by naharnet.com — Central Bank governor Riad Salameh said on Tuesday the crisis of ending subsidies on the import of basic goods can be solved without reducing the foreign reserves if the new government takes the necessary measures. In remarks to the US-based Arabic-language satellite TV channel, al-Hurra, Salameh described as “exaggerated” the reports claiming that deposits of the Lebanese people in local banks have “evaporated.” He stressed that the dollar liquidity crisis in Lebanese banks began a gradual decline, revealing that the depositors’ money was not in the “central” bank. He said a year ago until today, deposits worth 30 billion dollars have been withdrawn from Lebanese banks, 20 billion dollars of which have been used to cover debts. “The debt portfolio decreased significantly in the banking sector from 55 billion to 35 billion dollars today,” he said. “The second part was used to buy real estate, while the third part was taken in cash, and we estimate that approximately 10 billion dollars are with the Lebanese,” he added.

On the problematic issue of lifting subsidies on the import of basic goods, Salameh said we are keen that the Lebanese remain capable of buying medicines, fuel and foodstuff at the official dollar rate of LBP 1500. He said it is up to the government to decide how to rationalize imports, stressing the need to set specific approaches that allow the Lebanese to get their basic needs, while concurrently preserving the bank’s foreign reserves. “The bank still has two billion dollars before touching the foreign reserves,” he said, noting that forming a credible government that inspires confidence in creditors helps restore liquidity back to the country.

By Spencer S. Hsu and Kareem Fahim – Washington Post — The U.S. government is weighing a request to declare Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman immune from a federal lawsuit accusing him of targeting for assassination a former top intelligence officer who could disclose damaging secrets about the prince’s ascent to power, according to legal documents related to the case. The Saudi government has asked that the prince be shielded from liability in response to a complaint brought by Saad Aljabri, a former Saudi counterterrorism leader and longtime U.S. intelligence ally now living in exile in Canada. A State Department recommendation could also lead to the dismissal of the prince as a defendant in other cases recently filed in the United States, including ones accusing him of directing the death and dismemberment of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018; and of targeting a hack and leak operation to discredit an Al Jazeera news anchor, Ghada Oueiss, in retaliation for her critical reports on Mohammed and the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates

The State Department sent a questionnaire last month to Aljabri’s lawyers, soliciting their legal views on whether it should grant the Saudi request, according to a person close to the family who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the pending litigation and the document, which The Post reviewed. Attorneys for Aljabri and Mohammed and a spokesman for the State Department declined to comment, citing pending litigation. Former Saudi intelligence officer accuses crown prince of ordering his assassination in Canada The request to the Trump administration comes as the State Department, Aljabri’s family and supportive U.S. lawmakers have condemned Riyadh for detaining two of Aljabri’s children in a bid to silence him.

by NAJIA HOUSSARI — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: The Lebanese Ministry of Health’s scientific committee has recommended that flights from London to Beirut be suspended for a few days pending more information on the new strain of COVID-19 found in Britain. The committee recommended that expatriates heading to Lebanon for the holidays change their route if they were traveling through London and commit to mandatory home quarantine for five days, after which they must take a PCR test. The preventive measures were applied during the legislative session of parliament on Monday at the UNESCO palace instead of the parliament headquarters. This is because the palace’s hall is more spacious, allowing for the application of social-distancing measures. In addition, members of parliament and the attendees wore face coverings throughout.

Parliament also passed a law to ratify the proposal to lift banking secrecy for anyone involved in public affairs. Parliament, according to Speaker Nabih Berri, issued a decision that all state bodies, including the Banque du Liban, the ministries, departments and public institutions, are subject to a financial or forensic audit in response to a letter from President Michel Aoun to parliament. Parliament recommended this decision in a previous session. Berri said: “Parliament cannot respond to Aoun’s message with a law.” Parliament referred the bill — aimed at recovering cash and financial portfolios transferred abroad — to the joint committees, provided it was completed within 15 days. The move led to a loss of the impetus on which parliament is counting to recover stolen money transferred abroad. Caretaker Minister of the Displaced Ghada Shreim said: “We had hoped to pass the bill to retrieve the money transferred abroad after Oct. 17 instead of referring it to the committees. Recovering these funds is the first step on a long road.” Parliament also passed a law for the first time punishing sexual harassment, especially in the workplace, and another amending the law to protect women and other family members from domestic violence. Claudine Aoun, president of the National Commission for Lebanese Women, described the move as a positive step to protect women from sexual harassment and domestic violence.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – The head of Lebanon’s airline said on Sunday the carrier would at some point need to demand payment for tickets bought in Lebanon using “fresh dollars”, or recently transferred currency that is not subject to restrictions imposed since a financial crisis. Middle East Airlines (MEA) Chairman Mohamad El-Hout did not say when this rule would be introduced, but the warning will raise concerns for holders of dollars who have been virtually locked out of dollar accounts since late 2019. The authorities have limited dollar withdrawals to about $500 a month, with a few exceptions, and imposed an exchange rate of about 3,900 Lebanese pounds, effectively slashing the value of those deposits as the unofficial street rate is now over 8,000. Before the crisis, 1,500 was the freely-used rate.

Buying airline tickets was one way those dollars held in local banks could be used, in a nation with a large diaspora and where hard currency has grown scarce. Dollars transferred to Lebanon in more recent months, known as “fresh dollars”, are held in new accounts and not subject to withdrawal or other restrictions. “If the company wants to ensure its stability, we will reach a time when we will need to have sales in ‘fresh dollars’,” Hout told Reuters, adding that MEA would need to do this because the carrier’s expenses for fuel and other items were in dollars. He said the alternative was to stop operating the carrier, which is majority owned by the central bank. He also told a Lebanese television channel that prices lowered, by about 40%, once payment was in “fresh dollars”.

by AFP — Lebanese comedians are bringing relief and defying taboos with jokes about dating, partying during the pandemic — and how even drug dealers are considering leaving the crisis-hit country. Laughter erupts in a venue wedged between two districts devastated by a deadly August 4 explosion that ravaged the Beirut port and swathes of the Lebanese capital. The blast exacerbated a year-long acute financial crisis and political deadlock, as the country also struggled with a surge in novel coronavirus infections. “The situation is so bad that even the flea market has slashed its prices by 50 percent,” joked Nicolas Tawk.

Tawk is one of nearly a dozen comedians who took to the stage on a rainy December evening as part of an event organised by the stand-up comedy club aptly named “awk.word”. He was followed by a comedy duo who reworked the lyrics of Gloria Gaynor’s hit “I Will Survive” to sing about a multitude of frustrations the Lebanese have been struggling. And then, strumming a guitar, they belted out a popular Lebanese hit from the 1980s — Ummi Ta Nur’os (Let’s get up and dance) — the words changed to convey the challenges of partying during the pandemic. “Get up and dance, young lady, but wait for me to disinfect my hands. Don’t freak out, I’ll put on my mask,” they sang.

by NAJIA HOUSSARI — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Lebanon’s leading Christian cleric has intervened in a last-ditch bid to break the stalemate over the formation of a new government in the country, warning that the Lebanese are “hungry and losing hope.” The move by Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai follows a series of fruitless meetings between President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri that have failed to resolve the political impasse despite a mounting economic crisis and appeals from the international community. More than a week has passed since the 13th meeting between the two political rivals with Hariri yet to receive a response from Aoun on the proposed Cabinet lineup of 18 ministers he had submitted.

Al-Rai, the highest spiritual authority in the Maronite community, visited Aoun on Friday, a day after Hariri held talks with the patriarch. The cleric then met with the head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), Gebran Bassil, who faces accusations of obstructing the formation of the government by insisting on naming Christian ministers. Bassil said after the meeting: “When there is an intention to adopt the same standards, the government will be formed.” However, a source close to Hariri told Arab News that the FPM leader “is holding on to the obstructing third in the Cabinet, and this means the government will not be formed in the near future.” Speaking at Baabda Palace, the president’s residence, Al-Rai said that a final understanding between Aoun and Hariri was urgently needed. “The Lebanese people are hungry, unemployed and without hope or confidence. They cannot bear it anymore,” he warned. The senior cleric added: “People in Beirut are suffering as a result of the Aug. 4 (Beirut port) explosion, and this is a fundamental reason for us to have a government — an executive authority that shoulders its responsibilities. It is one of the constitutional institutions that must be in place. We cannot continue with a caretaker government that might last for six months because the country is paralyzed.”

PARIS (Reuters) by John Irish -During a private dinner in Paris last month, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made clear that Washington was unhappy with France’s strategy to include Iran-backed Hezbollah in efforts to resolve the economic and political crisis in Lebanon. French President Emmanuel Macron has been spearheading international efforts to rescue the former French protectorate from its deepest crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war. He has travelled twice to Lebanon since a huge explosion at the Beirut port in August devastated the city. Macron is trying to use Paris’ historical influence to persuade squabbling Lebanese politicians to adopt a road map and form a new government tasked with rooting out corruption, a prerequisite for international donors including the IMF to unlock billions of dollars in aid. He had been due to return for a third visit on Dec. 22, but postponed the trip on Thursday after testing positive for coronavirus. Army chief Francois Lecointre will replace the president to visit French troops on the ground and an official involved in organising the visit said Macron may speak by phone to Lebanese President Michel Aoun but there were no other plans for now.

The 42-year-old French leader has from the outset faced the inertia of Lebanon’s fractious political class, which has bickered and ignored international warnings of state bankruptcy, as well as resistance to his plans from Washington. “The Lebanese political class is stuck in its own contradictions and is happy to play the clock,” said Nadim Khoury at the Arab Reform Initiative. “(Prime Minister-designate) Saad al-Hariri is not able to form a government and internationally the U.S. will not facilitate French efforts to form a government.” The U.S. objection to Macron’s plan is centred on Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed armed movement that wields enormous power in Lebanon and which Washington brands a terrorist group. Hariri, a former prime minister, was given the task of forming a government after Mustapha Adib resigned in September. He is so far struggling to cobble together a cabinet to share power with all Lebanese parties, including Hezbollah.

by english.alarabiya.net — Hezbollah has used Lebanon’s health budget to disproportionately fund its own medical institutions, according to a government document issued by the Health Ministry currently run by pro-Hezbollah minister Hamad Hasan. The official document showed the health budget allocations for both public and private hospitals, which the caretaker Lebanese government signed before its resignation last August only four days following the Beirut port explosion. It showed that the ministry raised the budgets of Hezbollah-sponsored medical institutions. In recent governments, Hezbollah began demanding more ministerial portfolios that have access to state services and funding such as the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Industry. This disproportionate budget allocation by the Ministry of Health has raised the concerns of Lebanese citizens on Hezbollah’s use of ministries to fund and support its own parallel economy.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Health was also criticized for trying to replace medicines produced in Europe with alternatives produced in Iran. The document seen by Al Arabiya English showed that al-Rassoul al-Azam Hospital, which was not affected by the Beirut port explosion and is affiliated with Hezbollah, received 14.7 billion Lebanese pounds ($9.7 million at the country’s official pegged rate), an increase of 5.5 billion Lebanese pounds ($3.6 million) compared to the prior year. The same budget allocations were not increased for prominent hospitals such as the American University, Roum, and Hotel Dieu despite their recent challenges following the impact of the Beirut blast in August and being the major hospitals to receive and treat the number of dead and injured.

by middleeastmonitor.com — Palestine and Lebanon have been added to the International Red Cross (IRC) emergency watchlist for 2021. This year’s list also includes Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Mali and Afghanistan, but Iraq and Libya, which featured in 2020, have been removed. The list identifies 20 countries at the greatest risk of a major new, or significantly worsened, humanitarian crisis in the following 12 months. Palestine is on the 2021 list because the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated existing emergencies in the country, the report says. Su’ad Jarbawi, regional vice president of the IRC, said: “The situation in Palestine is dire, notably in Gaza where there is a double lockdown – a 13 year long blockade and now restrictions related to the pandemic.” The report warns the situation in Palestine is rapidly deteriorating because humanitarian agencies are facing record low funding levels, citing the US decision to withdraw support for UNRWA. The IRC does not currently operate in the occupied Palestinian territories but is monitoring and assessing the conflict to determine if and when to enter the location, the report added.

by dailystar.com.lb — Hussein Dakroub — BEIRUT: Cancellation of French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Beirut has shattered hopes for breaking the Cabinet formation deadlock, heightening fears of a prolonged standoff with all the dire consequences this entails for the country’s crumbling economy and internal stability, political sources said Thursday. The cancellation of Macron’s visit to Beirut, scheduled for next week, came after the French president tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday, following a week when he has met with numerous European leaders. Macron took a test “as soon as the first symptoms appeared” and will self-isolate for seven days, the French presidency said in a brief statement. The 42-year-old president “will continue to work and take care of his activities at a distance,” the statement added. The French presidency confirmed that Macron’s trip to Lebanon is being canceled.

Macron was scheduled to visit Beirut on Dec. 22-23, marking his third trip to the crises-stricken country since the deadly Aug. 4 explosion that devastated Beirut Port, left half of the capital in ruins, killed nearly 200 people, injured thousands, and caused millions of dollars in material damage. With the Cabinet formation process at a dead end days after Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri and President Michel Aoun aired their differences over the formation with each blaming the other for the delay in an unprecedented “war of words,” popular and political attention was focused on Macron’s visit in the hope that it would achieve a breakthrough in the weekslong standoff. Even Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri held out hope that Macron might be able to help in resolving the Cabinet crisis during his visit.