلاقاً ولو شكلت اعظم الحكومات ومن افضل الاختصاصيين او السياسيين المستقلين وغير المستقلين

By Najia Houssari — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Pharmacies in Lebanon shut their doors on Friday to protest severe supply shortages amid the country’s worst economic and financial crisis for decades. The two-day strike, called over a lack of medicine, gasoline and even infant formula, is the latest sign of Lebanon’s meltdown. Pharmacists, doctors, dentists, nurses and lab scientists took to the streets on Friday to voice their suffering, with people storming the Health Ministry’s interior courtyard and calling for rationalizing subsidies on medicine and a solution to the crisis in the healthcare sector. They urged the World Health Organization not to deal with authorities but instead deal with the Lebanese army and the Lebanese Red Cross. The strike has caused panic in hospitals, which are suffering from medical supply shortages. Fights have been reported between patients and medical staff, with some incidents filmed and posted on social media.

People have even been seen destroying the exterior of emergency departments, while doctors have clashed with patients who refused to postpone their surgeries due to the shortages. Dr. Hadi Mrad blasted the “ongoing corruption of the ruling class” that had violated people’s rights and remained “unpunished, supported and protected” by a corrupt system. “We have never seen something similar,” he told Arab News. “We cannot help our patients. We prescribe them medicine, but the pharmacies are empty. We ask them to run a blood test, but laboratories are not receiving patients due to the shortages in subsidized supplies. We want to admit them, but hospitals have run out of IVs. We get that there is no fuel or flour. But what did patients do to deserve this? What is currently happening is intentional and the authority is determined to kill its citizens.”

By NAJIA HOUSSARI — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: The Supreme Islamic Sharia Council, which represents the Sunni community and its leaders in Lebanon, has renewed its support for Saad Hariri, the prime minister-designate, amid an escalating dispute over the failure to form a government in the country. After a lengthy meeting on Saturday, in which Hariri participated, the council warned that “any quest for new definitions regarding the constitution or the Taif Agreement is not acceptable under any of the arguments.” It was earlier reported that Hariri might announce during the meeting that he was stepping down from the task of establishing a new government entrusted to him by parliament last October. The French initiative and the mediation of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri so far have failed to help form a government because of an escalating dispute between Hariri and President Michel Aoun, together with his political team represented by his son-in-law Gebran Bassil, head of the Free Patriotic Movement.

The meeting, which was held in Dar Al-Fatwa and attended by former prime ministers, said that the blame for delaying the formation of the government lies with those “who are trying to invent ways and methods that nullify the content of the National Accord Document, which enjoys the consensus of Lebanese leaders who are keen on Lebanon’s independence, unity, sovereignty and pan-Arabism.” During the session, chaired by the grand mufti, Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, Hariri discussed the obstacles to forming the government and steps he has taken to overcome them. Those present at the meeting expressed their fear that “the suffocating crisis facing Lebanon will deteriorate into an endless abyss amid the indifference and random confusion that characterizes the behavior and actions of leaders who control citizens.”

by arabnews.com — Najia Houssari — BEIRUT: France is organizing a virtual conference next Thursday “to mobilize support from the international community for the Lebanese army,” following an official visit to France from Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun at the end of May. Aoun met with French President Emmanuel Macron and discussed “providing urgent food and medical aid to the security forces in the hope of maintaining law and order.” The US and Lebanon also held a conference at the end of May, with Washington renewing its commitment to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) by increasing its its military aid by $15 million, reaching a total of $120 million in the fiscal year 2021. “We have a permanent military aid program with the US, but we do not need weapons right now. We need in-kind aid for the army,” a military source stressed. These developments take place as external warnings continue about the possibility of chaos prevailing in Lebanon, as the economic and social situation hits rock bottom.

Foreign observers fear that security forces may not be able to prevent unrest that may prove more violent than the protests of 2019 and 2020. Political bickering continues, and the caretaker government has refrained from performing any role that its head, Hassan Diab, considers to be in violation of the constitution. A military source told Arab News the political conflicts “affected the morale of the army and other security forces.” However, the source stressed theys had been successful in dealing with protest movements so far. The source added: “It is true that the army is suffering and understands what the people are feeling, but its priority is to protect civil peace and stability; harming civil peace is crossing a red line. “The military institution has no new plan to prevent chaos if it occurs, so it will exercise the role assigned to it.”