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Lebanese ambassador in France accused of rape, violence

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By The New Arab Staff -- Lebanon's ambassador to France, Rami Adwan, has been investigated for rape and intentional violence following complaints by two former embassy employees, informed sources said Friday confirming an earlier media report. Due to his position, Adwan enjoys diplomatic immunity from prosecution, but the French government urged the Lebanese authorities to lift this and allow him to go on trial. "In view of the seriousness of the facts mentioned, we consider it necessary for the Lebanese authorities to lift the immunity of the Lebanese ambassador in Paris in order to facilitate the work of the French judicial authorities", the French foreign ministry told AFP late Friday. The first woman, aged 31, filed her complaint in June 2022 for a rape she says was committed in May 2020 in the ambassador's private apartment, according to sources close to the investigation confirming a Mediapart report.

According to her deposition seen by AFP, she made clear her lack of interest in having sex and that she screamed and burst into tears. The woman, who was working as an editor, had already reported to police in 2020 that Adwan, in his post since 2017, had struck her during an argument in his office. She said she had not filed a complaint because she did not want to "break the life" of the ambassador. According to the complaint, she had a relationship with the ambassador, who carried out "psychological and physical violence with daily humiliations".

Lebanese crowned No.1 ‘puff-daddies’ as world’s biggest spenders on cigars

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by arabnews.com -- LONDON: Their country’s economy may be collapsing around them, but the Lebanese are still the people most likely to treat themselves to a cigar or two, according to recently released statistics. A report from Statista Consumer Insights on 2022 spending habits found that Lebanese spent the most on cigars per capita in the world at $36.70, over a dollar more than those living in the US. Their fellow Arabs in Qatar were the third-biggest spenders at $27.40, while Bahrainis came in eighth with a $12.40 spend per capita. European nations Luxembourg, Iceland, Switzerland, UK, Netherlands and Finland rounded out the rest of the top 10.

According to Tobacco Atlas figures, Lebanon has the highest rate of smoking in the Middle East. In 2022, the Lebanese smoked 1,955 cigarettes per person, according to its report. This was compared with 1,849 in Kuwait and 1,764 in Libya. At the other end of the scale, in Saudi Arabia the figure was 485, in the UAE 438, and in Yemen 214. In a bid to tackle rampant tobacco use, the Lebanese parliament passed a law in August 2011 banning smoking in all enclosed public spaces. This included government buildings, airports, schools, modes of public transport, shopping malls, restaurants, bars and nightclubs. It also made health warnings on tobacco product packages mandatory, and banned all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship.

US considering sanctions against Lebanon officials: Top diplomat

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by Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English -- The US is considering sanctions on top Lebanese officials for their continued obstruction of electing a new president in the country, a top State Department official said Wednesday. Meanwhile, the top two US House Foreign Affairs Committee lawmakers urged the Biden administration to sanction Lebanese individuals for corruption and to “make clear to Lebanon’s political class that the status quo is not acceptable.” Since last October, Lebanon has had no president and a fully functioning government. Pro-Syria parties, including Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, are backing Sleiman Frangieh, who has long boasted of his close ties with Bashar al-Assad. Opposition groups and the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement, have reportedly agreed to endorse Jihad Azour, a former finance minister and current International Monetary Fund (IMF) employee.

During a Senate committee hearing on the Middle East, the top US diplomat for the region said the US was considering the possibility of sanctions. Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf said Washington was working with regional and European partners to push the Lebanese parliament to do its job. “It’s a collective effort,” Leaf said.

Separately, the members of Congress slammed Lebanon’s central bank governor, Riad Salameh, as well as those responsible for the catastrophic Beirut Port blast in 2020. Salameh has an Interpol arrest warrant out for him, and there are charges against him from Germany and France over alleged corruption.

US to build regional CIA hub in Lebanon, report says

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by middleeastmonitor.com -- The US is working on building a new regional hub for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Lebanon, within a huge embassy complex with an area of 93,000 square meters on a 27-hectares (about 64 acres) site in the capital, Beirut, intelligence sources reported yesterday. The complex, which is estimated to cost $1 billion, will also include an arts centre, a hospital, a swimming pool, residential towers and a data collection centre, according to the French Intelligence Online website. The sources added that the US intelligence sees Lebanon as a safe and strategic location for the deployment of intelligence agents. Washington also intends to benefit from its excellent intelligence partnership with the Lebanese army's B2 military intelligence unit, according to the sources. The French website learned that US funding for the Lebanese army includes a guarantee that allows the US Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) unlimited access to its intelligence information.

Lebanon frees kidnapped Saudi national, arrests nine suspects -officials

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DUBAI/BEIRUT, (Reuters) - Lebanon's army intelligence freed a Saudi national who was abducted on Sunday in Beirut and also arrested some of those involved, the army announced on Tuesday. An online army statement said that Saudi citizen Mashari al-Mutairi had been freed in an operation along the Lebanese border with Syria. Saudi's state-run Al Ekhbariya television station reported late on Monday that a man working for Saudi Arabian Airlines had been kidnapped in the Lebanese capital on Sunday, and that those responsible had demanded a $400,000 ransom.

In a press conference at the Saudi embassy after Mutairi's release, Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said that no ransom was paid, and that Lebanese security forces had taken nine people into custody over the kidnapping. Mawlawi said the incident would not impact diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. Ties between the two countries withered in 2021, when the kingdom and other Gulf states withdrew their envoys following years of frustration at the growing influence of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement over Lebanon's state. They sent ambassadors back to Beirut in April 2022.

Hezbollah’s Military Drills Undermine Lebanon’s State Authority

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For many in Lebanon, the events constituted a blatant disregard for state authority and international law.

by Adnan Nasser Follow @Adnansoutlook29 on Twitter -- In the days leading up to May 25, the twenty-third anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from south Lebanon, Hezbollah engaged in a series of highly-visible wargames. The demonstration of force included hundreds of fighters with live ammunition and sophisticated weaponry typically used by national armies. Except it was not the Lebanese Armed Forces that carried out the drills but a mere political party with an armed wing. For many in Lebanon, the events constituted a blatant disregard for state authority and international law. The question of what to do about Hezbollah’s weapons is consistently being put on the back burner out of fear of internal unrest. Hezbollah claims it needs its weapons to defend Lebanon from Israel. Yet others say this is nonsense and that the group wants to keep its arms to maintain its impunity from state rule.

History Strategy Game

This debate has gone on for decades and, indeed, it is nowhere near being resolved. Supporters of Hezbollah cite Israel’s eviction in 2000 as a sign of the Shia group’s justification to keep its guns. One person from the south told The National Interest, “I don’t remember the Lebanese army fighting Israel. Only Hezbollah.” Others remember Hezbollah’s action on May 7, 2008, when the group seized half of Beirut in defiance of the government’s attempt to subdue its telecommunication network, and point to it as an example of why the group cannot be trusted.

Domestic response to Hezbollah’s actions

The politicians and members of various political parties that oppose Hezbollah and advocate for state sovereignty have denounced the military drills. The caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, acknowledged that these maneuvers challenge the government’s role in defending Lebanon, but followed up by stating that the situation is too complicated for the state to act alone. The Lebanese government “rejects any act that infringes on the state’s authority and sovereignty, but the issue of Hezbollah’s arms requires a comprehensive national consensus,” Mikati said.

HBO Max rebrand: Hit or epic miss?

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By Saundra Latham, Editor at LinkedIn News -- HBO Max is now "Max," and whether that's a savvy marketing move or the "rebrand blunder of the year" depends on who you ask. Some say the streamer's new name reflects its expanded content — exactly what owner Warner Bros. Discovery wants. Others say it erases HBO's hard-earned cachet, earned from years of edgy hits such as "The Sopranos," "Game of Thrones" and other lauded shows. "HBO took four decades of prestige and casually tossed it all into a dumpster, lit a match, and cheered as it burned," brand consultant Debbie Millman tells Fast Company.