khazen.org thanks the Lebanese Authority in taking prompt action against the thugs that has invaded lands that are owned by our Maronite Church.  by imlebanon.org —  أزالت عناصر الفهود بمؤازرة الجيش، فجر الاثنين، التعديات عن أملاك الكنيسة المارونية في لاسا. وفي هذا السياق، غرد النائب شوقي الدكاش على حسابه عبر “تويتر” قائلًا: “إن ازالة التعديات […]

By Nahal Toosi — politico — Several U.S. officials, including a senior figure at the State Department, are now self-isolating after meeting with a Lebanese spymaster who has tested positive for the coronavirus. David Hale, the undersecretary of State for political affairs; CIA Director Gina Haspel; and national security adviser Robert O’Brien were among the Americans who met with Lebanon’s Major Gen. Abbas Ibrahim during his recent visit to Washington, people familiar with the situation told POLITICO. Hale, as well as several other employees from the State Department and other executive branch divisions, are now self-isolating for 14 days, a U.S. official said. It was not immediately clear whether Haspel is among them. O’Brien has already had the virus in the past.

Ibrahim, who leads Lebanon’s directorate of general security, has had to delay his return to Beirut and cancel meetings in France because of his Covid-19 results, his directorate said in a Twitter thread. He “is in good health,” his office said in the thread. The State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Neither did the National Security Council, nor the CIA. Ibrahim had told the Middle East-based news organization The National that he was visiting the U.S. in part to boost intelligence-sharing with Washington and work on releasing more hostages held in Iran and Syria. Ibrahim is believed to be involved in efforts to free Austin Tice, an American journalist who may be in Syrian custody. Lebanon has been in economic and political turmoil for months, a situation aggravated by a massive August explosion that devastated Beirut. A vast cache of improperly stored ammonium nitrate has been blamed for the blast, which killed more than 200 people, wounded thousands and left many more homeless. Daniel Lippman and Natasha Bertrand contributed to this report.

by dailystar.com.lb — Hussein Dakroub — BEIRUT: French President Emmanuel Macron is outraged by Lebanese political leaders’ failure to act quickly to form a new government to deliver reforms and has therefore decided to wash his hands of the Lebanese crisis for now, a Western diplomatic source said Sunday. However, despite Macron’s frustration with rival Lebanese politicians’ lack of seriousness in dealing with the country’s worst economic and financial crunch in decades, the French initiative to rescue Lebanon from a series of multiple crises is still alive, the source told The Daily Star. “President Macron has washed his hands of the Lebanese crisis, in a move reflecting his disappointment with Lebanon’s political leaders’ continued obstruction of the formation of a new government to enact urgent reforms. He has relegated to the French cell of former French ambassadors who served in Lebanon the job of following up on the implementation of the French initiative to save Lebanon,” the source said.

Macron’s fiery stance came after President Michel Aoun this week suddenly postponed until Oct. 22 binding parliamentary consultations to designate a new prime minister that were set to take place Thursday, apparently due to a lack of strong Christian support for former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s nomination. Hariri had appeared assured of gaining the support of a parliamentary majority sufficient to designate him to form a new government despite opposition from the two main Christian blocs — the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces. Hariri, backed by France and regional powers, had emerged as the favorite candidate to form the next government in the absence of a serious Sunni rival. Aoun cited what he called “difficulties that need to be resolved” for his decision to postpone the parliamentary consultations. But Future Movement MP Assem Araji had told The Daily Star that Aoun acted at FPM leader MP Gebran Bassil’s behest to postpone the parliamentary consultations in a bid to block Hariri’s designation for the premiership. A source at Baabda Palace Sunday said the binding consultations would go ahead as scheduled Thursday. “So far, the consultations will take place as planned on Thursday. Barring last-minute hitches, Prime Minister Hariri is expected to be designated as prime minister Thursday,” the source told The Daily Star.

by euronews.com — Lebanon’s fashion industry is currently enduring a triple crisis. The current economic recession is the worst in the country’s history, COVID-19 has decimated sales and August’s port explosion has destroyed many outlets. To support the sector, a global crowdfunding campaign called “United for Lebanese Creatives” was established. The initiative identified & raised funds for more than 30 Lebanese designers & artists, many of them with ateliers & shops destroyed. Collection collateral Twenty-eight-year-old Lebanese designer, Roni Helou, is a recipient of the aid provided by United for Lebanese Creatives. Helou’s business suffered badly following August’s port explosion, with his atelier, equipment and machinery destroyed. The designer, who did not have insurance, estimates his losses will run to around $15,000.The young creative established his Beirut-based label in 2017, with a focus on sustainability, ethical & local fashion. His latest menswear collection, due for September release in the UAE, was also lost in the port blast. The pieces were made from environmentally friendly, discarded fabrics and so-called ‘dead stock’ materials. The collection took more than a month to construct at a cost of approximately $2,000.

Couturier comeback

by arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Lebanon’s top Christian cleric urged Lebanese leaders to stop delaying talks on forming a government in a scathing Sunday sermon in which he blamed them for the country’s financial crisis and political deadlock. Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, leader of the Maronite church, was speaking a day after demonstrators marched through Beirut […]

By Jennifer Jacobs — Bloomberg — Lebanon’s security chief held talks with top administration officials in Washington this week as the U.S. seeks to resolve his country’s energy dispute with Israel and free an American journalist kidnapped in Syria, according to people familiar with the matter. Abbas Ibrahim, the influential head of Lebanon’s General Security agency, spoke with Robert O’Brien, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, at a dinner on Friday night, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private meetings. He also met Central Intelligence Agency Director Gina Haspel. Amid the Trump administration’s push to shift broader U.S. policy in the Middle East, the fate of Austin Tice remains unresolved some eight years after he was abducted in Syria while on assignment. Trump said in March that the U.S. is working with Syria — Lebanon’s war-wracked neighbor — to secure the journalist’s release.

O’Brien and Ibrahim also met at the White House during the Lebanese official’s visit, according to one of the people. The two know each from when O’Brien served as Trump’s hostage envoy in 2018 and 2019. Ibrahim played a role in the release of three hostages, including Sam Goodwin, a U.S. citizen released from Syria last year, and Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese businessman and U.S. resident who was let go by Iran and accompanied by Ibrahim on his return to Beirut. The White House and a CIA spokeswoman declined to comment. A General Security spokesman in Beirut said he had no information on any meetings. Read more: Senators Urge Pompeo to Press for Release of Americans Overseas Guests at the Friday night dinner included Diane Foley, the mother of American journalist James Foley, who covered Syria’s civil war and was beheaded by Islamic State in 2014. She presented Ibrahim with an award, according to one of the people.

by AP — Lebanese protesters are still calling for the downfall of the political elite, although a year of rallies has so far failed to spark a full-blown revolution. The country is still reeling from the deadly Beirut blast. Anti-government protesters rallied across Lebanon on Saturday, marking a year since hundreds of thousands of people first came out on streets to protest taxes, corruption and poverty. “We will continue no matter what,” read one placard at the protests in Beirut, as thousands of people chanted “Revolution, revolution.” The protests first broke out after people people disappointment with the government boiled over last October. With minor changes, the ruling elite has been in power since Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war. While the rapidly deteriorating economic crisis and a collapse of the currency were the main driving force for the protests that rocked the country, the situation has only gotten worse since then.

The country faces an uncertain future with no stable government in place, which has further amplified the damage caused by the coronavirus and the massive August 4 explosion at the capital city’s port. The blast has killed over 190 people and injured 6,00 more. While marches seem to have taken a backseat in the current political and economic climate, protesters maintain that the movement will continue. They demand the resignation of President Michel Aoun. “The revolution did not die,” said activist Rabih al-Zein, as protesters took to the streets of Beirut, Tripoli, and other cities. “We can hold this corrupt authority accountable and the proof is we brought down two governments.” In Beirut, protesters marched near the central bank and parliament, before continuing down to the site of the devastating August blast. A candlelight vigil marked the exact time when ammonium nitrate exploded at the port.

by alkhaleejtoday.co — Beirut – The US embassy in Lebanon had to issue a notice to explain what was said by US Assistant Secretary of State David Schenker during his meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, where it said that Schenker urged President Aoun to use the sword of transparency “figuratively”, and he did not mean any courtesy. In a statement, the US embassy spokesman in Beirut Casey Bonfield said that Schenker referred to the sword hanging in President Aoun’s office, which was written on it: Transparency is the sword that eliminates corruption. Commenting on the phrase, Schenker urged President Aoun to use the sword of transparency (a metaphorical use) to change the governance approach. The Baabda Palace statement indicated that Schenker “praised the positive role that President Aoun plays in leading the fight against corruption and changing the approach that prevailed in the past, considering that reforms in Lebanon are essential, especially since there is no difference between politics and economics.”

Lebanese political circles saw in the words of the US embassy spokesman a clear denial of the statement issued by the Republican Palace, denying the existence of any intention by Schenker to polish the image of Michel Aoun and to show it in the guise of those working to combat corruption. David Schenker’s words to President Michel Aoun were not intended as courtesy Schenker arrived in Beirut last Wednesday to participate in the opening of the Lebanese-Israeli negotiations on the demarcation of the maritime borders. It was expected that the American official would leave Beirut for Rabat immediately after the opening session of negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, but he decided to stay in Lebanon for other days to hold talks with politicians and activists in the political field, who listened to their views and views.

By Michael Jansen — irishtimes.com — Beirut seemed calm, quiet and normal a year ago today when President Michael D Higgins, on an official visit to Lebanon, lunched with his counterpart and took tea with the parliamentary speaker. In the evening, as we tailed his motorcade to our hotel from the Serail, the handsome Ottoman barracks where premier Saad Hariri hosted a banquet, 150 protesters took to the streets nearby. They demanded electricity, water, jobs, reforms and an end to the sectarian system of governance imposed by colonial ruler France before independence in 1943. Lebanon has not seen a normal day since. The trigger for the protest was a tax on WhatsApp calls, one in a series of demands imposed on the public to fill depleted state coffers with hard currency – and thus enable purveyors of food, medicine and fuel to supply essentials for a country which imports 80 per cent of its needs.

The uprising was dubbed a “revolution” by hundreds of thousands of Lebanese of all backgrounds and faiths who filled the capital’s central squares, turned out in towns and cities across the country, and erected barricades on highways. Happy revolutionaries brought children to the demonstrations, brandished flags and posters and handed out bottles of water and sweets. Lebanese were as optimistic as the cheerful Egyptians who massed in Cairo’s Tahrir Square during the 2011 rising.

by arabnews.com — NAJIA HOUSSAR — BEIRUT: The Lebanese pound had seen a significant improvement in its dollar exchange rate following an announcement last week by Saad Hariri, the leader of the Future Movement, that he is the “natural candidate” to head the next government. However, the rate jumped to over LBP8,000 to the dollar on the Lebanese black market on Thursday — having dropped by LBP1,200 over the previous two days — after President Michel Aoun announced that the binding parliamentary consultations to designate Lebanon’s new prime minister, which were scheduled for Thursday, were to be postponed for a week. Questions were raised about Aoun’s unilateral decision, and about the message he is sending to the international community and the Lebanese people, who are hopeful that the rapid installation of a new government might alleviate some of the economic and social ills that the country currently faces. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said he was against postponing the consultations “even for one day.”

The leader of the Marada Movement, Suleiman Frangieh, said, “Postponing the consultations is forbidden under the circumstances the Lebanese are experiencing.” A majority of Lebanon’s parliamentary blocs had announced that they would back Hariri as the new prime minister during the parliamentary consultations. Aside from his own party, Hariri has the support of Hezbollah, the Amal Movement, the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), the Marada Movement, and Armenian MPs, giving him a total of at least 70 votes — a clear majority among the 120 currently serving MPs. The Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and the Lebanese Forces will reportedly not support him. FPM leader Gebran Bassil — who is also the president’s son-in-law — launched an attack on Hariri on Tuesday, widening the political divide. However, presidential palace sources said there was “no personal reason” behind Aoun’s decision to postpone the consultations. In 2018, Aoun blocked the formation of a government led by Hariri, stipulating that Bassil had to be given a ministerial position.