By abouther.com — President Biden recently announced his nominations for the 11 members he has chosen to steer national security and law enforcement at the White House and across key agencies. And the American leader has tapped Christine S. Abizaid as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. It is one of the agencies the Biden administration is counting on to thwart a rise in terrorism. And If confirmed by the Senate, the Lebanese-American, a former Pentagon and White House official, would be the first woman to hold the post on a permanent basis.

Avril B. Haines, the Director of National Intelligence who oversees the counterterrorism centre, praised the choice. “Christy brings a command of counterterrorism issues, leadership acumen and enterprising approach that will enable her to effectively steer NCTC and lead the CT mission into the future,” he said in a statement. He also added, “Christy is an outstanding selection for this critical position, and I look forward to working with her to protect our nation.”

by english.aawsat.com — Suzanne Mouawad lived through Lebanon’s civil war and built a successful advertising business in the hopeful days after the fighting ended, but she says her country’s economic collapse is breaking her in a way that even missiles did not. Mouawad, 56, comes from a well-to-do background and previously led a privileged life, running her agency as well as a family-owned paper manufacturing business, taking frequent holidays abroad and receiving rent from properties she owns. Now, both the advertising and paper businesses have all but dried up, the tenants can no longer pay the rent, and she finds herself pondering the price of items in the supermarket during her weekly grocery shop. “I didn’t let Lebanon down. It let me down and it hurt me,” she said.

With no end in sight to economic and financial paralysis, Mouawad feels a hopelessness that was not there during the war, which broke out when she was 12 and lasted 15 years. “With war you get a couple of missiles falling one day and then the next day you pick up and you go back to school or back to work and you start producing and making money,” she said. “Now the money is being held at the banks and there is no work.” Stricken Lebanese banks, the biggest creditors to the bankrupt state, have locked customers out of their deposits under informal capital controls imposed without legislation since late 2019 when the country’s financial meltdown started. Any savings people had in Lebanese pounds have lost most of their value, while dollar deposits are inaccessible.

الاحداث- زار رئيس “حركة التغـيير” المحامي ايلي محفوض قبل ظهر اليوم الرئيس الأسبق للجمهورية العماد ميشال سليمان في دارته في اليرزة حيث سلّم محفوض سليمان نسخة عن المذكرة الأممية التي أعدّها مع فريق عمل متخصص وبعد اللقاء، قال محفوض: “إلتقيت الرئيس ميشال سليمان في إطار الجولة على القيادات السياسية التي نتفق معها على النظرة الواحدة وسلمته المذكرة الأممية خاصة وأن سليمان من السياسيين الواضحة مواقفهم لناحية الحياد خاصة أنه في عهده أطلق موضوع إعلان بعبدا . 

by NAJIA HOUSSARI — arabnews.com — Ghada Aoun has six criminal cases and 28 complaints against her Judge Ghada Aoun had been investigating the Mecattaf money exchange company and Societe Generale Bank for allegedly withdrawing US dollars from the market and shipping the funds abroad

BEIRUT: A Lebanese judge who defied a decision dismissing her from an investigation into possible currency export breaches was Tuesday referred to the Judicial Inspection Authority over her actions. Judge Ghada Aoun had been investigating the Mecattaf money exchange company and Societe Generale Bank for allegedly withdrawing US dollars from the market and shipping the funds abroad. She staged two raids on a currency exchange earlier this month, defying a decision from Public Prosecutor Judge Ghassan Oweidat to dismiss her from the case. There have been six criminal cases and 28 complaints filed against Aoun.

Lebanon’s Supreme Judicial Council met the judge on Tuesday, deciding to refer her to the authority and asking it to take the necessary measures. “Any investigation or judicial case will be followed up to the end by the competent judiciary whoever the judge may be and regardless of any considerations outside of the judicial framework,” the council said, emphasizing that judicial authority was exercised by all judges. “It is their responsibility to preserve and protect it, abide by their oath and not mix between their duty and issues that do not come in line with the nature of proper judicial work.” Aoun’s actions gained political traction when she was accompanied on one of the raids by supporters of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), the political party led by MP Gebran Bassil. A number of FPM supporters accompanied Aoun on Tuesday to the vicinity of the Justice Palace in Beirut. They waited for her on the street while she attended the council session, which lasted for 40 minutes and took place amid strict security measures taken by the army and Internal Security Forces.

By Joseph Haboush, Al Arabya — The number two official in Lebanon’s parliament Monday called on the Lebanese army to take over all state institutions and to dissolve the country’s constitution. “All Lebanese agree on the [transparency] of the Lebanese army … and I call on it to take the place of the president, parliament […]

By Kareem Chehayeb — middleeasteye.net — Ever since the Lebanese government appointed him as the army’s commander in March 2017, General Joseph Aoun has seldom commented on the country’s current affairs. But four years later, his voice has been getting louder. Speaking in a dimly lit auditorium last month, Aoun scolded the Lebanese government for cutting the army’s budget in a scathing speech. “Do they want the army or not? Do you want the army to stand on its own two feet or not?” said Aoun angrily, denouncing allegations from unnamed political officials that the military has wasted resources. “We reject anyone who places their hands on the rights of the soldiers.” There have been repeated waves of protests against the Lebanese political system over the past two years over its failure to control inflation and provide fundamental services to the population.

The local currency, the Lebanese lira, has been plummeting since late 2019. Once pegged at 1,500 to the dollar, it has since lost more than 80 percent of its value. Meanwhile, food prices are skyrocketing – by over 400 percent so far, faster than anywhere else on the planet. Lebanese soldiers, once working a rare job in the country that guarantees a semblance of economic security, now earn monthly salaries worth less than $120. That is roughly 25 percent of the cash-strapped country’s minimum wage. Uniform belts are tightening. In June, the army stopped serving meat to its staff. And in February, France delivered $60,000 of food aid to the military, which appears to contain only the basics: cooking oil, carbs and canned food. With the army feeling the effects of Lebanon’s economic crisis much like the rest of the country, the rancour in Aoun’s big statement was clear. The army is a victim of political slander campaigns, he claimed, aimed at destabilising the military and national security. “But to whose benefit?” he asked. “Breaking up the army means the end of the [Lebanese] entity.”

By France24 — Mayssa AWAD | James ANDRÉ — Despite being on the brink of collapse, the Lebanese economy is keeping a troublesome neighbour afloat: Bashar al-Assad’s Syria. In order to dodge international sanctions on the Assad regime – notably the US-imposed Caesar Act – products such as food and petrol are being smuggled across […]

by arabnews.com — NAJIA HOUUSSARI — BEIRUT: Controversial Lebanese judge and Mount Lebanon state prosecutor Ghada Aoun carried out a second raid on a money exchange in northern Lebanon on Saturday in defiance of a senior judiciary decision dismissing her from an investigation into possible currency export breaches. Aoun was accompanied by several activists from the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) during the raid on the money exchange in the Awkar district in northern Lebanon. Less than 24 hours earlier she raided the office with members of the security services. Aoun remained in the money exchange for several hours on Friday in protest at her dismissal by the the discriminatory Public Prosecutor, Judge Ghassan Oweidat, a decision that caused widespread anger among the Lebanese public. Caretaker Justice Minister Marie-Claude Najm held an emergency meeting on Saturday with Oweidat as well as Supreme Judicial Council head Judge Suhail Abboud and Judicial Inspection Authority head Judge Borkan Saad. After the meeting Najm voiced her anger at the situation regarding the judiciary, saying that she refuses to be “a false witness to the decay of the judiciary and the fall of the fig leaf in this state.” Najm said the events involving Aoun are an indication of “the failure of state institutions.” Lebanon is facing a political and economic crisis amid disputes between state officials, a deadlock that has led to the collapse of the national currency. However, critics accuse Aoun of a lack of respect for due process.

Caretaker Justice Minister Marie-Claude Najm held an emergency meeting on Saturday with Oweidat as well as Supreme Judicial Council head Judge Suhail Abboud and Judicial Inspection Authority head Judge Borkan Saad. There are six criminal cases and 28 complaints against her before the Judicial Inspection Authority — the largest number of cases filed against any judge in the history of the Lebanese judiciary. Aoun was investigating the Mecattaf money exchange company and Societe Generale Bank for allegedly withdrawing dollars from the market and shipping the funds abroad. The Supreme Judicial Council dismissed Aoun along with two other judges who had previously been suspended by the Disciplinary Council for Judges. Judge Oweidat on Friday asked the Director-General of State Security, Maj. Gen. Antoine Saliba, to suspend the officers who accompanied Aoun on the exchange office raid. People in Lebanon on Friday watched on TV as Aoun requested that the money exchange office be sealed because the owner, Michel Mecattaf, refused to provide her with details of currency transfers on behalf of banks. Earlier, Mecattaf’s agents informed Aoun that she had been dismissed from the case.

by BASSAM ZAAZAA — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Samir, a 10-year-old boy, excitedly accompanied his father into a sweet shop to buy Ramadan treats for iftar in Beirut. Yet his excitement soon turned to disappointment after his father checked the prices and told him “we cannot afford kellaj today.” A famous, traditional Ramadan sweet, kellaj are phyllo pastry sheets stuffed with cheese or cream, fried, dipped in sugar syrup and served after breaking fast at sunset. Despite being an Iftar favorite, Lebanese have been left unable to afford the traditional sweets this year due to skyrocketing prices amid Lebanon’s economic disintegration.

Kellaj, along with other famous sweets like kunafa, shu’aybeyyat baklawa and qatayef usually decorate every home’s Ramadan table. This year, however, they are absent. When asked why he looked sad outside the shop in Aiche Bakkar district on Tuesday, Samir said he was looking forward to having kellaj but his father would not buy any. “I couldn’t earn much today,” Samir’s father, Ramez, a taxi driver, told Arab News. “I only bought four pieces of qatayef for my family.” The father had promised his children kellaj, but the new price was 48,000 Lebanese pounds for 12. Qatayef were cheaper, so he bought four pieces for 10,000 Lebanese pounds. The Lebanese currency has lost more than 85 percent of its value on the informal market since 2019.

سجعان قزي
@AzziSejean

أخْبرَتْنا دوائرُ القصرِ الجُمهوريِّ أنَّ الرئيسَ ميشال عون يُخطِّطُ لإقامةِ اتّحادٍ مشرِقيٍّ اقتصاديّ. أنّى له ذلك والمشرِقُ مُشتّتٌ ولبنانُ مُبعثَر؟ كلُّ ما بدأَ بالاتّحادِ الاقتصاديِّ انتهى بالوِحدةِ السياسيّة. ضمُّ ألمانيا النازيّة النمسا سنةَ 1939 بدأ بإلغاء الرسمِ السياحيِّ الذي كان هِتلر فَرضَه على النمساويّين، ونشوءُ الاتّحاد الأوروبيّ الحالي بدأ باتّفاقٍ حولَ الفولاذِ والحديدِ سنةَ 1954. نحن ضِدَّ أيِّ وِحدة. فلْنوحِّدْ لبنانَ أوّلًا، أو لنُنشِئْ، على الأقلّ، اتّحادًا بين دويلاتِه. لو أرَدنا تحقيقَ مشاريعَ اتحاديّةٍ أو وِحدويّة، لفَعلْناه من البابِ العريضِ مع الشريفِ الحسين ونجلِه الملك فيصل قبلَ إنشاءِ “لبنانَ الكبير”، ومع أنطون سعادة وميشال عفلق قبلَ الاستقلالِ، ومع عبد الناصر قبل ثورةِ 1958، ومع حافظ الأسد بعدَ حربِ السنتين. لو أردنا تحقيقَ تلك المشاريعِ لفَعلناه قبلَ سقوطِ ألوفِ الشهداءِ من أحزابِنا ومقاومتِنا ومجتمعِنا دفاعًا عن لبنان ضدَّ جميعِ أنواعِ الاتّحادات، وقبلَ استشهادِ مئاتِ الضبّاطِ والجنودِ من الجيشِ اللبنانيّ في 13 تشرين الأول 1990.
صحيحٌ أنَّ هذا المشرِقَ مشرِقُنا بتاريخِه الآراميِّ والكنعانيِّ والفينيقيِّ والسِريانيِّ والعربيِّ، لكنْ أين تاريخُ المشرِق العظيمِ من حاضرِه الشقيّ. وفي المطلَق، يَجدُر بنا الانفتاحُ على أفكارِ الاتّحاداتِ الاقتصاديّة، والعالم صار في زمنِ العولمة. لكنَّ الشرقَ الأوسطَ لا يزال في زمنِ القبائلِ والمذاهبِ والإتنيّاتِ والاستبدادِ والحروبِ والفتنِ والمجازرِ والاجتياحاتِ والظلاميِّة، ويَحتاج عقودًا ليَستعيدَ وعيَه ويَرِجعَ قادرًا على إنشاءِ اتّحاداتٍ حضاريّة وسلميّة. لذا، لا حديثَ عن أيِّ اتّحادٍ قبلَ أن يُصبحَ المشرقُ ديمقراطيًّا ومدنيًّا وعَلمانيًّا، وقبلَ أنْ تَستقِرَّ أنظمتُه وتَلتزمَ عدمَ تدخّلِ البعض في شؤونِ البعضِ الآخَر. وأساسًا إنَّ ميثاقَ جامعةِ الدولِ العربيّةِ يَتضمّنُ ما يَكفي من نصوصٍ لتطويرِ التعاونِ في إطارٍ عربيٍّ جامِعٍ بعيدًا عن التجزئةِ الجغرافيّة، خصوصًا أنْ ليس كلُّ قريبٍ بقريب ولا كلُّ بعيدٍ ببعيد.