By TOM BROWN FOR MAILONLINE — A former mayor of El Kharayeb has gone on trial in Valencia for organ trafficking. The five defendants allegedly tried to buy a liver from illegal immigrants in Spain. But a volunteer working with undocumented immigrants reported them to police. An Algerian woman was ruled out as a candidate because she was pregnant.

A millionaire Lebanese politician has gone on trial in Spain for organ trafficking after he allegedly tried to buy a liver from poor illegal immigrants. Hatem Akouche and four other defendants appeared in court in Valencia for trying to buy part of a liver for a transplant. The 69-year-old — who has an incurable liver disease — is believed to have solicited vulnerable people for part of their liver in exchange for cash and work.

Akouche — former mayor of the Lebanese city El Kharayeb — allegedly did this via two of his nephews, who managed a marble company in Novelda, Alicante Province, Valencia Region. But the men were caught when a volunteer for an NGO working with undocumented immigrants learnt of an Algerian woman who had been contacted by them.

by Najia Houssari – arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister and the Saudi ambassador in Beirut underlined the importance of the Taif Agreement at a conference on Saturday. Ambassador Walid bin Abdullah Bukhari organized a forum at the UNESCO Palace in Beirut that brought together over 1,000 political, economic, diplomatic, and academic figures. It included those who participated in drafting the Taif Agreement, veteran diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi, who played an important role in reaching the pact, Walid Jumblatt, the head of the Progressive Socialist Party, MPs from the Free Patriotic Movement and presidential candidate Suleiman Franjieh. Thirty-three years since the signing of the agreement, which ended 15 years of civil war in Lebanon, under Arab and international sponsorship, Saudi Arabia, the main player in reaching the agreement, reaffirmed its keenness on national reconciliation in Lebanon.

The forum was held against the backdrop of a campaign launched against the Taif Agreement by Hezbollah and its ally, the FPM. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the forum is proof that Saudi Arabia still stands by Lebanon, and the large attendance shows that everyone agrees that the agreement is still the best one to implement. Bukhari reiterated the keenness of Saudi Arabia and its leadership on Lebanon’s security, stability, and unity. “We urgently need to embody the formula of coexistence addressed by the Taif Agreement, i.e. preserving the irrevocable Lebanese entity and conserving Lebanon’s identity and Arab belonging.” Speaking about the French initiative to hold a national dialogue between the Lebanese parties, Bukhari noted that France, headed by President Emmanuel Macron, stressed that there is no French intention to review the Taif Agreement or amend the constitution.

by middleeasteye.net — Washington’s top Middle East diplomat has said Lebanon will likely have to bear more pain before the impoverished Mediterranean country forms a new government, with the potential for a complete “unravelling” of the state. “Things will have to get worse before the public pressure mounts in such a way,” that parliament selects a new president, Barbara Leaf, assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, said at an event hosted by the Wilson Center in Washington DC on Friday. Former President Michel Aoun’s term ended on Sunday without a replacement, leaving the country with a power vacuum with no president and a caretaker government as it grapples with what the World Bank says is one of the world’s worst economic crises in the past 150 years. “I can see scenarios where there is disintegration…where there is just an unravelling,” Leaf said. “I somehow imagine a lot of these parliamentarians packing their bags and going off to places in Europe where they have property.”

It took more than two years for Aoun, former commander of Lebanon’s army during the 1975-1990 civil war, to be selected president in 2016. Lebanon’s sectarian system reserves the presidency for a Maronite Christian, the prime minister’s office for a Sunni Muslim and the Speaker of Parliament role for a Shia. Aoun and his party, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), allied themselves with Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah, providing the group with Christian backing in parliament. Aoun’s tenure saw Lebanon slide into an economic crisis that has pushed 80 percent of the country into poverty, while a massive explosion at Beirut’s port in August 2020, widely blamed on corruption, killed more than 200 people and left swaths of the capital destroyed.

تحول “الهرج والمرج” الذي غالبا ما تشهده حلقات برنامج “صار الوقت” للاعلامي مارسيل غانم عبر قناة الـmtv، هذه المرة الى “عراك” داخل الاستديو بين الجمهور. وشهدت الحلقة على توتر كبير بين جمهور

“التيار الوطني الحر” من جهة ومعارضين له من جهة اخرى، ما اضطر غانم الى ايقاف الحلقة مؤقتا.

\تحول “الهرج والمرج” الذي غالبا ما تشهده حلقات برنامج “صار الوقت” للاعلامي مارسيل غانم عبر قناة الـmtv، هذه المرة الى “عراك” داخل الاستديو بين الجمهور. وشهدت الحلقة على توتر كبير بين جمهور “التيار الوطني الحر” من جهة ومعارضين له من جهة اخرى، ما اضطر غانم الى ايقاف الحلقة مؤقتا.

By arabnews – Nadia Houssari – BEIRUT: Supporters of the Free Patriotic Movement came to blows with other members of the audience during a live broadcast of “Sar El-Waet” (“It’s About Time”), a political talk show on Lebanese channel MTV, on Thursday evening. The violence continued outside the studio and shots were fired. Some FPM supporters were injured during the fight before the army intervened to calm the situation. Host Marcel Ghanem discusses political issues with invited guests on the weekly show, which takes place in front of an audience of activists and members of various parties, who can also ask questions. Although many heated debates have taken place on the show over the years, this was the first time the arguments have escalated into fistfights and gunfire, all in the presence of MPs from the FPM and reformist parties, including Khatt Ahmar MP Waddah Al-Sadek.

MTV Lebanon, the full name of which is Murr Television, is known for its support of Lebanese Forces, the FPM’s political opponent. “FPM supporters are no longer allowed among the audience of Sar El-Waet until further notice, while FPM-affiliated guests are welcome to express their positions,” the channel said later. The live show was interrupted for 15 minutes after the fighting began. When the broadcast resumed, Ghanem demanded that those who were involved and removed from the studio return microphones that were stolen. He also said cameras were damaged and parts of the studio vandalized. He said: “What happened inside the studio is unacceptable and inappropriate for an audience that was supposed to remain under control, although everyone was given the opportunity to express their opinion freely. We apologize for what happened on air and the security forces will take it from here.”

by middleeastmonitor.com — The Lebanese Parliament approved the government on Thursday to continue in its caretaker capacity under the Constitution, Reuters reports. The announcement was made following a parliamentary session that discussed a letter by outgoing President Michel Aoun concerning the sacking of the government. Parliament Speaker, Nabih Berri, confirmed the decision which was unanimously approved. Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, said Sunday that his government will continue its duties in accordance with the Constitution. Aoun’s term as President ended Monday, amid a continued political deadlock in Lebanon.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives read out the text of the position taken by the House of Representatives, unanimously in the audience, after listening to Aoun’s message on the issue of forming the new government and after discussing it in accordance with the rules of procedure.

ByKAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press — BEIRUT — Lebanon is unable to put its new exchange rate into effect after its outgoing president declared the state budget unconstitutional and refused to sign off on it, officials said Thursday. The Finance Ministry in late September announced that Lebanon would change its pegged exchange rate to the dollar from 1,500 pounds to 15,000 starting Nov. 1, which they called a “necessary corrective action.” Parliament passed the cash-strapped country’s 2022 national budget in September, which included the amended rate. However, it took at least another week of bureaucracy before reaching President Michel Aoun’s office. Passing the 2022 state budget and unifying Lebanon’s several exchange rates are some of the prerequisite reforms needed to reach an International Monetary Fund-approved recovery plan to make the country viable again. The government has adopted several exchange rates for different services outside of the official rate, most recently for phone and internet bills, while an opaque parallel – or black – market rate has been the the dominant exchange rate, resulting in further chaos in the country’s economy.

The Lebanese pound was pegged at just over 1,500 pounds to the dollar in 1997 to encourage investor confidence and to stall hyperinflation after its 15-year civil war. The economy has since struggled following years of political paralysis and turmoil. Ex-housekeeper sues Jeff Bezos, claims discrimination By late 2019, the country started to spiral into what the World Bank says is one of the worst economic crises in over a century. Three-quarters of the population have plunged into poverty and the Lebanese pound lost around 90% of its value against the dollar on the black market. Aoun’s six-year term ended on Oct. 31. His refusal to sign off on the budget means it will automatically pass and go into effect later this month. Government and economic advisors familiar with the matter say Aoun’s inaction was intentional.

By William Christou — english.alaraby.co.uk — Lebanon’s Speaker of the House, Nabih Berri, cancelled on Wednesday a previous invitation for Lebanon’s major political parties to meet and try to reach a consensus on a presidential candidate. Berri’s press office said that he cancelled the national dialogue session “as a result of objection and reservation, especially […]

Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi    by AFP — BEIRUT: Lebanese security forces seized over five million captagon pills hidden inside construction material, the interior minister said on Tuesday, in the latest bust of the amphetamine-type stimulant. Officers seized “a large quantity of captagon” during a raid on a warehouse in the southern Lebanese city […]

By Jamie Prentis | Nada Homsi  — thenationalnews.com — A Lebanese parliamentary session scheduled for Thursday will be a formality following the departure of President Michel Aoun on Monday night, as senior leaders hold background negotiations to find his successor and end a widening leadership vacuum. Before his departure from the Baabda presidential palace on Sunday, Mr Aoun signed a decree recognising the resignation of the current Cabinet. He also sent a letter to parliament notifying them of the government’s resignation. In the letter, Mr Aoun called on parliament to “take the necessary measures or decisions to prevent things from deviating in a direction that is not in the interest of the country”.

Lebanon’s Gebran Bassil calls for consensus president as government vacuum looms The letter also called for caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati to resign, stating that he is “uninterested” in forming a new government. But the present government had already gone into caretaker status following Lebanon’s May 15 parliamentary elections. Although parliament could technically dismiss the prime minister with a two-thirds vote, Mr Aoun’s last-minute decree means little, said constitutional expert Wissam Lahham. Parliament is not constitutionally permitted to designate another prime minister. Only a president can do so. “Aoun demanded that we should take away the premiership from Mikati but of course they can’t choose another premier when there is no president any more,” Mr Lahham said. “They can’t do anything. Of course, the government will continue as it is.”

By Najia Houssari — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Lebanon’s outgoing head of state Michel Aoun on Sunday launched a blistering attack on his political opponents and the country’s judiciary as he bowed out of the presidential palace. In a speech, the departing president said he was leaving behind, “a robbed country, a worn-out state, and institutions that no longer have any value.” Exiting one day before his mandate expired without a designated successor — deepening the country’s political crisis — he blasted the judiciary for failing to do its job and accused judges of taking bribes. He also blamed opponents for preventing him from bringing to justice Lebanon’s Central Bank Gov. Riad Salameh — who is being investigated in several European countries, including Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein for alleged money laundering and embezzlement — who he described as “the perpetrator of all financial crimes.”

FASTFACT

Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the government would continue to carry out all of its constitutional duties, in caretaker mode, in accordance with the provisions of the constitution and regulations. And he claimed influential people had blocked attempts to investigate the deadly Beirut port explosion saying the head of the Supreme Judicial Council had not wanted to appoint anyone to look into the disaster. In addition, Aoun announced that he had signed a final decree formalizing the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s caretaker government, exacerbating a months-long power struggle that has paralyzed the government. In a letter to parliament, he called on it not to entrust the caretaker government with the powers of the president, since it had failed to elect a new president within the constitutional deadline. “This government lacks popular legitimacy and thus, constitutional legitimacy,” Aoun said. He also demanded that parliament swiftly select another prime minister-designate to form a government before the presidential term officially ended at midnight on Monday.