Beirut (AFP) Lebanon hit new daily records of 44 coronavirus deaths and over 6,000 new infections Friday, the second day of a lockdown aimed at preventing the country’s creaking healthcare system from collapsing. The country of six million recorded 6,154 new infections over the past 24 hours, the health ministry said, as hospitals in Beirut reached full capacity. The announcement came as the American University of Beirut’s medical centre, one the country’s top facilities, said that its intensive care units, COVID-19 units and emergency room were all full. “We are unable to find beds for even the most critical patients,” it said in a statement.

The World Health Organisation says that occupancy rates for ICU beds across the country has reached 90.4 per cent, up from 81 per cent on December 22. Occupancy rates for regular beds has shot up from 72.5 percent to 86.3 percent over the same period, it added. Recent days have seen cases surge in one of the steepest increases in transmission worldwide. Lebanon has recorded 243,286 coronavirus cases and 1,825 deaths since its outbreak started in February. Infections skyrocketed after authorities loosened restrictions during the holiday season, allowing restaurants and nightclubs to remain open until 3:00 am, despite warnings from health professionals.

BEIRUT (REUTERS) – Lebanon’s parliament on Friday approved a law that paves the way for the government to sign deals for coronavirus vaccines as it battles a steep increase in infections. Lebanon said in mid-December it was expecting to sign a deal for supplies of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine and hoped to receive the first batch eight weeks after that. But the country, now struggling with a severe spike in infections that has overwhelmed hospitals, hit a legal stumbling block that has so far prevented it from finalising the agreement. The new law would give Pfizer-BioNtech, and other companies that provide vaccines to Lebanon, protection from any future liability claims for two years. It includes a clause that points to the Lebanese health ministry as the only entity responsible for compensation.

Lebanon is under a three-week lockdown that ends on Feb. 1 and a strict 24-hour curfew until Jan. 25 after lax measures over the Christmas and New Year’s holiday period led to a spike in cases. Hamad Hasan, the country’s caretaker health minister, has previously said the ministry had secured about 2 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, to cover 20% of Lebanese nationals, but the government has yet to announce a starting date for a national vaccination programme. Hasan on Friday tweeted his thanks to the parliament for approving the law. He has been hospitalised since Wednesday with coronavirus but is in stable condition and continuing to work from his hospital bed. Apart from the anticipated Pfizer-BioNtech deal, Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun approved on Friday the transfer of 26.4 billion Lebanese pounds ($17.53 million) to COVAX to book 2.73 million vaccines, his official twitter account said.

By By Tony Akleh — arabianbusiness.com — The Lebanese pound continues to be ranked as the most undervalued currency in the world, according to new research. An analysis by Arabian Business based on the Big Mac Index published by The Economist shows that a Big Mac costs 68.7 percent less in Lebanon (LBP15,500 or $1.70) against $5.66 in the United States in January. The implied exchange rate is 2,738.52. The difference between this and the actual exchange rate, 8,750.00, suggests the Lebanese pound is 68.7 percent undervalued, that means Lebanon has the cheapest Big Macs in the world.

The second most undervalued currency is the Russian rouble at 68 percent followed by the Turkish Lira at 64.5 percent. The Big Mac Index for January, which tracks 55 currencies, ranked the Swiss Franc (+28.8 percent overvalued), Swedish Krona (+12.6 percent) and Norwegian Krona (+7.5 percent) as the most overvalued currencies. The rate LBP/$8,750 as of Thursday means the currency has lost 83 percent of its value in the past year since banks began restricting withdrawals of dollars. Lebanon has pegged the value of its currency to the dollar at the rate of LBP1,507 for the past three decades, and the government still officially maintains the level even as the pound collapses and banks halt all dollar withdrawals, except for what are called “fresh” transfers of dollars from overseas. Lebanon’s central bank governor Riad Salameh announced last week that the era of the dollar peg was finished but added that the country’s currency will not be floated unless an agreement with the International Monetary Fund was reached. The admission of the currency peg’s demise was a first from the central bank governor, who has spent years upholding the rate that crashed in 2020.

by NAJIA HOUSSARI — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Lebanon’s security forces have praised public compliance with lockdown measures as the country struggles to reduce a dramatic rise in the number of coronavirus cases. Internal Security Forces spokesman Col. Joseph Mousallem told Arab News that the rate of commitment to the curfew was 90 percent across the country, including poorer districts, where residents previously have been skeptical about measures to stop the spread of the virus. However, with 10 days until the nationwide lockdown ends, a record 5,000 confirmed coronavirus cases were reported on Wednesday. A 19-year-old man was among the 35 deaths. Director of the Hariri Governmental University Hospital, Dr. Firas Al-Abyad, renewed his warning that “the situation is very serious, and we need to work together to end these difficult circumstances.”

Lebanon’s healthcare sector is exhausted after 10 months of dealing with the pandemic, he said. “We need to find an exit from this situation.” Most hospitals in Lebanon have canceled all but emergency operations amid warnings of bed shortages and medicines running low. Beirut and other major cities have been largely silent in recent days, with traffic limited to grocery deliveries and vehicles exempted from the curfew. Observers say that a media campaign urging people to stay home by highlighting the suffering of patients and those unable to find a hospital bed appears to have convinced most Lebanese to adhere to the latest restrictions. However, Dr. George Jovelekian, head of the intensive care department at St. George Hospital University Medical Center, said that the country still faces “two catastrophic weeks in terms of coronavirus cases.” He called on people to follow the restrictions so that medical staff can continue to perform their duties.

by BY JOHN BOWDEN — thehill.com — Health officials in Brazil said Tuesday that a Chinese-produced vaccine for COVID-19 is just over 50 percent effective in preventing infections, above the World Health Organization’s (WHO) benchmark standards for vaccine effectiveness but far below several vaccines produced by Western nations. The New York Times reported that the […]

The Lebanese pound retreated further against the dollar on the black market Tuesday as the political crisis deepened and more negative developments emerged regarding the stalled government formation. Black market exchange dealers were selling the greenback for LL8,850 and buying it for LL8,750, compared to LL8,800-LL8,700 Monday.

by arabianbusiness.com — Tony Akleh — The Lebanese banking sector has witnessed its first merger since the financial crisis hit the country in 2019, as banks continue to experience difficult and uncertain operating conditions. Bank Audi is merging the local business operations of its fully-owned subsidiaries Audi Private Bank and Audi Investment Bank into its own business. All the assets, liabilities rights, and commitments of Audi Private Bank and Audi Investment Bank will be transferred to Bank Audi. The total assets of Audi Private Bank stood at $1.43 billion while the assets of Audi Investment Bank totalled $307.5 million.

The merger, which will ensure the business continuity to Audi Private Bank and Audi Investment Bank customers, will create synergies on the operational front, a statement said. “This strategic merger enhances the future competitive positioning of Bank Audi with a significant elimination in duplication and lower operating expenses. Specific synergies were created in this respect, which integrate, among others, the governance and control frameworks of Audi Private Bank and Audi Investment Bank into those of Bank Audi,” the bank said. The merger has received the approval of Lebanon’s central bank.

by arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Lebanon’s caretaker health minister Hamad Hasan was admitted to hospital the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on Wednesday evening. The Hezbollah-appointed minister was transferred to the St. George hospital in Beirut’s suburb of Al-Hadat for treatment, according to a hospital statement. Hasan’s condition was good, the statement added. Lebanon has experienced a spike […]

by reuters & Tass– Interpol has put three men on the wanted list. Two Russian citizens and one Portuguese are suspected in delivering explosives to the docks of Beirut; the materials were stored there for six years begore going off in August 2020. That explosion killed 200 people, thousands were wounded, and the city suffered huge damage. 7news.com reported that on January 12. According to the outlet, “Interpol-issued Red Notices were for the owner and captain of the Rhosus, the ship that carried the 2750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate to Lebanon in 2013, as well as a Portuguese nitrate trader who visited the port’s warehouse in Beirut in 2014 where the material was stored”.

Boris Prokoshev, the captain of the Rhosus, the ship that delivered 2,700 tonnes ammonium nitrate to the port of Beirut in 2013, claimed that he does not consider himself responsible for the Beirut explosion and will defend himself. Previously, Watania News reported that the Lebanese authorities officially applied for an international arrest warrant from Interpol against two Russians – the owner and the captain of Rhosus. On Tuesday, Interpol issued the warrant. According to Watania, the red corner notification was issue in response to the application of the Prosecutor General of Lebanon. “I have received no papers yet; it is unpleasant news, of course, and I do not know what to do right now. I will observe the development of the situation and will defend myself on my own: I do not have money for lawyers, of course, I live on my pension. I do not consider myself guilty,” Prokoshev told TASS.

The Red Notice is the request to law enforcers all over the world, which is supposed to speed up the search and temporarily arrest the culprit. It’s not the arrest warrant, and the government is not required to arrest the wanted suspect. Lebanon’s state prosecutor Ghassan Khoury was the one who asked the Interpol to issue the Red Notices. Related: 137 people died in Beirut’s explosion; French, American citizens among victims According to local media, the trio of suspects were “the vessel’s former captain Boris Prokoshev and Igor Grechushkin, a Russian businessman residing in Cyprus who had bought the cargo ship in 2012. The Portuguese man was identified as Jorge Manuel Mirra Neto Moreira”.

by naharnet — The Israeli army alleged Tuesday that a Lebanese shepherd nabbed by Israeli forces in the border area of Kfarshouba was collecting information for Hizbullah. Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee tweeted that the shepherd was “arrested in an ambush” after he “deliberately” crossed the frontier into Israeli-controlled territory. Noting that the shepherd was taken to interrogation, Adraee stressed that the Israeli army “will not tolerate any attempt to violate the sovereignty of the State of Israel.” “The arrested Lebanese shepherd belongs to a group that has been identified as being collaborative with Hizbullah, which uses shepherds in missions for collecting information and monitoring the Israeli army forces,” Adraee added. The Lebanese Army identified the shepherd as Hassan Qasem Zahra and said he was guarding livestock when he was detained.

by NAJIA HOUSSARI — arabnews.com —BEIRUT: Lebanon filed a complaint to the UN Security Council against Israel on Tuesday, over the latter’s continued violation of Lebanese airspace. The Lebanese Armed Forces command said that at least eight air violations were recorded by Israeli warplanes, which carried out low-altitude flights over the south and Mount Lebanon, in one day alone. It added: “The air violations are accompanied by sea violations. An Israeli gunboat violated on Monday Lebanese territorial waters off Ras Al-Naqoura in four stages and for a maximum distance of about 314 meters.” The army command stressed that “the issue of the violations is being discussed with the UN Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL).”

MP Walid Sukkarieh, a retired Lebanese army officer, told Arab News: “There are two types of Israeli aircraft that violate the Lebanese airspace: Drones, which aim to monitor the movements on the ground, especially Hezbollah’s movements, and F-16 and F-17 warplanes, which are flying over Lebanon these days to show off. “Israel was betting on US President Donald Trump launching a war on Iran, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cannot perform this mission alone without the US. However, what happened in the US Congress made Trump back off on this adventure, and when the factors of war crumble, Israel resorts to show off its strength in this manner.” He added that he believed that “neither Iran nor Hezbollah wants any war, nor do they have an interest in it.” UNIFIL has recorded a number of flights over Lebanese airspace in recent days by Israeli unmanned and fighter aircraft, said its spokesman Andrea Tenenti, who stressed that these are violations of Resolution 1701 and Lebanese sovereignty. “We have once again called on the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) Command to cease the overflights,” he said. “The continued violations increase fear among the local population and undermine our efforts to reduce tensions and establish a stable security environment in southern Lebanon.”