by aljazeera.com — Timour Azhari — Beirut, Lebanon – When Maher, an engineer in his mid-30s, returned to Lebanon flush with cash from working in the Gulf, he deposited his hard-earned savings in a bank – believing they would be safe. But as Lebanon has spiralled into its worst economic crisis in decades, banks have imposed informal capital controls that force people to withdraw their savings in Lebanese pounds at the official exchange rate that effectively values their savings at 40 percent less than what its worth on the parallel market. “Nothing can prepare you for the shock of this,” Maher told Al Jazeera. But Maher, who asked his surname be withheld to protect his privacy, is not standing by helplessly. He is trying to move what is left of his savings out of Lebanon via a financial instrument many in the country have not embraced – until recently.

Bitcoin.

 “Suddenly everything turns upside down and all the options are open,” said Maher. With confidence in Lebanese banks at an all-time low over increasing restrictions on foreign currency movements, more Lebanese are turning to digital currencies like bitcoin as a way to shift their money in and out of the country. “Right now, Lebanese are interested in escaping tight restrictions on cash withdrawals and transfers. They basically want financial freedom,” 29-year old Mahmoud Dgheim, who has traded bitcoin since 2015, told Al Jazeera. “If you want to go around the banking system, bitcoin is a solution.” Bitcoin – the first and most well-known cryptocurrency – is neither issued nor controlled by any government or financial entity. Rather than go through a bank or another middleman, transactions made in bitcoin are peer-to-peer, anonymous and verified by a centralised global network of computers.

by voanews.com —AMMAN, JORDAN – Lebanon is engulfed in a crippling financial crisis as the government seeks support from an International Monetary Fund technical delegation visiting the country. The IMF is trying to help draw up a comprehensive economic, monetary and financial rescue plan for the tiny Mediterranean country. So far, Lebanon has not asked for financial assistance from the IMF, but meetings are still continuing. Protests since October have seen the ruling elite blamed for decades of financial mismanagement. Lebanese economist Kamal Hamdan directs the Consultation & Research Institute in Beirut. He said the government has not yet provided a detailed action plan or roadmap out of Lebanon’s financial turmoil, but he expects one to be announced in the next 10 days. He sees the IMF visit as perhaps helping or accelerating the emergence of such a plan.

He said Lebanon’s gross domestic product for 2019 was negative and the same can be expected this year. The U.S. dollar has also increased by 60 percent against the Lebanese lira currency, while the consumer price index hovers around 10 percent. He warns that with these indicators, the short-term outlook is not good. “We are in an economic catastrophe. Higher inflation, higher deprivation of the purchasing power of many Lebanese — maybe two-thirds of Lebanese have their income in Lebanese pounds. The whole pension system is based on Lebanese pounds. I don’t know how to say … we have to expect shocks with respect to social issues in the coming weeks and months,” said Hamdan.

Public debt

by arabnews.com — NAJIA HOUSSARI —BEIRUT: Activists in Lebanon, in particular those who speak out against Hezbollah, continue to face physical attacks, arrest, psychological pressure and threats to their families. The individuals being targeted include lawyers, journalists, media personalities and writers. On Monday, Asrar Shebaro, a correspondent for An-Nahar newspaper, was attacked in a public place. It happened while she was working at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut covering the arrival of a flight from Iran as part of a story about the response of Lebanese authorities to the coronavirus threat A video she filmed showed an unidentified young man attacking her and taking her phone by force. He told her she was not allowed to film in the airport because these were “families” there, which is a term Hezbollah uses to describe its supporters. The man deleted a number of videos Shebaro had filmed of passengers arriving from Iran. When she asked him under whose authority he was acting and who he represented, he said that he belonged to a political party. In a message posted on the An-Nahar website, the newspaper said: “The bullying of the media and the truth will not dissuade this newspaper from completing its message by accurately conveying information and holding those responsible for their fragile measures taken to combat the Coronavirus.”

Activists in Lebanon, especially Shiites, have faced threats as the protests against corruption, the financial crisis in the country, high levels of unemployment and the lack of basic services escalated. Some told Arab News they have been prevented from visiting their families in the southern suburbs of Beirut, and that pressure has been put on their relatives. In some cases, protesters have been forced to sleep in tents at protest sites or other locations. “The pressure and attacks have diminished after a decision was taken to prevent the supporters of the Amal Movement and Hezbollah from confronting activists in the protest squares, but this does not stop moral pressure,” said activist Mohamed Kassem, who is a secondary school teacher. Protester Mahmoud Fakih, who lives in Beirut, said he avoids neighborhoods dominated by the Amal Movement and Hezbollah. “At the beginning of the revolution, the pressure on us was great but it decreased with the decline of the movement,” he said. “Yet, we are still cautious. For example, I do not go to my village in the south. There is real social hostility to us there. We were previously attacked in the Zuqaq Al-Blat area but nobody documents these attacks.”

by MENAFN – Brazil-Arab News Agency (ANBA)) Isaura Daniel —  São Paulo – GoToBEY, a division of Líder Corporate Eventos & Lazer travel agency, will take tourists from Brazil to Lebanon in June and September. The itineraries include visits to their family’s hometowns, local cuisine classes, walks on the beach, and leisure and shopping trips to Syria. GotoBEY is in São Paulo and ‘BEY’ refers to Beirut, Lebanon’s capital city. One of the agency’s owners, Marcos Destro, says that Lebanese descendants, even if they are the grandchildren or great-grandchildren of immigrants, feel a strong connection to Lebanon. ‘It’s passed from generation to generation,’ he says. So, GoToBEY decided to offer packages that included a visit to their family’s hometown. Even if the travelers don’t keep in touch with their family members, the agency prepares an itinerary, drives and specifics.

The packages, though, aren’t sold just for Lebanese descendants but anyone interested in visiting Lebanon going from Brazil. Destro says that the Brazilians that don’t have family ties to the country and seek these trips usually have Lebanese descendant friends. ‘That talk about Lebanon non-stop,’ he jokes. Another possibility is taking a Lebanese cooking class in a school in the country. You can choose between a Brazilian and a Lebanese chef as a teacher. They both teach in Portuguese, Destro says. GoToBEY also offers the possibility to visit the coastal city of Anfeh, which has a crystal-clear water and white sand, reminding of the Greek beaches, the agency reports. Staying in the region five more days and visiting Damascus, Syria, is another alternative. It’s just a 114-Km drive from the Lebanese capital to the Syrian capital. Destro says that the itinerary includes a visit to tourist and history landmarks, such as palaces, mosques and markets, and Damascus is also a good shopping destination. ‘It’s very cheap,’ he says, explaining that the Lebanese themselves usually go to the neighbor country to shop thanks to the low prices.

by albawaba.com & Daily Sar.com.lb — Gathering under the slogan, “You will pay the price,” demonstrators assembled at Verdun and Sassine, and stopped in front of numerous bank branches on their way to Downtown Beirut. Many protesters called for early parliamentary elections, carrying signs reading, “No trust! Yes to the shortening of Parliament’s tenure.” Others […]

by Samar Kadi — thearabweekly.com — BEIRUT – The Lebanese government is undecided whether to default on a Eurobond debt payment for the first time to preserve declining foreign currency reserves amid growing popular uproar against uncontrolled increases in prices of basic consumer goods. Lebanon asked seven firms and the International Monetary Fund for advice on dealing with the country’s worst economic and financial crisis in decades, including options regarding its 2020 Eurobond maturities. The first Eurobond, worth $1.2 billion, matures March 9. Lebanese protesters demonstrated outside the Ministry of Economy and Trade in Beirut calling for tighter measures to monitor rocketing prices and protect consumers from “greedy” merchants.

The unemployment rate in Lebanon hit dangerous levels, reaching an unprecedented 40% within a period of four months, a study by Infopro Centre for Economic Information stated. “It is estimated that from October 17, 2019, until the end of January 2020, more than 220,000 jobs have been temporarily or permanently lost, a 38% increase from a survey in November,” Infopro Founder Ramzi el-Hafez said. The study said that during that period, of 300 surveyed companies, 12% had ceased or suspended operations, a 20% increase since November. “The fragility of the private sector had started since the beginning of 2019, with companies reducing their overhead and number of employees and lowering salaries,” Hafez said. “By October 17, most companies had already depleted their reserves and many had lost their ability to resist the crisis.” Tony Ramy, president of the Syndicate of Owners of Restaurants, Cafes, Night-clubs and Pastries in Lebanon, said 785 institutions dealing with food and drink closed from September 2019-February 2020.

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — A Lebanese-American man in custody in Lebanon isn’t guilty of charges brought against him by the Lebanese government, according to a U.S. lawmaker’s top aide. Naz Durakoglu, senior foreign policy adviser to Democratic New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, said in a conference call with media outlets Friday that colleagues in different U.S. government offices have found no evidence that Amer Fakhoury is guilty of the murder, prison torture and other allegations levied by his native country. Durakoglu said that in such cases there are often made-up allegations or charges, forcing defendants to try to refute lies. She said the U.S. government is instead focusing on the distinct lack of evidence. “In this case we’re confident that he is not who they say he is,” Durakoglu said.

by Cindy Wooden – cruxnow.com — ROME – Pope Francis “is a father who knows very well his daughters and sons,” including those who belong to the Eastern Catholic churches, said the Armenian Catholic bishop of the United States and Canada. Bishop Mikael A. Mouradian of the California-based Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg was one of 15 bishops from eight Eastern Catholic churches who spent close to three hours conversing with Pope Francis Feb. 20. The meeting was part of the bishops’ “ad limina” visits to Rome to report on the status of their eparchies or dioceses. They were the last group of U.S. bishops to complete the visits, which are required regularly of every bishop in the world.

Mouradian had made an “ad limina” visit in 2012, meeting with Pope Benedict XVI. Both popes “were very fraternal” and very much teachers, but Pope Francis’s advice and counsel came from a place “much more near to the heart,” the bishop said. The Armenian bishop and others who spoke to Catholic News Service said they thanked Pope Francis for his decision in 2014 to lift an 85-year-old Vatican ban on ordaining married priests for the Eastern Catholic churches outside their traditional homelands where married priests are common. “I ordained my first married priest two years ago,” the bishop said. “He is our first American-born vocation to the priesthood, and he’s doing an amazing job.”

Mouradian said the pope’s decision to lift the ban did not open any floodgates because the bishop has conditions candidates must meet: “I always request that they have at least five years of experience in matrimony” and have children; and they must have at least a master’s of divinity degree. In addition, “the wife should agree that the husband will be a priest.” When he was named bishop in 2011, he said, all the priests of the eparchy were from the Middle East. He was told, “Don’t look for vocations in the States; you will not find them.” But, he said, the Gospel says to pray that God would send workers for the vineyard. “That’s what I did. I prayed. And worked a little bit for it.”

by asiatimes.com — ALISON TAHMIZIAN MEUSE — The World Bank this week warned that Lebanon, once dubbed the Switzerland of the Middle East for its unique status as both a snow-capped holiday destination and discreet banking hub for Gulf Arabs, is at risk of “implosion” should it fail to reform. A drive from Lebanon’s mountainous north to the capital Beirut will make an observer immediately feel the impact of capital controls and the economic downturn. Ski resorts, from the Cedars to Faraya overlooking the Mediterranean, are operating at partial capacity despite generous powder on the slopes; the oil needed to power electricity generators for the chairlifts is proving far too costly to run them through the season. The ubiquitous billboards and ads that populate every usable space the eye can see are either blank, advertising for New Year’s Eve concerts long-since passed, or screaming out jaw-dropping sales of 50% or more at sports stores and malls. Every fourth car dealership along the north-south highway, from Porsche to standalone lots, is empty or out of business. At rest stops, a pack of Cedars cigarettes, for years priced at 1,000 Lebanese pounds (then 70 cents), have now nearly doubled.

At night, the highway lights remain dark – though this has been the case for years, just one of the many symptoms of rampant mismanagement and corruption to which the population had been forced to acclimate, but which now may finally be hitting a breaking point. “Economic rationing is compulsory today,” Neemat Frem, a prominent industrialist, told one of the country’s most watched talk shows Thursday night. “We can no longer pay for our electricity debt!” Frem, a relative newcomer to politics now heading the parliamentary commission for economy and trade, raised alarm bells on the state of the country’s electricity sector, which loses $2 billion per year despite most households relying on their own generators for half the day’s power. While the party of Lebanese President Michel Aoun has been in charge of the energy portfolio for the better part of the last decade, entrenched corruption is blind to party affiliation. All of Lebanon’s state utilities, from telecom to waste management, have been hollowed out for decades to shore up sectarian patronage networks. For a population that has long prided itself on resilience in the face of crumbling infrastructure and incompetent and corrupt governance, the reality that this moment is different is setting in.

CAIRO ( Sputnik ) A 45-years old woman, who arrived from Iran, has been infected with the novel coronavirus, officially named COVID-19, and taken to a Beirut hospital for quarantine, Lebanese Health Minister Hamad Hassan said on Friday, adding that there were another two suspected cases. “There are no reasons to impose a state of […]