by arabnews.com — NAJIA HOUSSARI — BEIRUT: The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued a doom-laden forecast over the outcome of crucial talks aimed at solving Lebanon’s financial woes. Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF’s managing director, said she did not “expect progress in the negotiations with the Lebanese officials” over helping the country out of its economic crisis. Former Lebanese Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud told Arab News: “What Georgieva said has already been stated for years by the International Support Group for Lebanon (ISG), but her declaration comes at a time when Lebanon is negotiating with the IMF.” Speaking on Friday, the IMF chief said: “IMF officials are still working with Lebanon, but it is not clear whether it is possible for the country’s leaders, active parties, and society to agree on implementing the reforms needed to stabilize the economy and boost economic growth.”

The financial meltdown in the country has seen the Lebanese pound lose 75 percent of its value over the past eight months. Georgieva pointed out that “the core challenge is to implement a set of very difficult but necessary reforms.” She said that the situation in Lebanon was “breaking her heart,” adding that it was a “country which has a strong culture of entrepreneurship, and is hosting refugees from Palestine and Syria to help alleviate a major humanitarian crisis.” Reaching an agreement with the IMF would require a strong commitment from the Lebanese government to implement a set of structural reforms in public institutions. The ISG has called for a prompt resolution to problems in the electricity sector, the issuance of a law that guarantees the independence of the judiciary, and new rules controlling public-sector purchasing and tendering by ministries, public institutions, councils, and municipalities. One of the most urgent issues for Lebanon is to restore the confidence of its citizens, the international community, and international financial institutions.

BEIRUT (AP) SARAH EL DEEB — A Lebanese judge Saturday banned local and foreign media outlets in the country from interviewing the U.S. ambassador to Beirut for a year, calling a recent interview in which she criticized the powerful Hezbollah group seditious and a threat to social peace. The court decision reflected the rising tension between the U.S. and Hezbollah. It also revealed a widening rift among groups in Lebanon, which is facing the worst economic crisis in its modern history. Judge Mohamad Mazeh in the southern city of Tyre said he acted after receiving a complaint from a citizen who considered Ambassador Dorothy Shea’s comments to a Saudi-owned station “insulting to the Lebanese people.” Mazeh said Shea’s comments incited sectarian strife and threatened social peace. The judge said while he can’t ban the ambassador from speaking, he can bar the media from interviewing her for a year. Mazeh made the decision on Saturday, the start of the weekend, saying the matter was urgent. The backlash was swift.

The private LBC TV station said it would appeal the ruling and called it a violation of media freedom. Critics of Hezbollah called it politicized. But others hailed the ban as “brave” on social media, saying Shea had crossed a line, interfering in Lebanon’s internal affairs. Information Minister Manal Abdel-Samad wrote on Twitter the judiciary may be reacting to the interference of some diplomats in the country’s affairs. However, “no one has the right to prevent the media from covering news or undermine press freedoms,” she wrote. The judge’s ruling came a day after Shea told Saudi-owned TV station Al-Hadath that Washington has “great concerns” over Hezbollah’s role in the government. In her first response to the ruling, Shea called it “unfortunate” in a telephone interview with the local MTV station. “I think it is a distraction. I wish people would spend their time and attention trying to solve the problems facing the country,” she said, adding that the Lebanese government had already apologized to her for the ruling. “So, no. The U.S. Embassy will not be silenced.”

Samir Salama, Associate Editor – gulfnews.com — Abu Dhabi: Anwar Gargash, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, has said that the UAE has repeatedly warned Lebanon against deteriorating relations with Gulf countries. “We have seen the accumulation of problems in Lebanon, and we have also seen a dictation of political discourse by Hezbollah, which already has an army inside the country,” the minister said. “If you burn your bridges, it will be very difficult for you to use the huge balance of goodwill and the huge balance of financial support that Lebanon needs.” In statements to CNBC, he added that the economic collapse that Lebanon is witnessing is very worrying, but Lebanon is responsible for the deterioration of its Arab relations and its Gulf relations over the past ten years, and it pays partially the price of that. He stressed that the UAE will not provide financial support, except in coordination with other countries. He explained, “If we see some of our friends and major powers interested in Lebanon working on a plan, we will think about it.”

The deterioration of the Lebanese economy has continued over the past months at dangerous rates, without showing any indications of obtaining regional or international support. The countries of the region and the world have distanced from it because of Hezbollah’s domination of the country’s capabilities, and its regional and international policies. Lebanon is suffering from the worst economic collapse in decades. Tens of thousands have lost their livelihood or part of their income due to the crisis that drove hundreds of thousands to take to the streets on October 17, disgruntled at the political class. As the Lebanese economy continues to deteriorate, there are no indications that it has obtained any regional or international support.

by Naharnet — A memo was submitted Thursday to the Baabda dialogue meeting by the representative of the Progressive Socialist Party and the Democratic Gathering, MP Taymour Jumblat. Jumblat left the meeting after delivering brief remarks and presenting the memo. The memo rejects “reviving the ‘unity of tracks’ theory, this time from the gate of […]

By NAJIA HOUSSARI — arabnews.com — Beirut : The US and UAE have warned Lebanon about maintaining ties with Hezbollah, as the country’s president convened a meeting to bring together political parties with the aim of “fortifying civil peace.” Lebanon’s domestic turmoil rocketed last year, with street protests, high-profile resignations and financial chaos. A new government, led by Prime Minister Hassan Diab, was formed in January. But there have been concerns about its composition as the majority of its ministers belong to Hezbollah and its allies. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters on Wednesday that the US was prepared to communicate with any Lebanese government that carried out real reform, telling a press conference that the world would act in the interest of Lebanon if this was achieved, and if the government operated in a way that was not “beholden to” Hezbollah. “Lebanon’s financial crisis is rooted in decades of state corruption and waste,” he added.

The UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, went one step further in his assessment of the country’s plight. “Lebanon is paying the price of deteriorating ties with wealthy Gulf Arab states as it struggles to cope with a deep economic crisis,” he said in an interview. He regarded Lebanon’s economic meltdown as “very worrying” and said that the UAE would only consider offering financial support in concert with other states. “If we see some of our friends and the major powers interested in Lebanon and working in a plan, we will consider that. But until now, what we are really seeing here is a deterioration of Lebanon’s Arab relations and Gulf relations over the past 10 years. Lebanon is partly paying the price for that right now.”

By NAJIA HOUSSARI — arabnews.com — Beirut : The US and UAE have warned Lebanon about maintaining ties with Hezbollah, as the country’s president convened a meeting to bring together political parties with the aim of “fortifying civil peace.” Lebanon’s domestic turmoil rocketed last year, with street protests, high-profile resignations and financial chaos. A new government, led by Prime Minister Hassan Diab, was formed in January. But there have been concerns about its composition as the majority of its ministers belong to Hezbollah and its allies. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters on Wednesday that the US was prepared to communicate with any Lebanese government that carried out real reform, telling a press conference that the world would act in the interest of Lebanon if this was achieved, and if the government operated in a way that was not “beholden to” Hezbollah. “Lebanon’s financial crisis is rooted in decades of state corruption and waste,” he added.

The UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, went one step further in his assessment of the country’s plight. “Lebanon is paying the price of deteriorating ties with wealthy Gulf Arab states as it struggles to cope with a deep economic crisis,” he said in an interview. He regarded Lebanon’s economic meltdown as “very worrying” and said that the UAE would only consider offering financial support in concert with other states. “If we see some of our friends and the major powers interested in Lebanon and working in a plan, we will consider that. But until now, what we are really seeing here is a deterioration of Lebanon’s Arab relations and Gulf relations over the past 10 years. Lebanon is partly paying the price for that right now.”

BEIRUT (AP) – The Lebanese pound continued to slide in price and hit its lowest level against the dollar on Wednesday, raising such alarm that a powerful politician asked to declare a « state of financial emergency. » The Lebanese currency was reportedly selling for £ 6,200 per dollar, losing more than 75% of its […]

by armenianweekly.com — Yeghia Tashjian — Lebanese resilience is being severely tested by the ongoing financial crisis. Economic and social costs are overwhelming, and the middle class is disappearing as poverty spirals out of control. The Lebanese currency has almost lost 60 percent of its value compared to US dollars in the black market. Unemployment has reached 55 percent. Poverty has exceeded 65 percent, and we have an uncertain and unpredictable political environment. The roaring but essentially non-violent civilian protests, which have swept through Lebanon for several months, have conveyed a compelling demand for change. However, during the last two months, protesters took a violent path, looting and burning banks and stores. On a regional level, the Sunni-Shia conflict has been intensified from Yemen to Syria where institutional decay has further inflamed the region. Amid these uncertainties, Turkey has started to spread its tentacles and mobilize its proxies in Lebanon.

Davit Hirst in his book “Beware of Small States: Lebanon, Battleground of the Middle East” argues that Lebanon is a reflection of the geopolitical developments in the Middle East. Sometimes, the political developments in Lebanon reflect on the region. I would say both the political shifts in the country and the region are interdependent due to the sectarian infrastructure that had shaped the region after the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. The fall of Saddam inflamed a Sunni versus Shia conflict whose roots go back to 632 AD following the death of Prophet Mohammad. The conflict was later regenerated with the political vacuum that Americans left with the ousting of the Baathist regime in Iraq. Italian philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli would have advised otherwise, that instead of dissolving the Iraqi army, which was playing the role of “check and balance” to Iran’s influence, the US would have used this army to contain the Iranian expansion and preserve the regional status quo. However, President George W. Bush’s administration unleashed more chaos in the region.

by AP — One of the Arab world’s oldest and most prestigious universities, which endured civil war, kidnappings and various economic crises, is preparing for what may be the biggest challenge in its 154-year history. The American University of Beirut is confronting a global pandemic, a severe recession and the collapse of Lebanon’s currency — all at the same time — and is planning a series of sweeping layoffs and salary cuts in response. AUB president Fadlo Khuri said the school, which ranks among the top 150 in the world, will lay off up to 25% of its workforce, close administrative departments and shelve an ambitious project for a major new medical center. “The layoffs are very painful,” Khuri told The Associated Press in an interview at the sprawling campus on the Mediterranean Sea. “AUB has never had to do this before, we’ve never been forced to have layoffs.”

The American University of Beirut, which operates under a charter from the state of New York, was the first to introduce American education to the Middle East. For generations, it has educated the Arab world’s elite, produced three presidents, around a dozen prime ministers — including Lebanon’s current premier, Hassan Diab — and countless Cabinet ministers and ambassadors. Its vibrant campus has also been a pillar of Beirut’s cultural and intellectual life, with a diverse student body and a history of activism. The announcement has come as a shock to members of the 6,500-strong workforce of AUB and the American University Medical Center. Tens of thousands of Lebanese have already lost their jobs in a worsening economic crisis exacerbated by the coronavirus outbreak. The crisis is rooted in decades of institutionalized corruption and mismanagement that came to a head last October, igniting mass protests. The economic meltdown has plunged the fragile country into deep uncertainty and threatens to unleash further unrest and chaos. Unemployment has skyrocketed to 35%, and nearly half the population lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.

by NAJIA HOUSSARI — .arabnews.com — BEIRUT: The Lebanese real estate sector has witnessed a spike in activity in the past three months despite an economic crisis that has seen the exchange rate of the dollar reach 6,000 lira, four times the official price. Raja Makarem, a property expert and director of Ramco Real Estate, said that sales over the past three months amounts to over $2 billion. He told Arab News that the real estate rush “will continue as long as the Lebanese banks agree to give bank checks to their depositors.” The decline of the real estate sector was one of the major signs of the economic crisis that began in 2012. The crisis peaked after the end of subsidized housing loans and the decline of foreign investment in the Lebanese real estate market. With Lebanon entering the stage of financial collapse in the second half of last year, real estate sector indicators recorded dire results for property value and sales numbers on top of a notable decline in new building licenses.

Property sales fell by up to 70 percent and the prices of apartments, especially larger ones, fell in value by 25 percent on average. In light of banking restrictions on personal savings pushed through last November, and rumors of further measures, many Lebanese have used property as a vehicle to retain personal savings. Jamal Shamas, a property expert, said: “During the last three months, depositors, especially those with large amounts, have been rushing to buy apartments in Solidere, in the heart of Beirut, and apartments on the Beirut waterfront, as these areas maintain their value due to their unique locations.” He added: “I now receive 20 calls per day to procure apartments as an accredited expert for real estate appraisal. “This phenomenon reached its climax when the banks announced that the depositors can withdraw small amounts from their dollar-based savings in Lebanese pounds, with a generous fixed exchange rate, so depositors rushed to real estate to save their deposits.” “These depositors are not all Lebanese; there are Syrians, Iraqis, and Gulf nationals who have accounts in Lebanese banks. Most of the Lebanese are expatriates in Africa or those who work in Arab countries.”