By FRANCESCO BONGARRÀ — arabnews.com — ROME: International media are following the pope’s visit to Iraq with enormous interest. Seventy-five journalists will travel aboard the special flight that will take the leader of the Catholic Church from Rome to Baghdad — almost double the number normally allowed on a papal flight. In addition, hundreds of reporters and camera crews will follow his visit on the ground. “This is certainly a historic journey. Francis is the first pope to go to Iraq, and he’ll be the first head of the Christian Church to enter the house of Abraham in Ur, where the history of Christianity began,” Manuela Tulli, Vatican correspondent for ANSA — Italy’s main news agency — told Arab News. She has been covering Pope Francis since he was elected in 2013. Though this will be her first visit to Iraq, it will be her sixth trip as an embedded reporter following him.

This journey “could change the history of interreligious dialogue,” and “may represent a historic turning point for Iraq,” she said. “The pope will go to that country in the middle of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, of course, there’s the problem of security in Iraq.” Pope Francis has expressed an interest in visiting the country and the Christians who live there since he was elected. “The pope wants to go. He wants to send a message of peace to a land tormented by war and divisions,” Tulli said. “He wants to go and say ‘basta’ (‘enough’) of war and violence. He isn’t afraid of the pandemic or any security issue.”

By Osama Habib — dailystar.com.lb — BEIRUT: Most Lebanese banks might be able to increase their capital by 20 percent on Feb. 28 and may partially be able to repatriate part of the 3 percent liquidity from abroad, but the challenges that lie ahead may be difficult to absorb in the future. All or most banks have apparently increased their capital by 20 percent, although many of them have not secured the 3 percent liquidity requirement, which could prompt the Central Bank to either put these lenders under its direct control or negotiate with them individually. Bankers interviewed by The Daily Star have warned that 2021 may be one of the biggest tests they will face as the lenders will be obliged to increase their capital adequacy ratio (Basel III requirement) by 8.5 percent before the end of 2021.

The Central Bank Thursday said that the Feb. 28 deadline for all banks to increase their capitals and repatriate 3 percent of the liquidity from correspondent banks will not be extended. “Contrary to what is circulated in many articles and analyses, Banque du Liban stresses that banks must comply with all the deadlines stipulated in its circulars to increase capital and secure external liquidity without any modification,” BDL said in a statement. BDL also stressed that after Feb. 28, 2021, banks must send all their data to the Banking Control Commission, which in turn checks them and sends the relevant reports to the Banque du Liban. “BDL also affirms that, according to the text of Article 70 of the Monetary and Credit Law, the stability of the banking sector is one of its duties and priorities, and therefore its approach will aim to take all measures aimed at addressing the situation of banks, leading to strengthening the stability of the banking situation and ensuring the funds and rights of depositors,” BDL added. Rami Nemer, the chairman of First National Bank, said his bank was able to increase the capital and secure at least 99 percent of the 3 percent liquidity requirement. “We already have over 9 percent of the capital adequacy ratio which is more than Basel III requirement. We did all these things to maintain our operations but I am still worried about the future if things in Lebanon continue to deteriorate like that,’ Nemer said. But many small and medium size banks were compelled to buy dollar banknotes from the black market in large volumes to secure part of the 3 percent requirement.

By TAREK ALI AHMAD — arabnews.com — LONDON: After US President Joe Biden’s administration took measures to sanction Saudi officials that took part in 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, several Middle East experts have accused the US of deploying double standards. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, as well as several US State Department officials, have repeatedly said that Washington will no longer tolerate the targeting of journalists and dissidents. The case of Jamal Khashoggi has been at the center of these statements. However, critics are asking why the US administration is not deploying the same standards to the killers of other journalists, and those involved with similar violence across the region. “We should ask ourselves what is the purpose behind the publication of the report? It is very obvious that the revival of the issue after two years aims at putting pressure on Saudi Arabia,” US-Arab affairs expert Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib told Arab News. Another commentator, Hussain Abdul-Hussain, tweeted: “Now that we have finished from the Khashoggi affair, can the US give any attention to the assassination of Hisham Al-Hashemi and Lokman Slim? Or is there no lobby behind them to demand the disclosure of their killers?”

Indeed, while this month’s killing of Lebanese publisher and vocal Hezbollah critic Luqman Slim was condemned by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, that was as far as it went — and his statement even shied away from naming the known culprits, Hezbollah. Another, Iraqi researcher, Hisham al-Hashimi, was shot dead outside his Baghdad home last year in a drive-by long-suspected to have been set up by Iran-backed Kata’ib Hezbollah. “We also should examine the timing. It is while the US is seeking to go back to the nuclear deal. This could be a tool to pressure Saudi Arabia to accept the decisions of the US regarding Iran, and to coerce the Kingdom into making concessions,” Khatib said, adding: “They don’t want to disturb the flow of communications with Iran.” She said: “Even though the US is committed to human rights, how adamant and forceful they are in taking a position is taken in a political context.”

khazen.org stands by Our Maronite His Beatitude Cardinal Patriarch Rai and offers all its support! 

BEIRUT (Reuters) By Matilda Colman – Hundreds of Lebanese gathered at the seat of the Maronite church on Saturday to support calls by its leader for the country to be neutral in regional conflicts as a way to lead it out of political and economic crisis. Lebanon has been in financial meltdown since 2019 and feuding politicians have been unable to form a government since the last one quit in the aftermath of an Aug. 4 explosion in the capital, leaving the country rudderless. Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai has repeatedly urged political rivals to agree a new administration, and recently called for a U.N.-sponsored international conference to help break the deadlock. “You came from all over Lebanon … to support two things: neutrality and an international conference for Lebanon under the auspices of the United Nations. In one word you came here to save Lebanon,” Rai, who is Lebanon’s most senior Christian cleric, told the crowd at the church’s seat in Bkirki. “Through an international conference we want to announce the neutrality of Lebanon so that it does not return to become a victim of conflicts and wars and divisions,” he said. “There are no two states in one land and no two armies in one state.”

Rai did not specifically refer to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, but several people in the crowd shouted “Iran, get out” in reference to the Shi’ite group. Heavily armed Hezbollah has supported Iran in its power struggle with Sunni-led Arab Gulf states in the region. Opponents of the group say its alliance with Tehran has led Gulf Arabs – who once supported Lebanon – to steer clear, closing off an important source of aid. Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri was given the task of forming a government in October but is struggling to cobble together a cabinet to share power with all Lebanese parties, including Hezbollah. Hariri said earlier in February there was no way out of the crisis without the support of Arab countries.

By Emily DeCiccio — cnbc — The Saudi crown prince’s actions in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi might have left the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund vulnerable to consequences, according to a former leading diplomat in the Obama administration. The Biden administration on Friday released a previously classified intelligence report that assessed Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia approved the plan to assassinate Khashoggi in 2018. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund, known as the Public Investment Fund, is chaired by MBS. It appears to have played a role in purchasing the aircraft that ferried Khashoggi’s killers to Turkey, where the murder occurred. “If this is the case, it could become a target for American human rights sanctions,” according to Joel Rubin, a former deputy assistant secretary of State. That could, in turn, “create an economic earthquake,” he said. “If the United States determines that the Khashoggi killing was a targeted human rights violation, then the perpetrators and backers of that killing could be sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act,” Rubin said.

The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act authorizes the president to impose economic sanctions, freeze any U.S. assets, and deny entry into the U.S. to any foreign person who has engaged in human rights abuse or corruption, while prohibiting Americans from doing business with him or her. The Magnitsky Act has been used against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s cronies. Putin called it, “A purely political, unfriendly act.” Shortly after the release of Friday’s intelligence report, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the U.S. banned 76 people from Saudi Arabia. He called it the “Khashoggi Ban.” Blinken added that the U.S. will not tolerate individuals who threaten or assault activists, dissidents and journalists on behalf of foreign governments. There was, however, no direct action taken against MBS. The Saudi government rejected the findings of the U.S. report. Sovereign wealth funds are prevalent among oil-rich countries. They provide a haven where countries can stockpile significant wealth, and store that money in a self-controlled coffer.

by egyptindependent.com — An airplane loaded with medical and food supplies from Egypt was sent to the Lebanese army on Thursday as part of ongoing relief efforts. Upon the plane’s arrival, the Lebanese Minister of Defense Zeina Aker thanked Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and the Egyptian army for the support. She noted that the […]

By CALINE MALEK — arabnews.com — DUBAI: No good deed goes unpunished, it is said. But thanks to one Beirut philanthropist, some good deeds end up being not only rewarded but also recorded. The World Sucks (TWS) — a Lebanese social video channel devoted to documenting acts of kindness — was created just over a year ago to motivate the beneficiaries to pay it forward and give back to the community. “As much as you try to help, you will never be able to solve all the problems,” the founder of TWS, who prefers to remain anonymous, told Arab News. “But a way to get close to that goal was to make videos to motivate people to either pay for someone’s food or offer them a free ride.” In one of the channel’s earliest videos, the founder begs local cab drivers for a free ride, claiming to have no money. As a reward for their kindness, drivers who took pity on the “penniless” passenger were handed a large sum of cash — and their pleasant surprise caught on camera. “It was really fun,” he said, recalling the adrenaline rush of that first encounter. “I couldn’t sleep all night thinking about what happened.”

The first six videos were paid for out of the founder’s own pocket. But as the channel’s popularity grew, clocking up at least 31,600 Instagram followers and 5,200 YouTube subscribers, donations soon began flooding in, allowing TWS to go bigger and bolder. “We always try to find different people to surprise, sometimes taxi drivers, sometimes cart vendors or random people,” the founder said. “We then shifted to target hard-working or under-appreciated individuals, because times got really tough in Lebanon with the financial situation and the lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic.”

By TAREK ALI AHMAD — arabnews.com — LONDON: Lebanese MP and deputy speaker Elie Ferzli has clashed with the media with three explosive televised appearances that saw him insult journalists, leave midway through an interview and claim his word is the constitution on Wednesday. Ferzli’s rampant and aggressive behaviour — in a press conference, on DW, and then on LBCI — comes after he and 10 other lawmakers jumped the queue and received the first shot of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine the day before. Faced with mounting pressure to explain the jump, Ferzli figured that the best way to defend his actions was by insulting journalist and presenter Malek Maktabi on his show “Ahmar bil Khat al Areed” on LBCI after Maktabi asked Ferzli a simple question on his eligibility to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

“I wasn’t simply bothered by the way he was talking and from the tone in which he was talking to me, he insulted me, but I tried to stay calm as much as I can because at the end of the day he is my guest,” Maktabi told Arab News. “I wanted to get back to my question, I was keen on getting that answer, I did my homework, I knew exactly what my first question was going to be and how I was going to proceed with the interview. So if he doesn’t answer my first question, I won’t be able to get what I want out of the interview.” Ferzli went on to tell Maktabi: “Don’t you dare say you are not sure when you speak to me,” adding: “My words are the constitution.” Earlier, Ferzli walked out of a live interview with Ahmed Abida on the arabic version of Deutsche Welle TV, DW Arabic. “You are speaking with the wrong guy,” Ferzli remarked, adding: “I do not need to beg you to speak.”

by naharnet.com — Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan broke his silence Wednesday evening over the controversy sparked by the vaccination of around two dozen MPs and parliament employees in apparent disregard for the national queue and the country’s electronic registration platform. Speaking in an interview with state-run Tele Liban, Hassan said he took a “sovereign decision” by asking medical teams to head to parliament to vaccinate the lawmakers “in appreciation of their efforts, after parliament convened for seven consecutive days to approve the vaccine’s emergency use law.” “There is a mobile clinic at the Health Ministry which will move between state institutions… and I will also visit the religious authorities to give them the vaccine the same as I gave it to MPs,” the minister added.

Noting that the age range of the MPs who received the vaccine was “not against logic,” Hassan described the uproar over the issue as “exaggerated” and “out of proportion.” He added: “The ministerial (anti-Covid) committee has jurisdiction and the head of the vaccine national committee Abdul Rahman al-Bizri is part of a consultative committee but the ministerial committee is the one that takes decisions.” As for the vaccines received by President Michel Aoun, First Lady Nadia Aoun and at least 10 of the president’s aides, Hassan said: “The vaccine received by President Michel Aoun is the same vaccine received by citizens in the Bekaa, Akkar, Beirut, the South and all Lebanese regions. This is justice.” The World Bank had threatened Tuesday to suspend financing for coronavirus vaccines in Lebanon over what it said were suspected violations by lawmakers who were inoculated in parliament.

by arabnews.com — LONDON: Britons and Lebanese are enduring some of the strictest lockdown conditions in the world, an analysis by Oxford University has found. Only Eritrea’s and Venezuela’s lockdowns are stricter, according to a tracker compiled by Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government. Lebanon’s lockdown policies are marginally tougher than Britain’s. The analysis, which looked […]