By NADIA AL-FAOUR — arabnews.com — DUBAI: Even before the economic collapse in Lebanon, Syrian and Palestinian refugees living there were struggling to get by. Many chose to uproot themselves once again and set out in search of greater security overseas, often turning to people smugglers for help. Now, the situation looks so hopeless that a growing number of Lebanese citizens who lack the means to pay for safe and legal passage abroad are also risking the same dangerous, illegal sea crossings to Europe. In early June, the Lebanese military apprehended 64 people in the north of the country who were attempting to board a smuggling vessel bound for Cyprus. Among them were several Lebanese citizens, driven to desperation by severe economic hardship. “I cannot feed my family. I feel like less of a man every day,” Abu Abdullah, a 57-year-old delivery worker from Tripoli, the poorest city in the country, told Arab News. “I would rather risk my life at sea than hear the cries of my children when they grow hungry.”

Inflation, unemployment, shortages of food, fuel and medicine, a crumbling healthcare system, and dysfunctional governance have created a perfect storm of poverty and hopelessness. Shortage of grain as a result of the war in Ukraine has compounded Lebanon’s economic woes, with the prices of staples skyrocketing. Queues for bread are a common sight in many towns while public-sector workers have often gone on strike demanding better pay. The nation’s currency has lost about 95 percent of its value since 2019. As of July, the minimum monthly wage was worth the equivalent of $23 based on the black market exchange rate of 29,500 Lebanese pounds to the dollar. Before the financial collapse, it was worth $444. About half of the population now lives below the poverty line. “My salary barely lasts a few weeks and the tips I get amount to nothing,” said Abu Abdullah. “One of my sons roams around the neighborhood dumpster diving, looking for tins and plastic to sell. It breaks my heart having to see him do this. But in order to eat we don’t have another choice.”

By Sami Haddad — yalibnan — In April 2021 Last year Lebanese President Michel Aoun reportedly phoned Syria’s Bashar al-Assad to discuss the demarcation of Lebanon-Syria maritime borders, according to former Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe. Aoun’s call came after a Russian oil company signed an agreement with Syria for exploration in the Mediterranean Sea in an area that is claimed by Lebanon in its 2011 border demarcation decree Assad ratified the contract with Petrozavodsk-based Capital Oil in March 2021 , under a contract initially drawn up in April 2020. However, 750 square kilometers of the area assigned for exploration is in the Lebanese economic waters. Lebanon demarcated its exclusive economic zone in 2011 through Decree No. 6433, which was sent to the United Nations. Syria objected to the unilateral Lebanese demarcation in the north, sending a protest letter to the UN in 2014. Since then, the two countries have failed to resolve the dispute, despite Russia proposing itself as a mediator between the two countries in 2019.

Illegal claim

Diana Kaissy, executive director of the Lebanese Oil and Gas Initiative (LOGI), told Middle East Eye in April 2021 that Damascus’ complaint was made on an illegal basis, as Syria is not a signatory country of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Although the maritime border dispute between Lebanon and Syria has been politicized in Lebanon, experts agree it can be solved on a technical basis. According to analysts , the problem for Lebanon is that president Aoun’s key ally the Iranian backed Hezbollah is a staunch ally of the Syrian regime . Ever since Aoun was elected in 2016 Hezbollah has been running the show in Lebanon since it has been in control of all the 3 top branches of government .

by english.alaraby.co.uk — Iraq has summoned its ambassador to Jordan after he was pictured hosting Lebanese pop star Ragheb Alama and his wife, according to reports. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is bringing the ambassador of the Republic of Iraq to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Haider Al-Adhari, to Baghdad,” a statement by the authority […]

By Najia Houssari — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: The National Museum of Beirut is in darkness as the diesel allocated by the Ministry of Culture to turn on the generators at this major tourism facility has run out. The museum has seen fewer tourists since the beginning of the summer. Its management has changed its opening […]

By Najia Houssari — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: The decision of Taraya municipality, Bekaa, to move a memorial for Lebanese armed forces personnel from the town’s entrance to the side of the road has come under criticism. It was claimed that the memorial was moved to not disturb a photo associated with a political party. The monument — a military armored vehicle — was given as a token of loyalty to the townspeople who had died while defending the country. The Al-Islah’ Al-Baladi (Municipal Reform) organization in Taraya said the decision to put the monument on the side of the road was inappropriate. It said that opinions were divided during the municipal council’s meeting, with some supporting the decision and others rejecting it.

Taraya is 75 km from Beirut and is a stronghold for Hezbollah and its ally the Amal Movement, similar to most villages and towns in Central and North Bekaa that are home to a majority of Shiites. Al-Islah’ Al-Baladi condemned the behavior of the town’s mayor, Rifaat Hamiya, who is a retired army brigadier general with more than 25 years of service. “We hoped that he would use national principles, enforce laws, hold corrupt people accountable, and apply and commit to the national army’s regulations, instead of committing to parties’ orders and exploiting the municipal council and its members for personal gain.” While the organization stressed its support for diverse political affiliations, it said it opposed militias and parties’ decisions which proliferated hostility toward the Lebanese army. Taraya currently suffers socially and economically like other towns in Bekaa while waiting for the enforcement of a development policy. Parties have taken over these towns’ municipalities, notably Hezbollah, which has infiltrated social lives, imposed traditions, and even controlled decisions in these places.

By  Mohammed Abdelbary, CNN — Abu Dhabi, UAE (CNN)London got so warm this summer that newspapers splashed with headlines saying temperatures in the city had exceeded those of scorching hot Dubai. One after another, European countries such as Spain and Portugal registered record highs this year. The northern hemisphere did indeed witness record temperatures, with wildfires engulfing parts of Europe and drought threatening food supplies. And, often, European cities witnessed hotter conditions than those in the Persian Gulf. But experts say that temperature alone isn’t an adequate measure of the livability of a city — a combination of heat and humidity is. And that’s why the Middle East is far less livable than Europe even at the same temperatures.

The Middle East is still quite hot. The Iranian city of Abadan set the record for the hottest dry heat temperature this year when it hit 53 degrees Celsius (127 degrees Fahrenheit) on August 5. But combine that with the high levels of humidity in the region and it becomes an even more inhospitable place for human beings. It’s harder to cool down when the weather is humid, as our bodies struggle to transfer their heat to “wet” air rather than dry air, making it harder to sweat it out and lower our body temperatures. The measure of heat combined with humidity is called the wet bulb temperature. The name stems from the way this condition is measured, literally by wrapping a wet cloth around a thermometer and measuring the temperature as the water evaporates.

by globeecho.com — He lived 4 years in Beirut before Baghdad requested his arrest The Lebanese security services arrested a relative of the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the young Abdullah Yasser Sabawi al-Hassan, who is the grandson of Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan, Saddam Hussein’s half-brother by his mother, based on a memorandum issued by “Interpol” […]

سجعان قزي

@AzziSejean

يُخطِئُ الأعيانُ الّذين يَطرَحون اسمَ الرئيس الياس سركيس نَموذجًا لمرشَّحٍ رئاسيٍّ تِقنيٍّ ومحايدٍ وتَسوويٍّ ومِطواع. مواصفاتُ الرئيسِ سركيس بعيدةٌ من النَموذجِ قيدَ التحرّي عنه. هؤلاءِ الأعيانُ لا يَعرِفون ربّما مسيرةَ هذا الرجل ومواقِفَه وميزاتِه، ولا ظروفَ انتخابِه رئيسًا، ولا العواصفَ التي ضَربت عهدَه (1976 ـــ 1982)، ونالَت من صِحّتِه وخلَّدَت اسمَه. يوم توفِّـيَ الرئيس سركيس في 27 حزيران 1985، كتبتُ تعليقي السياسيَّ في إذاعةِ “لبنان الحر” بعنوان: “مات مغفورًا له، بل غافرًا لنا”.

1 ـــــ كان الياس سركيس مرشَّحًا سياسيًّا بامتيازٍ لا مرشَّحًا تقنيًّا، إذ عاش الحياةَ الوطنيّةَ بكلِّ أبعادِها اللبنانيّةِ والعربيّةِ والدُوليّة، وشارك في صناعةِ القراراتِ السياسيّةِ والاقتصاديّةِ والعسكريّةِ مع الرئيسَين فؤاد شهاب وشارل حلو وضبّاطِ المكتبِ الثاني في الجيشِ اللبناني. فاوض جميعَ قادةِ الطوائف والأحزابِ والكُتلِ النيابيّةِ في البلاد، وإليه كان بعضُهم يعود قبلَ اتّخاذِ القراراتِ السياسيّة. ولـمّـا خاض انتخاباتِ الرئاسةِ أوّلَ مرّةٍ سنةَ 1970 كان مرشّحَ “الشهابيّةِ” ضِدَّ سليمان فرنجيه مرشّحِ “الحلفِ الثلاثيِّ” و”الوسَطِ”، وخَسِر على صوتٍ واحد. وجميعُ المناصبِ القضائيّةِ والقانونيّةِ والإداريّةِ والماليّةِ التي شَغلَها سركيس: قاضيًا في ديوانِ المحاسبةِ ثم مديرًا للشؤونِ القانونيّةِ في القصرِ الجُمهوري فمديرًا عامًّا للرئاسةِ فحاكمًا مَصرَفَ لبنان مدّةَ تسعِ سنوات (1967 ـــ 1976)، أعطَته المعرفةَ والخِبرةَ وقوّةَ الدفعِ الإضافيّةَ في مسيرتِه السياسيّةِ والرئاسيّة.

2 ـــــ كان الياس سركيس مرشَّحَ فريقٍ لا مرشَّحًا محايدًا حين فاز بالرئاسةِ سنةَ 1976. دَعمَته، آنذاك، “الجَبهةُ اللبنانيّةُ” وسوريا، وعارضَه تحالفُ “الحركةِ الوطنيّة” بزعامةِ كمال جنبلاط ومُنظمةِ “فتح” بقيادةِ ياسر عرفات الذي ــــ أي التحالف ــــ أيّدَ ريمون إدّه. وفي محاولةٍ لإلغاءِ جلسةِ الانتخابِ المقرَّرةِ في 08 أيّار 1976، فَجّر التحالفُ الوضعَ العسكريَّ في الأوّلِ والثاني من أيّار فسَقط 96 قتيلًا و116 جريحًا. ويومَ الانتخابِ، أعلَنت “الحركةُ الوطنيّةُ” الإضرابَ العامَّ وقاطَع الجلسةَ النوّابُ مؤيِّدو ريمون إده، ولم يَتورَّع تحالفُ فتح/الحركةِ الوطنيّة عن قصفِ مَقرِّ مجلسِ النوّاب الموَقَّت في “قصرِ منصور” بين مِنطقتَي الـمَتحف والبربير، وكادت قذيفةٌ تُصيبُ الرئيسَ كميل شمعون والشيخ بيار الجميّل. وبعد انتخابِ سركيس ظلّ الوضعُ العسكريُّ مضطَربًا حتى تشرين الثاني 1976.

3 ــــــ كان الياس سركيس مرشَّحَ معادلةٍ سياسيّةٍ

by arabnews.com — Najia Houssari — BEIRUT: Lebanon’s public sector and legal system are under growing strain amid widening strike action over the plunging value of salaries in the crisis-hit country. Hundreds of judges continued their strike on Thursday in protest at having their salaries based on exchange rate of 1,507 Lebanese pounds to the dollar. Civil servants have also decided to go on strike again for the same reason, despite being granted monthly aid. Meanwhile, Lebanese university professors are continuing their open-ended strike, while students wait for work to resume so they can take last year’s final exams. Lebanon took preliminary steps to raise the customs dollar rate from 1,507 Lebanese pounds — the rate adopted before the economic crisis hit three years ago — to 20,000 pounds. The move created confusion in markets, adding to the chaos they were already facing.

The customs dollar is the price for calculating the customs value of imports, and is paid in Lebanese pounds. On Thursday, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati sent a letter to Finance Minister Youssef Khalil demanding the customs dollar rate of 20,000 pounds be adopted. Khalil told an expanded ministerial consultative meeting about the move. The ministerial committee enjoys exceptional powers that allow it to adjust the customs dollar rate without the need for Cabinet approval. Amin Salam, the caretaker economy minister, told a press conference on Thursday that the preliminary decision will be the subject of discussions between the finance minister and the central bank governor. Salam said that the impact of the new customs dollar rate on prices of goods would be “insignificant,” adding that the current rate was no longer fair. “We want to adjust the wages and salaries of civil servants,” he said. Salam also voiced fears that traders might store goods to be sold later under the new rate. “We are waiting for traders to provide us with the lists of goods they purchased previously,” the minister said.

by english.alaraby.co.uk — Lebanese officials have confirmed plans to demolish the northern section of the grain silos at Beirut port, just weeks after the country marked the second anniversary of the deadly blast, local media reported. A meeting between caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and caretaker Environment Minister Nasser Yassin concluded with a decision to […]