Lebanese Diaspora Energy conference opens in Paris

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The Daily Star BEIRUT: Prime Minister Saad Hariri opened the Lebanese Diaspora Energy Conference in Paris Saturday in a televised speech. "Lebanon can continue as before, with outdated laws and no reforms," Hariri said, "we need to improve the labor market, implement real reforms to fight corruption and create jobs." He said that Lebanese should threaten the candidates for the parliamentary elections with reforms. "If I don't deliver [reforms] then don't vote for me." He expressed his thanks to the French government and the outcome of the CEDRE conference. "But the most important thing for me is reform, reform, and reform." He said that while the Syrian crisis did affect the Lebanese government, the impact would have been less burdensome if there were reforms. "We must not wait every time to reach a problem or an economic collapse and then ask for funds from countries. We have to reform and then if there is an economic crisis beyond our control, then we ask for conferences,"he said. "It is your right to vote, and your duty to vote, so don't lose it by not participating [in the elections]," Foreign Ministry Gebran Bassil was quoted saying by the state-run National News Agency. He told expatriates that he doesn't accept their being called expatriates anymore, saying "you are Lebanese."

He said these conferences and the diaspora are helping the government spread diplomacy. "I agree with [Bassil], you are the main force and our weapon. There might be political differences, but you need to stay united alongside Lebanon," Hariri added. "I have prepared a bill to amend the name of the Foreign Ministry to the Foreign Affairs, Diaspora and International Cooperation Ministry," he said, ostensibly as a way to affirm the Lebanese identity of expatriates instead of alienating it. The LDE conference is a regular convention that aims to bring Lebanese around the world together and one was already held in Ivory Coast earlier this year. The next conference will be held on May 10 to May 12 later this year. However, both Finance and Public Works and Transport ministers Ali Hasan Khalil and Youssef Fenianos respectively boycotted the conference. "We are against conferences that try to influence people or political parties in the [parliament] elections, and we are against exploiting expatriates in the election campaign," Fenianos was quoted saying by the NNA

China bans bible from online stores

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by catholicherald.co.uk -- The Chinese government has banned the sale of Bibles online, through distributors such as Amazon. This appears to be the latest development in China’s moves to restrict Christianity’s influence in the country. Bibles are only legally available at church bookstalls, not in bookshops, making Christianity the only major religion whose holy book is not freely available. Online retailers had effectively been a loophole making it easier for people to buy Bibles. Discussion of Christianity on social media is also being severely restricted. In contrast, traditional Chinese religions including Buddhism and Taoism are actively promoted. The ban comes as the Holy See and Beijing try to resolve a long conflict over the appointment of bishops. Catholics are currently split between bishops appointed by the state but excommunicated by the Vatican, and bishops appointed by the Vatican who have no legal status and have to operate effectively underground. Hopes of finding a solution acceptable to both sides seem to have been dashed this week, with a statement from a senior government official that China will not allow any foreign influence in religious affairs in the country. “I think there is no religion in human society that is above the state,” the official, Chen Zongrong, said on Tuesday.

Lebanon wins pledges exceeding $10 billion in Paris: finance minister

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PARIS - Fifty-one states and regional and international organizations were invited to CEDRE to express and offer support for Lebanon's economy and infrastructure. The title “CEDRE” itself – a French acronym translated as “Conference for Development and Reform with Businesses” – demonstrates the desire to differentiate this conference from its predecessors, as it breaks away from the “Paris I” nomenclature. The pledges included $4 billion in World Bank loans, 1.1 billion euros ($1.35 billion) in loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the renewal of a previously pledged $1 billion credit line from Saudi Arabia, Lebanese officials said.

France was the first country to make a bid with Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announcing that Europe's second largest economy would provide 400 million euros ($489.3 million) in loans below market rates and would donate another 150 million euros ($183.5 million). Saudi Arabia, will grant the country a $1-billion (800 million-euro) development loan, a Lebanese government official told a donor conference in Paris Friday. Donors in turn want to see Lebanon commit to long-stalled reforms. In a nod to those demands, Hariri pledged fiscal consolidation to reduce the budget deficit - more than 150 percent of gross domestic product at the end of 2017 - by 5 percent during the next five years. S

Lebanese Speaker Berri Says Electoral Cracks Will be Fixed by Next Parliament

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Al Sharq alAwsat - Speaker Nabih Berri has expressed resentment over various “violations” taking place, including the “disbursement of funds in many electoral districts and regions.” According to a statement from his office on Wednesday, the speaker called for a solution to these issues. During his weekly meeting with lawmakers, Berri said gaps in the electoral law would need to be fixed by the new parliament following the May elections. A “number of gaps have appeared so far in the electoral law and there is a need to develop the law, which will be [in the hands] of the next parliament,” Berri told the MPs. Separately, the speaker warned from repeated Israeli violation of Lebanese sovereignty, after the crash of an Israeli drone in southern Lebanon. According to the state-run National News Agency, Berri has held a series of telephone calls with President Michel Aoun and Western officials to confront the dangers of Israeli policy.

Lebanon seeks funds for troubled economy at Paris conference

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BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon hopes to secure billions of dollars for infrastructure this week at an international donor conference in Paris, as it grapples with low growth and soaring debt. Some 50 countries and international organizations are expected at the CEDRE (Cedar) conference that begins Friday, where Beirut will request up to $22 billion for an eight to 12 year investment program. Lebanon hopes an influx of cash will help revive the economy, which has been hammered by political unrest and spillover from the war in neighboring Syria. Lebanon is home to some 1.2 million refugees, accounting for nearly a quarter of its population. The civil war next door has also hindered land exports to Jordan, Iraq and oil-rich Gulf nations.

From 2007 until 2010, Lebanon’s economy grew at an average of 9 percent annually. But it hit a major downturn in 2011, when a political crisis brought down the government and the Syrian uprising stoked unrest among Lebanese factions. Since then, growth has averaged a mere 1.5 percent, according to government estimates, and rampant corruption has hollowed out infrastructure and basic services. Nearly three decades after the end of the 1975-1990 civil war, Lebanon still experiences frequent cutoffs of water and electricity. With public transport networks virtually non-existent, its aging roads are clogged with traffic. Chronic problems with waste management have sparked mass protests in recent years. “Lebanon currently is facing major economic challenges, and these challenges range from budgetary problems to balance of payment to growth to unemployment,” said Nadim Munla, senior adviser to Prime Minister Saad Hariri. “It has been characterized by many as a very difficult time,” with some calling it a “doomsday scenario,” he said. Munla said the conference will be seen as a major success if Beirut can secure funding for the first stage of its investment plans, an estimated $10 billion. He says the private sector can supply another $4 billion for the projects, which are aimed at revitalizing water, electricity, telecom and waste services. But critics fear the remainder of the financing will come from borrowing, exacerbating an already severe debt burden. French authorities have stressed that Friday’s gathering is not a classic donors’ conference, and that no figure can determine its success. Instead, it seeks to establish an investment plan around infrastructure, water, energy or education, delineate structural reforms so that investment works, and mobilize the private sector, according to the office of French President Emmanuel Macron. The conference will also adopt a follow-up mechanism to accompany the investment plan, it said.

Fears of economic collapse have mounted ahead of the first parliamentary elections in nine years, scheduled for May 6. Many worry that the Lebanese currency, which has been pegged at 1,500 to the dollar since 1997, could be devalued. Central Bank governor Riad Salameh has repeatedly dismissed those fears, saying the bank has assets worth $43.2 billion in addition to more than $11.5 billion worth of gold. The state-owned electricity company is considered one of the biggest drains on the state budget, costing about $1.5 billion a year, depending on international oil prices. Tariffs have not gone up since 1996, even though many Lebanese say they would happily pay more if they could get 24-hour power instead of relying on costly neighborhood generators. Hazar Caracalla, another adviser to the prime minister, said the Cabinet is committed to opening both electricity and telecoms to the private sector in hopes of improving services, and has already approved a framework for addressing the garbage crisis. Last week, Lebanon’s parliament approved a budget — its second since 2005 — with a fiscal deficit of $4.8 billion. The national debt at the end of 2017 stood at $80 billion, or more than 150 percent of gross domestic product.

The militant Hezbollah group, which is part of the coalition government, has expressed concerns that the conference will add to the already massive debt. Other critics have suggested the conference, which is organized by France, is aimed at boosting Hariri’s pro-Western allies ahead of next month’s vote. Munla hit back at critics, saying: “If they have an alternative, put it on the table and let’s discuss it.” Nassib Ghobril, the chief economist at Bank Byblos, Lebanon’s third largest lender, said the international community is eager to support Lebanon’s stability, but will expect the government to implement urgently-needed reforms. “The upgrade of infrastructure will help improve the competitiveness of the economy, but that’s not going to be enough without implementing structural reforms that would improve the investment climate and the business environment,” Ghobril said. ___ Associated Press writer Elaine Ganley in Paris contributed to this report

Mark Zuckerberg says he's still the best person to run Facebook after scandals: 'I think life is about learning from mistakes'

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by businessinsider.com Mark Zuckerberg says he is still the best person to run Facebook in the wake of its series of scandals. In a question-and-answer session with journalists on Wednesday afternoon, the 33-year-old CEO was asked whether he was still the most appropriate person to lead the social network. Earlier on Wednesday, Facebook said that it now estimates data from 87 million user profiles were impromperly used by the political research firm Cambride Analytica. "Yes," he responded. "I mean — I think life is about learning from mistakes, and working out what you need to do to move forward." Zuckerberg repeatedly admitted on the call that he and the company had made mistakes, but suggested that some missteps were inevitable: "If we got this right we would've messed something else up." There has been calls from a major Facebook shareholder for Zuckerberg to stand down as chairman of the board. Zuckerberg said that to his knowledge, there have been no discussions among the board for him to step down: "Not to my knowledge."