by aawsat.com — Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab pledged on Thursday to protect small bank deposits, however, he fell short of revealing when depositors would be allowed to access their money. “Ask the Governor of the Central Bank (Riad Salameh),” Diab replied when asked by a journalist when they would be able to withdraw their money from local banks. Following a cabinet session at the Baabda palace on Thursday, the PM said the US dollar exchange rate crisis remains a major problem that needs to be resolved, pledging to protect 90 percent of the country’s depositors, most of whom have relatively small accounts. Since last October, the exchange rate of the dollar against the Lebanese pound in the parallel market registered an unprecedented rise, lately exceeding LBP 2,800. The devaluation of the pound is mainly due to the decline in the dollar’s supply in the market, as a result of bank restrictions that prevent depositors from withdrawing their money.

by UN RC/HC Lebanon — Thursday, 9 April 2020 (United Nations) – In recent weeks, Lebanon had to adapt to new restrictions imposed by the government, in an effort to curtail the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in Lebanon. United Nations (UN) agencies in Lebanon are fully engaged in assisting Lebanon in responding to the unfolding health crisis. Joining hands with local partners, including governmental entities and civil society, the UN is working on preventing and containing the transmission of the virus and avoiding an overstretching of the health system, as well as responding to rising socio-economic challenges generated by the economic and financial crisis now exacerbated by the health emergency. “Lebanon is going through an unprecedented emergency, requiring all of us to ramp up our actions to contain and stop the transmission of the virus”, said Acting UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Claudio Cordone. “The UN family in Lebanon has geared its efforts to support the government and is working with partners to respond to this pandemic. Today, more than ever, coordinated and decisive action is key to attenuate the impact of this crisis on all those throughout Lebanon who are hit the hardest, namely the poorest and the most vulnerable,” Cordone added.

by Sunniva Rose — thenational.ae — Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported on Wednesday that 11 passengers who flew back to Lebanon from Spain and France the previous day tested positive for Covid19. These are the first cases of coronavirus among the hundreds of Lebanese who started flying home on Sunday from Africa and Europe on a special repatriation programme at their own expense. “Seven out of 108 passengers were infected with Covid-19 on board of a plane that transported expatriates and arrived yesterday from Madrid. Four passengers out of 118 aboard an aircraft arriving from Paris were also confirmed to be infected,” stated the Health Ministry in a press release. Infected passengers will be taken to hospital while others must self-quarantine for two weeks, the statement said. The Health Ministry will check that those who are not infected respect confinement orders. Lebanese expatriates started flying in from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Ivory Coast and Nigeria on Sunday. Passengers all tested negative until Wednesday, according to local authorities.

By Nisan Ahmado — voanews.com — Hoda Kerbage, 39, starts her day by putting on gloves and a face mask, sanitizing her hands, and disinfecting her shoes and car before hopping behind the steering wheel for a journey to deliver aid packages to families in need all over Lebanon. Her new daily routine, started since the outbreak of coronavirus in Lebanon in March, is divided among collecting donations, sanitizing them and packaging them before their delivery to those in need. Kerbage, an activist and author from the Matn district of Beirut, is a part of a campaign known as A’Kadna Initiative run by dozens of Lebanese activists helping desperate Lebanese during a nationwide lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are a group of volunteers and activists from all walks of life who came together and started several initiatives to support families in need,” Kerbage told VOA. “We reach out to people who have lost their jobs because of the pandemic, the elderly in need of care and those who have weak immune systems and can’t go out to get what they need during the lockdown.” Already suffering from a severe financial meltdown and political instability, Lebanon has been hit hard by the contagious coronavirus in recent weeks. The World Health Organization has recorded 548 positive cases with 60 recovered and 19 deaths. The Lebanese government is registering new cases every day despite tough measures, including social distancing and a curfew from 7 p.m. till 5 a.m.

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by inc.com — If you call yourself a leader or aspire to be one, Bill Gates said something years ago that should resonate deep within the collective conscience of leaders everywhere. The co-founder of Microsoft pointed out:

“As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.”

In two words, Gates nailed a defining characteristic of true leaders years in advance: empower others. Let’s now reframe his quote to match the surreal circumstances in which we find ourselves today. When you think of what great leaders may be doing to pivot and meet the demands of a stay-at-home economy, what comes to mind? For starters, more are waking up to the stark reality to make virtual collaboration the norm. And to Gates’ point, whatever you thought about leaders before the outbreak, one thing still remains true for either office or remote settings: Great leaders set themselves apart by effectively influencing and empowering other human beings.

By MEE staff –– The chairman of Lebanon’s state-owned airline has defended a decision to charge nationals stranded abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic, at rates some have called exorbitant. Mohammad Hout, the chairman of Middle East Airlines (MEA), said on Monday that the company was “unable to support the expatriates returning from abroad” with free flights if it wanted to stay in business. On Sunday, Lebanese nationals stranded abroad began taking special flights home but Middle East Eye found that the tickets were being priced at prohibitive prices, ranging from $650-1,800 for economy class, and $1,300-3,900 for business. “Our priority is the continuity of the company,” Hout said, explaining that “tickets are priced at cost without profit”. But the cost of operating has skyrocketed due to global travel bans aimed at curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus, officially known as Covid-19. Last week, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned that airlines in the Middle East region had lost around $19bn in revenues since the start of the pandemic.

by middleeasteye.net — Lebanese banks are to apply an exchange rate of 2,600 pounds per dollar for withdrawals from small accounts of up to five million Lebanese pounds ($3,300), a central bank source said on Monday, in the implementation of a new circular issued on Friday. Lebanon is still applying an official peg of 1,507.5 […]

by middleeastmonitor.com — Lebanese President Michel Aoun announced today that his country has entered an unprecedented crisis characterised by an economic recession, a severe shortage of foreign currencies, high unemployment and poverty rates and inflation. Aoun’s remarks came in a speech he delivered before members of the International Support Group for Lebanon (ISGL), during their meeting at the Presidential Palace in east Beirut, in the presence of Prime Minister Hassan Diab. The Lebanese president stated: “For these reasons, and to stop the depletion of reserves, the state decided to suspend the repayment of Eurobonds, and the appointment of two international financial and legal consultants to act as government counsellors.”

The ISGL, which was founded in 2013, announced at its meeting in Paris last year that the international community is willing to assist Lebanon in overcoming the ongoing financial crisis, provided that an effective, credible and capable government is established to fight corruption. “We heavily rely on the $11 billion aid pledge we received at the CEDRE conference in Paris, which will mainly be devoted to investment in infrastructure projects,” Aoun said. He added: “Today we are facing all these crises and repercussions, and we welcome any assistance from the friends of Lebanon. (…) We are working to prepare a comprehensive economic and financial plan to mend the economy’s imbalances.”

by vox.com — Jen Kirby — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been moved to an intensive care unit after his coronavirus symptoms worsened. “Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the prime minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the intensive care unit at the hospital,” a spokesperson for the prime minister’s office said in a statement on Monday. This is a troubling development for the leader of the United Kingdom, who confirmed on March 27 that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. At the time, Johnson, who is 55, said he had “mild symptoms,” including a fever and persistent cough. He said he would continue to run the country in self-isolation. In the days since his initial diagnosis, however, Johnson’s condition has apparently worsened. On Sunday evening, the prime minister was admitted to St. Thomas’s Hospital in London for treatment, shortly after Queen Elizabeth II delivered a rare address to the country about the coronavirus crisis. Less than 24 hours later, his spokesperson said he had been admitted to the intensive care unit. According to reports, Johnson is still conscious, but he’s been moved to the ICU as a precaution, in case he requires the aid of a ventilator. ITV reporter Robert Peston said that Johnson required the aid of oxygen on Monday, but the prime minister is not currently on a ventilator, as of Monday 5 pm ET. Still, this is a startling development, as the leader of the United Kingdom is now dealing with the same debilitating virus that is causing an unprecedented national emergency. Johnson’s condition adds more uncertainty to a national crisis The UK has been under strict stay-at-home orders since March 23.

by thenational.ae — The Lebanese government further restricted travel in the country on Sunday, setting strict rules about the time and days that vehicles can be on the road in a bid to stem the rising number of coronavirus cases. In a decree on Sunday, the Interior Ministry laid out rules when cars, public vehicles and lorries can be on the road based on their number plates. Vehicles with plate numbers that end with an odd number are allowed to travel on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays while those with plate numbers that end with an even number (including zero) are allowed to travel on only Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. No one is allowed to travel on a Sunday.

The only exemptions are for essential workers – including pharmacists, doctors and nurses, the Red Cross and the media – as well as security and diplomatic traffic. Deliveries for vital sectors – including meat, flour, tobacco, water, milk, medical and fuel – will also be exempt. The Lebanese government announced a daily curfew to try to stop the spread of the disease, as the number rose again on Sunday by seven, bringing the national total to 527. There was also a death, bringing the toll to 18. Interior Minister Mohammad Fahmi said the new measures were put in place because of a “large number of citizens not abiding by the quarantine measures and the curbs on movement”. The first flight bringing home Lebanese nationals stranded overseas landed in Beirut on Sunday afternoon from Saudi Arabia. Lebanese media quoted the ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Fawzi Kabbara, saying that 1,500 people in the kingdom wanted to return to Beirut.