by reuters –— BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab, who is getting the cold shoulder from Gulf Arab states, yesterday met Iran’s parliament speaker, the first senior foreign official to visit since Diab’s government took office. The heavily armed Hezbollah, an ally of Iran, is a main backer of Diab’s cabinet, which took office last month after efforts failed to strike a deal with Saad Al-Hariri, a traditional Western ally. Gulf Arab states had long channeled funds into Lebanon. But now, alarmed by the rising influence of Hezbollah, Lebanon’s rich neighbors appear loathe to help it out of an unprecedented economic and financial crisis. The crisis came to a head last year as slowing capital inflows led to a liquidity crunch and protests erupted against the ruling elite. Banks are curbing access to cash, the Lebanese pound has slumped, inflation has spiked and firms are shedding jobs. Foreign donors say they will only help once Lebanon enacts long-delayed reforms. Analysts say Hezbollah’s role in forming Lebanon’s new cabinet could make it harder to get aid from Western and Gulf states that are worried about Tehran’s clout in the region. Diab has said his first trip abroad would be to the Arab region, particularly the Gulf monarchies. But none of them have officially commented on the government nor extended public invitations to Diab. An Arab diplomat in the Gulf said only Qatar had invited Diab to visit so far. “No other government in the Gulf will invite him,” the diplomat said. Qatar did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it had sent an invitation.

by dailystar.com.lb — BEIRUT: An Israeli online newspaper reported Monday that a Lebanese man, who worked for the Israeli Mossad, fears deportation to Lebanon, claiming that Israel refuses to help him. The Times of Israel says that Benjamin Philip-not his real name- worked for the Mossad since 2011, during which time he helped gather information on Lebanon’s Hezbollah. While the paper does not give his current whereabouts, it says Philip is seeking asylum in Europe.“However, if this [asylum] fails […] it appears he will be sent back to Lebanon,” the report said. He said that if deported, he will face years of imprisonment, “a scenario that he, a gay man, cannot accept, knowing that such a sentence in a Lebanese prison would mean rape and torture,” the paper said. Philip added that his decision to go public with his story came “out of a sense of desperation, hoping — as a last-ditch effort — that by making his case public, he could pressure Israel and the Mossad to help him, as he says they promised to do.”

by middleeasteye.net — Lebanon’s state-owned carrier Middle East Airlines (MEA) revoked a decision to accept payment only in US dollars after a backlash on Sunday, Lebanese media said. The country is in the throes of an economic meltdown and a biting liquidity crunch that has seen the local currency depreciate and banks impose stringent controls on withdrawals and transfers abroad, AFP said. News of the decision, which was first reported late Saturday, drew dozens of people to MEA’s ticket office at Beirut airport where they tried to buy tickets in Lebanese pounds before the decision was due to take effect on Monday, Reuters reported. Former foreign minister Gebran Bassil declared the decision illegal. Writing on Twitter, parliamentarian Fouad Makhzoumi said the move put the Lebanese under effective “house arrest” and must be cancelled. President Michel Aoun said airfares should be priced in Lebanese pounds in line with the law.

by thehill.com — John Craig is former U.S. Ambassador –Lebanon today can be likened to a bus without brakes, its driver hurtling toward a brick wall. One can see the impending collapse of the country’s economy and national currency, a perfect storm that’s been in the making for at least ten years. However, the passengers on this bus — the Lebanese people — are not sitting idly by. They have risen up against those who drove Lebanon toward its collapse, and many have abandoned it midway, taking from the country all they could carry. The Transatlantic Leadership Network held a conference earlier this month at the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington D.C. dedicated to Lebanon’s turmoil. All-star experts gathered in an effort to discuss best ways forward. One was one of the most reputable members of Lebanon’s parliament: Neemat Frem.

Frem left the comfort zone of a successful 25 years in the private business sector to run for parliament. After winning the seat, he began his public service with a simple question that ended up demonstrating the gravity of problems in Lebanon: How many paid employees were there in Lebanon’s public sector? Frem could not obtain the answer from anyone. Frem instructed the Central Audit Bureau to his parliamentary committee, officially requesting a bottom-up audit of all 150 governmental departments and directorates. The report displayed stunning results: Lebanon’s public sector workforce stands at 256,000 employees and 100,000 retirees — out of a total Lebanese workforce of 1.2 million. Almost a third of the country’s workforce was on the public sector payroll.

By Cat Ellis – techradar.com —

WhatsApp dark mode

  After a long, long wait, WhatsApp dark mode is now available to beta testers on Android and iOS, and hopefully a full global launch won’t be far behind. Soon, everyone will be able to catch up with the group chat in comfort when the lights are low, and maybe even save a little battery power in the process. It’s a big step for the messaging app, which now has over two billion active users, but there are lots more changes on the horizon. Here are some of the changes and new features we’re expecting to see in the coming months. Some of these are almost certainly on the way, based on hints found in the app’s install files, whereas others are speculation based on comments made by WhatsApp staff at conferences and trade shows. However many of them actually arrive on handsets, it’s set to be an interesting few months.

Ads (a few, at least)

 Originally, WhatsApp’s owner Facebook had intended to start slipping ads into your chats in 2020, but just a few weeks ago it emerged that the team tasked with this job had been disbanded. In January, The Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook had broken up a team responsible for finding ways to work advertisements into conversations – a move that would have been met with widespread annoyance. That doesn’t mean WhatsApp will remain entirely ad-free, thoughl Facebook is still planning to plug ads into the app’s Status feature. This works much like Instagram Stories, with posts that are only visible for a short time, but occupy your whole screen.

by washingtonexaminer.com — by Zachary Halaschak — A U.S. senator is threatening Lebanon with sanctions over the arrest and imprisonment of a cancer-stricken American citizen. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who is reportedly working on a sanctions bill, told Fox News that Amer Fakhoury is being held by authorities despite no proof of wrongdoing. “There has been no evidence to substantiate the charges against Amer Fakhoury, and his health condition is dire,” the New Hampshire Democrat said. “Time is of the essence, and the Lebanese government needs to understand there will be consequences for his continued detention.” Fakhoury, who was born in Lebanon, was arrested there during a visit last September after a Hezbollah-affiliated publication alleged that he tortured people imprisoned by the South Lebanon Army, a majority-Christian militia group backed by Israel in its fight against Hezbollah and Palestinian militias during the 1980s and 1990s. He was held for six months before being charged with murder, kidnapping, and the torture of prisoners at Khiam detention center, which is located near Lebanon’s southern border with Israel. Celine Atallah, Fakhoury’s lawyer, said that the charges are made up and noted that the names of SLA members accused of torture have been publicly released and do not include Fakhoury. “Amer’s only crime is that he is a United States citizen, which is making the Lebanese government hold him hostage to gain leverage over the United States,” she said. “This is an egregious act of criminality by them.”

The Daily Star BEIRUT: Washington remains committed to assisting the Lebanese Army, the U.S. defense secretary said Saturday. U.S. military aid to Lebanon has been a point of contention as some argue that it is benefitting Iran-backed Hezbollah. “In terms of security assistance, we’ve committed a lot to the Lebanese Armed Forces and we will […]

by aljazeera.com — Timour Azhari — Beirut, Lebanon – Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Saad Hariri has said he is charting a new political path from within his party after a 2016 deal with President Michel Aoun that brought him to power became “history”. “I’m here, I’m not going anywhere; I’m staying in my country, in my house among my family and in political work,” Hariri said on Friday, in his first public speech since resigning on October 29 amid widespread protests against a ruling elite blamed for corruption and steering the country into an acute financial crisis. Addressing a crowd of thousands of supporters outside his residence in the capital, Beirut Lebanon’s leading Sunni politician said he had received criticism from within his party over the past months and acknowledged “shortcomings” – but said “the decision now is to enact change”.

“The Future Movement will remain,” he said, referring to his party. His comments came during a public event to mark the 15th anniversary of the assassination of his father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Rafik Hariri was killed along with 21 others when a massive bomb exploded as his convoy passed through the centre of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, on February 14, 2005. Prosecutors at The Hague-based Special Tribunal for Lebanon investigating Hariri’s assassination have said that the Syrian government was at the heart of the plot, which was carried out by members of the pro-Iran Hezbollah group. Damascus and Hezbollah have denied involvement. A ruling in the case is expected this year. In defence of ‘Haririism’ Members of the leaderless protest movement, as well as Hariri’s political opponents, have pointed to the policies of Hariri’s father – termed “political Haririism” and dating back to 1992 – as the source of Lebanon’s massive economic woes today. The country is saddled by the third-largest debt burden in the world as a percentage of its gross domestic product and is facing the worst financial crisis in its history, which may soon push it to default on debt repayments. Much of Friday’s event was dedicated to responding to these claims. A video aired at the beginning of the commemoration blamed Lebanon’s dire situation on a “series of obstructions” carried out by Lebanese parties allied with Syria over the years.

Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Lebanese central bank has set an interest rate cap of 4% on dollar bank deposits and a cap of 7.5% on Lebanese pound deposits, according to a circular reported by several major Lebanese news outlets on Thursday. The circular, published by al-Jadeed, LBC and MTV, set a […]

by thenational.ae — Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Thursday pledged not to run in the future parliamentary elections or support any candidates. Deputy Prime Minister Zeina Akar and the other 18 members of Cabinet also signed up to Mr Diab’s pledge not to run in the next election. The current administration is a departure in Lebanon where the bulk of ministers are usually also MPs. In recent years, discussions have been raised about having a government not also elected to parliament as it prevents one body overseeing the work of the other. However, many senior figures – including former prime minister and Future Movement head Saad Hariri or former foreign minister and Free Patriotic Movement head Gibran Bassil – served multiple times in both chambers. No elections are scheduled until 2022 although some have suggested that a vote should be held early given mass anger on the streets since October.

Mr Diab stated his Cabinet’s plan to astain from standing on January 21. “There are no MPs [in the government], and no candidates for the next parliamentary elections,” he said. His would be “a government of specialists that will only be held accountable to the language of science, reason and expertise and the interest of the nation,” he added. Months of anti-government protests have rocked Lebanon, with demonstrators calling for a change in political leadership.