Saudi Arabia 'to lift' Lebanon travel warning, marking warmer ties

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BEIRUT (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is lifting its longstanding warning against citizens traveling to Lebanon, its ambassador to Beirut said on Wednesday, marking a new warmth in a once-close relationship that has cooled in recent years. Riyadh was once a major supporter of both the Lebanese state and political allies in Beirut, but mindful of its overarching rivalry with Iran, it stepped back as Tehran’s own Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, grew in strength. “Given that the previous security reasons have ended and based on reassurances from the Lebanese government to Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia then is lifting its travel warning for its citizens,” Ambassador Waleed Bukhari said on al-Jadeed TV.

The heightened engagement appears to mark a shift away from an approach characterized by pressuring the Lebanese government over Hezbollah’s political power in Lebanon. Lebanon last week formed a new coalition that includes three ministers chosen by Hezbollah while still being led by the Western-backed Saad al-Hariri, historically a Saudi ally, after months of political wrangling. Riyadh has repeatedly warned against travel to Lebanon since January 2011, citing Hezbollah’s power and the political instability resulting from the war in neighboring Syria. A fall in visitors from Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies has hit Lebanon’s tourism industry, once a mainstay of an economy that Hariri’s new government has pledged to support with reforms and investment.

Thousands leave Syrian village amid coalition assault on Islamic State Saudi ties with Lebanon hit a nadir in November 2017, when Hariri was briefly detained during a visit to Riyadh and announced his resignation, though the crisis was resolved and he returned to Beirut soon afterwards. At an anniversary event on Wednesday evening marking the 2005 assassination of Saad’s Riyadh-backed father Rafik al-Hariri, who was also Lebanon’s prime minister, the Saudi presence was clear. The Saudi flag was on display and the visiting Saudi envoy Nizar al-Aloula, who earlier met both Hariri and President Michel Aoun, gave a speech. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Beirut earlier this week, holding meetings with Hariri, Aoun and other political leaders. Reporting by Angus McDowall and Ellen Francis; Editing by Mark Heinrich Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Iran awaits Lebanese ‘desire’ to accept its military aid: foreign minister

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By Reuters BEIRUT (Reuters) – Iran is waiting for Lebanon to show a desire to accept its military assistance, Iran’s foreign minister said on Sunday, reiterating an offer of support to the U.S.-backed Lebanese military. Mohammad Javad Zarif, whose government backs the powerful Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah, was speaking at Beirut airport at the start of his first visit to Lebanon since its new government was formed late last month. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said last week he was ready to secure air defense systems for the Lebanese army from Iran to confront Israeli warplanes and to secure “everything it wants to be the strongest army in the region”. Asked if Iran was ready to offer military aid, Zarif said: “We always have this type of readiness and we announced on other occasions that this tendency exists in Iran but we are waiting for this desire to exist on the Lebanese side.”

The United States, which lists Hezbollah as a terrorist group, says its military aid to Lebanon aims to strengthen the army as “the sole” military force defending the country and to counter threats from neighboring Syria. The new Lebanese national unity government is led by the Western-backed Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri and groups most of the main political factions, including Hezbollah, which has expanded its role in the new cabinet. Zarif, who is due to meet government officials on Monday, said his visit aimed to declare Iran’s support for Lebanon and to announce that it “has complete and comprehensive readiness to deal with the brotherly Lebanese government in all areas”. In a speech last week, Nasrallah asked why Lebanon was “ignoring” Iran while “offering our necks to others” – an apparent reference to the United States, which has tightened sanctions against his group. The make-up of Hariri’s government largely reflects the result of a parliamentary election last year, in which Hezbollah and groups that support its possession of arms secured more than 70 of the 128 seats in parliament. The role of Hezbollah, a heavily armed group founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982, has grown through its naming of the new health minister – the first time it has controlled a ministry with a large budget.

Lebanese man dies after setting himself ablaze at school

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Agence France-Presse --  A Lebanese man died from severe burns Friday after setting himself on fire at his daughter's school over a fee dispute with the management, state media said. George Zreik doused himself with petrol and set it ablaze Thursday at Our Lady of Kaftoun secondary school in the Koura district of north Lebanon, the doctor who treated him told AFP. Gabriel al-Sabaa, head of the surgery department at the al-Salam hospital in Tripoli, said that "burns covered 90 percent of his body". Zreik reportedly took the desperate step after the school refused to give him a certificate attesting that his daughter was a student, the state-run National News Agency said. He needed the certificate to transfer her to another institution. The school withheld the document because Zreik had failed to pay fees he owed the management, the report said. The school said in a statement that it had granted Zreik's two children free tuition since they enrolled in 2014. But the father still had to pay for the bus service, stationery and extracurricular activities, it said.

The school said it had sent four written notices since the start of the school year asking him to settle outstanding payments. Lebanon's newly-appointed Education Minister Akram Chehayeb opened an investigation into the incident and pledged to cover the cost of educating Zreik's two children, a statement said. The minister "hopes this painful incident will give the government an incentive to address difficult economic and living conditions", it said. The incident unleashed a wave of anger on social media over the sluggish economy a week after Lebanon finally formed a new government following eight months of political squabbles. "We need to take to the streets and torch the country the way George Zreik torched himself," activist Farouq Yacoub wrote in an online post.

Lebanon gets a 'stay of execution' from investors, but now the real work begins

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by Natasha Turak | @NatashaTurak cnbc.com ---- The cost of insuring Lebanese debt has hit its lowest level this year on the back of some reassuring news for investors: The country has finally formed its government after nine months of gridlock, and state officials revealed they are in talks over financial support for a floundering economy. Lebanon's five-year credit default swaps, or the price of insuring the country's debt against a default, fell to $694 this week from a high of $900 in January, levels not seen since November last year. But markets have yet to see the change that will unlock $11 billion in funds pledged by international donors to the small Levantine country at the Paris Cedre conference last April. The financial support rests on the condition of direly needed reform in the areas of corruption, subsidies and public-sector spending. The new government will "most certainly" introduce austerity measures to shore up international and bond market confidence, according to political risk consultancy Eurasia Group — and that will not be easy.

Unpopular, yet urgent, reforms "The issue of cost cutting will prove challenging, though some cuts are also likely," said Ayham Kamel, Eurasia's practice head for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). "On balance, these positive reforms will not be overly ambitious and could slow over the long term." Many of the reforms are also unlikely to sit well with the Lebanese population. "If it's taken nine months to form a government, it will be extremely difficult to agree on the details of an aggressive (and unpopular) fiscal tightening. The only other plausible option to deal with the public finances would be debt restructuring," research consultancy Capital Economics said in a weekly report Thursday. One key area of reform is the electricity sector — Lebanon suffers daily power outages while the state power company, Electricite Du Liban, is awash in subsidies. Reforming this sector would cover a huge part of the fiscal consolidation promised to donors in April, but Kamel notes that this has thus far been prevented due to "vested interests." Overhauling the electricity sector, and the infrastructure upgrades that would come with that, is one of the new government's first priorities, a top advisor to the Lebanese prime minister told media in an interview earlier this week.

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Lebanese PM calls on Italy to increase investment in Lebanon

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By Associated Press-- BEIRUT — Lebanon’s Prime Minister has called on Italian companies to invest in his country as it seeks to address deepening economic challenges. Saad Hariri met with his Italian counterpart, Giuseppe Conte, in Beirut on Thursday and said that “the coming period in Lebanon is a period of work ... with many investment opportunities.” Italy is a traditional trading partner of Lebanon, has invested in its gas and oil sector and also supports Lebanese military and security forces. Rome has over 1,000 peacekeepers in the U.N. force monitoring the cease-fire with Israel. Hariri’s government hopes to unlock around $11 billion in soft loans and grants pledged by international donors at a conference in Paris last year. Hariri said he’s “convinced that Lebanon can be a regional center for the Italian private sector.”

Israel Exploits Lebanese 'Oil Wealth', Infringes Its Sovereignty – Top Lawmaker

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sputniknews.com -- A particular part of a nearby sea shelf, called Block 9, has been a source of tension between Israel and Lebanon since the 2000s, as both states claim that the area falls within their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri has accused Israel of violating Lebanon's sovereignty by licencing companies to drill in a maritime region adjacent to the disputed Block 9, for gas and oil, Reuters reported. Berri called the move by Tel Aviv "a dangerous matter". "Israel has licensed and exploited an area adjacent to the Lebanese southern maritime borders. This is an infringement on Lebanese sovereignty and targets our oil wealth and waters", he said. The parliamentary speaker also vowed to raise the issue during the upcoming visit of Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte this week. Another lawmaker, Ali Bazzi, noted that unlike Israel, firms working on the Lebanese side are staying away from the disputed sector when drilling for energy resources. At the same time, Lebanon has included the disputed Block 9 in a contract with a consortium of energy companies, including Total, Eni and Novatek, but they have so far refrained from drilling anywhere close to the disputed area of the waters.