By Le Figaro — CRITICISM – The excellent investigation carried out by Sofia Amara and Jérôme Fritel reveals the networks of hidden financing, thanks to drugs, of the Shiite militia. Hezbollah, the prohibited investigationa three-part documentary not to be missed, this Sunday February 5 at 8:55 p.m. on France 5. With Hezbollah,Iran has created the most powerful asymmetrical military force in modern history.” One of the hardest to pin down as well. Former CIA agent Robert Baer, ​​who spent years tracking down Lebanon’s “Party of God,” knows this. More than a real investigation into its forty years of existence, Hezbollah, the prohibited investigationthe documentary in three 52-minute episodes each by journalists Jérôme Fritel and Sofia Amara, broadcast this Sunday February 5 on France 5, is first and foremost the story of an infiltration operation by the financing networks of the Lebanese Shiite militia in from drug money.

Alongside Bashar al-Assad

An infiltration codenamed Cassandra, which will lead the sleuths of the American DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) from Colombia and Venezuela to West Africa before ending in a fiasco on the altar of cold realpolitik in Paris, the day of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to France in January 2016. Thanks to telephone interceptions, the DEA had managed in the early 2000s to infiltrate one of its agents of Lebanese origin with Chekri Harb , responsible on behalf of Hezbollah for part of the drug trafficking that the movement organizes from Colombia.

Over more than fifteen years, the agency then succeeded in identifying one by one the barons of a cartel which brought in up to 1 billion dollars a year to Hezbollah. From Ali Fayad, in charge of buying weapons for drugs in Russia and Ukraine for the war waged by the militia alongside Bashar el-Assad in Syria, to Mohammed Nourredine, who supervised operations in Europe from Paris , via Ali Joumaa, Ali Kharoubi, Adnan Tabaja and Abdallah Safieddine, the “godfather” of the cartel, as if by chance ambassador of the militia to his Iranian godfather.

Abductions of Americans and French

US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf told Lebanese MPs that the solution today is in the hands of Lebanese officials who must bear the responsibility for getting the country out of this situation it has reached. MPs Elias Bou Saab, Mark Daou, Neamat Freim, and Yassin Yassin held a meeting […]

by arabnews.com — AFP — GENEVA:UN rights experts voiced deep concern Thursday at the slow pace of an investigation into the killing of Lebanese intellectual Lokman Slim two years ago, demanding that Beirut ensure accountability. “It is incumbent on the Lebanese authorities to fully investigate and bring to justice the perpetrators of this heinous crime,” the four independent experts said. “Failing to carry out a prompt and effective investigation may in itself constitute a violation of the right to life.”

A secular activist from a Shiite family, 58-year-old Slim was found dead in his car on February 4, 2021, a day after his family reported him missing. His bullet-riddled body was found in southern Lebanon — a stronghold of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement of which he was heavily critical. In their statement, the UN special rapporteurs on extrajudicial executions, the independence of judges and lawyers, the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the situation of human rights defenders voiced outrage that no one responsible for his assassination had been identified. “Shedding light on the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Lokman Slim and bringing those responsible to justice is also part of the State’s obligation to protect freedom of opinion and expression,” said the experts, who are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but who do not speak on behalf of the world body. “A culture of impunity not only emboldens the killers of Mr. Slim, it will also have a chilling effect on civil society as it sends a chilling message to other activists to self-censor,” they said.

by al-monitor.com – Adam Lucente — Lebanese officials devalued their currency on Wednesday amid the ongoing economic crisis. The devaluation is still well below the dollar exchange rate on the street, and multiple rates remain in place in Lebanon. Lebanon’s central bank, Banque Du Liban, lowered the official exchange rate to the US dollar from 1,507 to 15,000 pounds, multiple outlets reported. Bank governor Riad Salameh told Reuters Tuesday that the move constitutes an effort to unify different exchange rates in the country. What it means: The official 1,507 rate for the Lebanese pound was in place from 1997 until now. The rate on the street correlated to the official rate until 2019 when the Lebanese economic crisis began. Since then, the Lebanese pound has lost more than 90% of its value on the parallel street exchange market.

The pound, aka lira, has been falling even more on the street in recent weeks. On Wednesday, one US dollar traded at more than 62,000 pounds. The new official rate therefore does not resemble the rate the public is using, despite the devaluation decision. The official rate and the street rate are two of several dollar-to-lira exchange rates in Lebanon. Banque Du Liban’s Sayrafa rate, which is used for international card payments, ATMs and e-commerce, remains at 38,000 to the dollar, the bank said in a statement Tuesday. There are also separate rates for fuel prices, public sector salaries and other things, according to The Associated Press.

BEIRUT, (Reuters) – Lebanon will adopt a new official exchange rate of 15,000 pounds per U.S. dollar on Feb. 1, central bank governor Riad Salameh said, marking a 90% devaluation from its current official rate that has remained unchanged for 25 years. The shift from the old rate of 1,507 to 15,000 is still far […]

By Nada Homsi — .thenationalnews.com — Two Lebanese MPs charged in connection with the explosion at Beirut port on Monday filed appeals to have the lead investigator dismissed in the latest attempt by those he has charged to stall the probe. MPs Ghazi Zaiter and Ali Hassan Khalil, members of Hezbollah ally the Amal Movement, filed appeals only days after Judge Tarek Bitar resumed his investigation that had been delayed for months by political interference. The resumption led to more judicial paralysis as another judge ordered him to stop and accusations were made by rights groups that officials were obstructing justice. Attorney for the MPs, Samer Hajj, confirmed the latest move and showed The National a copy of the appeals he had filed. “The first appeal I filed was a form on behalf of both MPs requesting the transfer” of the judge leading the investigation, “and the second was a penal complaint against him by Ali Hassan Khalil”, Mr Hajj said. Mr Khalil accused Mr Bitar of “abuse of power and breach of job duties”. “Judge Bitar’s role in the investigation is a violation of his position, provoking sectarian and racial strife,” the complaint stated.

The MP also accused Mr Bitar of “usurping administrative authority” and committing “the crime of impersonating Lebanon’s top prosecutor”. Mr Bitar last week cited legal residence and unexpectedly resumed his investigation after 13 months and charged multiple high-profile officials in connection with the blast ― including Prosecutor General Ghassan Oueidat, head of General Security Gen Abbas Ibrahim and State Security chief Gen Tony Saliba. The backlash to those charges was immediate, leading to challenges from within the judiciary itself and a legal tug-of-war. Mr Oueidat maintains that the investigation is still suspended and says Mr Bitar is “rebelling against the judiciary”. Mr Bitar, however, cited studies that challenge the suspension’s legality. Mr Khalil and Mr Zaiter were charged in December 2020 by the previous judge leading the investigation into the port blast, Fadi Sawan. Both deny wrongdoing and have refused to attend interrogation hearings.

Pretty soon, cheese could be all science, no moo. No-cow companies are building “mega factories” and forming partnerships with food giants such as General Mills and Nestlé to meet demand for dairy and prevent cheese shortages. These startups, which include Perfect Day and Remilk, employ precision fermentation tech that harnesses microbes instead of cows to […]

NNA – Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday threw his support behind the embattled Beirut port blast investigator, Judge Tarek Bitar, calling on him to “continue his work” despite the recusal lawsuits and the latest judicial standoff. “We hope that Judicial Investigator Judge Tarek Bitar will continue his work to unveil the truth and issue […]

Beirut: Lebanon caretaker prime minister HE Najib Mikati described QatarEnergy’s acquisition of 30% exploration rights in two offshore areas off the coast of the Republic of Lebanon as exceptional, given the experience and position that QatarEnergy has reached in the global oil and gas industry. During his meeting on Sunday with the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, President and CEO of QatarEnergy HE Eng. Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi, the Lebanese caretaker prime minister said that the start of exploration and petroleum activities in the Lebanese waters would have a positive impact on the short and medium terms in regards to providing opportunities for Lebanese companies interested in the petroleum services sector. It would also provide job opportunities for Lebanese youths, especially those working in the technical field. Mikati added that TotalEnergies – which owns a 35% stake, in addition to Eni – which owns a 35% stake, would start drilling operations in Block 9 after completing the environmental surveys, drilling-related operations, and the launch of logistical operations in Beirut Port.

Sources in the Lebanese Ministry of Energy say that Novatek justified its move by saying that the US sanctions imposed on Russia had a negative impact on it, and that it was no longer able to make any financial transfers outside Russia. This is logical, especially since Novatek’s role in the alliance is one of an investment partner, not a technical one.

Could the latest decision have been taken after consultations between the three companies took place, in light of the pressures the Russian company is facing from the United States due to the Russian-American war, so that “Total” and “Eni” can continue the work required of them? Or was there a “settlement” between the three companies, fearing that Total and Eni would be subject to US sanctions because of their dealings with the Russian company? This is highly probable, especially since Total and Eni sent books of similar content to the Ministry of Energy following the Novatek book, in which they confirmed that they would continue their contractual obligations regarding exploration in blocks 4 and 9, and that they are ready to discuss the rights of others in the coalition.

BEIRUT (AP) By Bassem Mroue — Lebanon, two international oil giants and state-owned oil and gas company Qatar Energy signed an agreement Sunday that the Qatari firm will join a consortium that will search for gas in the Mediterranean Sea off Lebanon’s coast. The deal inked in Beirut brings Qatar into Lebanon’s gas exploration market three months after Lebanon and Israel signed a U.S.-mediated maritime border agreement ending a yearslong dispute. Qatar Energy is replacing a Russian company that withdrew from the Lebanese market in September. In 2017, Lebanon approved licenses for an international consortium including France’s TotalEnergies, Italy’s ENI and Russia’s Novatek to move forward with offshore oil and gas development for two of 10 blocks in the Mediterranean. The borders of one of the two blocks were disputed by neighboring Israel until a maritime border deal was reached last year. The companies did not find viable amounts of oil or gas in block No. 4 north of Beirut, and drilling in block No. 9 in the south has been repeatedly postponed because of the dispute with Israel.

By Sarah Glubb – arabnews.com — LONDON: The financial crisis in Lebanon could be resolved within five to 10 years if a “well thought out program” is implemented that takes care of small depositors, addresses the needs of medium-sized ones and brings big depositors on board as partners in new banks, according to a finance industry expert in London. The Lebanese economy has “continued to deteriorate to untenable levels,” according to the International Monetary Fund. Per capita gross domestic product fell by 36.5 percent between 2019 and 2021, and is expected to contract even further this year. “They could have had a quicker recovery had they started earlier,” said George Kanaan, CEO of the Arab Bankers Association, a nonprofit professional organization in London whose members work in banking and related industries in the Arab world and the UK. “But three years have passed and nothing has happened.”

Kanaan, head of the ABA since 2009, has worked for prominent banks in New York, London and Saudi Arabia since 1975. He said it is not unusual that one or two banks might fail in a country, or perhaps a segment of the industry or a specialty sector, “but for a system to fail entirely is almost unique in history.” The Lebanese pound has lost approximately 90 percent of its value during the economic crisis in the country and continues to tumble to record lows, reaching above 60,000 pounds to the dollar on Friday. “We would like to see joint action by the (big) depositors to work with the banks, the government and the IMF, if they can be brought in, to restructure a system that has failed — and the failure of the system was comprehensive,” Kanaan told Arab News during an exclusive interview. He said that corruption and a waste of revenues and resources actually played only a small part in the failure, and that the financial system collapsed mainly as a result of the incompetence of its management, particularly at the nation’s central bank, Banque du Liban.