Lebanese Parties Race to Lure in Expatriates Ahead of Polls

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Beirut - Youssef Diab  -- aawsat.com  -- Lebanese expatriates have become a main target in the campaigns for the May 6 parliamentary elections as political parties are eager to lure them to vote for their lists in exchange for covering the cost of flights to Beirut. Although some parties have refused to admit it, others have announced to resorting to such offers on a limited scale. Lebanese sources said not all candidates have the financial ability to buy plane tickets to Beirut so that expats vote for their lists. "Only certain parties have enough money to offer expatriates a vacation in Lebanon at their own expense in exchange for receiving their vote,” the sources said. An official from the electoral campaign of Al-Mustaqbal said “the Movement was prone to meet the requests of some expatriates, especially those residing in Gulf states, who were willing to come (to Lebanon) in return for free tickets.” However, the process came to a halt three weeks ago, said the official.

Some expats told Asharq Al-Awsat that “thousands of Lebanese emigrants had received direct phone calls from some parties offering them tickets to travel to Lebanon before Election Day.” However, the offer stands for a couple and not their children. “Flights to Lebanon, especially from Gulf States, are already booked due to the high number of people traveling to Lebanon before the elections,” the sources said. Progressive Socialist Party spokesman Rami al-Rayyes told Asharq Al-Awsat on Thursday that his party was coordinating with expats, including those who had registered their names to vote for the first time at polling stations abroad on April 27 and April 29, in addition to those who did not want to travel to Lebanon to cast their ballots. “The majority of PSP supporters living abroad are eager to participate in the elections. We are studying all options,” Rayyes said, adding that the issue of expats’ flight costs to Lebanon is under discussion.

Google wants to replace texting

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by   Ben Gilbert - business insider - Google is making a major change to the way Android handles text messages, and it's a direct attempt to stay competitive with Apple's iMessage dominance. Google's Messages app — the standard text-messaging app on Android — will become "Chat," according to The Verge. With that change comes the ability to send prettier photos, longer messages, and lots of other "rich" interactivity. As it is now, Android uses standard SMS text messaging, which is limited to a certain number of characters, and multimedia (photos, video) is highly compressed (it looks bad). With Google Chat, Android text messaging will become much more like Apple's beloved iMessage. All these new features in Android text messaging are due to the adoption of RCS, or rich communications services, a new standard for text messaging. In short, the RCS standard operates on data networks (like Apple's iMessage) instead of phone networks (like traditional SMS text messaging). Moreover, Google has a bunch of big phone makers signed on to RCS — from Samsung to LG to Huawei and HTC. If someone on a Pixel sends a message to a Samsung Galaxy S9, for instance, they can share "RCS" messages — theoretically, anyway, as Samsung is one of the companies that's signed on. And if you try sending a message and the other person's phone doesn't support RCS? They'll receive it as a standard SMS message (similarly to iMessages showing up for Android users as SMS messages). For now, Apple isn't signed on to support RCS messaging: No, the iPhone will not support these messages. At least not for now. Also of note: RCS messages aren't as secure as iMessages; there's no "end to end" encryption, which prevents communications from being intercepted by third parties.

Cardinal Bechara el Rai warns against ‘new drums of war’ in Syria

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By Catholic News Service. 

BEIRUT — Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai appealed to world leaders to stop the war in Syria and to work for comprehensive peace through diplomatic means. "As the great powers are beating the drums of a new war against Syria, we regret the absence of a language of peace from the mouths of senior officials in our world today," said Cardinal Rai, patriarch of Maronite Catholics, in an address April 12 directed to the international community. In reference to the stance of world leaders toward Syria, the cardinal said, "Most tragically, their hearts are devoid of the slightest human emotion toward the millions of innocent Syrians who have been forced to flee their land under the fire of war, its crimes, destruction, terror and violence." "We appeal to the conscience of the great powers and the international community to work to end the war and to bring about a just, comprehensive and lasting peace through political and diplomatic means — not military," Cardinal Rai stressed. "The people of the Middle East are entitled to live in peace and tranquility. The declaration of war is very weak," he said, adding that peacebuilding is the ultimate in heroism. "Among the great powers, you will remember that we all know how to start wars, but we do not know how they end." Noting that Lebanon has hosted more than 1.1 million refugees, or nearly half of its population, "at a time when most European countries have closed their doors," Cardinal Rai continued: "We ask today, did these countries which are beating the drums of war bear a fraction of the hardship due to the displacement of the Syrian population?"

Cardinal Rai's appeal came amid threats of military retaliation against Syria over the alleged use of chemical weapons against civilians in the Ghouta region. On April 13, the United States, France and the United Kingdom launched missiles on Syria, targeting sites intended to weaken the nation's chemical weapons capability. In response, Pope Francis criticized a failure to find nonviolent means of bringing peace to Syria and other parts of the world and appealed to world leaders to work for justice and peace. "I am deeply disturbed by the current world situation, in which, despite the instruments available to international community, it struggles to agree on joint action in favor of peace in Syria and other regions of the world," he said after praying the "Regina Coeli" with people gathered in St. Peter's Square April 15. "While I unceasingly pray for peace and invite all people of good will to keep doing the same, I appeal once again to all political leaders so that justice and peace may prevail," he said. Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow telephoned Pope Francis after the missile attack, he told reporters April 15 at his residence outside of Moscow. "We shared the common concern about the situation in Syria, and we talked about how Christians should influence this situation to stop violence, war and so many tragic victims as we have seen in these days," he said, according to AsiaNews.

The patriarchate launched an initiative to unite Christian leaders from the East and West to promote peace and prevent a humanitarian crisis in Syria, said Father Aleksandr Volkov, spokesman for the Russian patriarchate. Other patriarchs taking part included Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria and Greek Orthodox Patriarch John X of Antioch and all the East, according to Patriarch Kirill. "Each of them has expressed a willingness to continue consultations to find a way to stop the bloodshed," he added. The Syrian Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs of Syria also publicly condemned the "brutal aggression" of the U.S.-led allied missile attack and called upon all churches in the countries that participated to likewise condemn the attack and urge their governments to work toward international peace.

Is foreign financing influencing Lebanese elections?

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by Bilal Maleb - trtworld.com --  International donors have pledged $11 billion in financing to Lebanon four weeks before the election. Considering the rampant corruption in the country, it's worth asking if this gives an edge to Lebanon's incumbents. While the international community is busy following the Russian interference in the US, elsewhere in the world ‘legitimised’ political interference is running rampant. In an unprecedented move, the international community met in Paris early April to provide finance for Lebanon in what is now known as CEDRE I conference – a rebranded version of previous Paris I, II, and III conferences. Around four weeks before the Lebanese elections, scheduled for May 6, some 50 countries participated in a conference that pledged more than $11 billion in support to the Lebanese government. The government had a perfect pitch: we have a refugee crisis; since you do not want our refugees; give us money now. The issue at hand is not whether Lebanon should be given yet another loan, but rather the timing of this conference. The term ‘refugee crisis’ has been used by many incumbents in recent months as electoral snot. At the heart of the matter, had the government been effective in designing policies and implementing them, these refugees could have become an asset rather than a burden.

So, what crisis is this?

Indeed, the crisis is for the refugees themselves who were forced out of their homes and into Lebanon - and the other is the governance crisis in the state of Lebanon. Lebanon is plagued with a corruption crisis, ranking 143 out of 175 in terms of corruption according to Transparency International. Until recently, Lebanon had not passed a budget bill for nearly a decade and enjoys a public debt among the highest in the world, reaching around 150 percent of GDP. Given the growth of the economy (or lack thereof), the crippled infrastructure, and poor service delivery, it is clear that some investment (whether sourced from international finance or domestic reform – preferably the latter) is certainly needed. The only real and sustainable solution is to plug the leakages in the corrupt system from tax collection to revenues from ports and airports, by reforming public procurement processes, and reducing waste in the energy sector as well as every other public entity. Resorting to international finance only contributes to increasing the public debt. Other countries have gone through this process of reform and are reaping the results. So why can’t Lebanon? Elections are seen by many as an exercise in democracy and sovereignty, so foreign interference and the misuse of international aid and credit can pose an austere threat to democracy.

So, why now?

The hypothesis here is ‘legitimised’ political interference. Indeed, some studies suggest that incumbents in governments of low and middle income countries often refuse channelling foreign aid through NGOs, as they perceive them to be political opponents. While civil society groups are named and shamed for allegedly receiving foreign financial support, the state actors are receiving said aid under the legal umbrella of international finance. Internationally, some foreign aid is channelled through NGOs. If donors are sincere about their claims of supporting the people of Lebanon and the Syrian refugees, why weren’t these gifts and loans channelled through non-state, non-partisan, and transparent (but national) actors? A recent study suggests that elections can create incentives for the misuse of foreign aid and “governments have consistently influenced the aid allocation process in favour of copartisan and coethnic voters”. In fact, allegations have already been made – less than a week after CEDRE I – that public funds are being spent in ways that can be construed as electoral spending and propaganda. Of course, the international community is already aware of this. The CEO of the World Bank, Kristalina Georgieva, suggested that the government has shown signs of remorse through passing a budget bill. A recording of an alleged IMF auditor was leaked earlier this month where he resembled Lebanon to an alcoholic who promises to get sober and a state that is plagued with the corruption cancer. Consequently, donors are faced with a predicament: either to monitor and directly allocate funds to projects, which undermines the role of the Lebanese state, or to face the very likelihood that these funds may lose their way within the corrupt vaults of the Lebanese government. Indeed, effective May 7 the current cabinet is considered dissolved, and a different – yet probably similar – government will decide how to spend this new line of credit. In light of this knowledge, why is the international community it enabling this corrupt regime and reinstating their power in Lebanon? This is not a conspiracy theory, it is merely a critical reading of the facts. These elections and the next four years are the country’s only remaining glimpse of hope. Whether new actors or the incumbents win the race, it doesn’t matter. What matters is to rejuvenate the institutions and allow a transparent accountability mechanism through the elections, enabling the country to stand on its own two feet. The timing of CEDRE I showed that this form of foreign aid departed from its historical purpose of focusing exclusively on socioeconomic challenges, to giving the incumbents an edge against potential entrants into the political scene. So, a simple question begs itself: could CEDRE I not have waited for a new government to form? Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, of khazen.org viewpoints and editorial policies of TRT World.

Government measures needed to revive dropping Lebanese property sector

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by annahar - TK Maloy -- BEIRUT: The Byblos Bank Real Estate Index reported a sharp decline for the first quarter of 2018, according to a statement issued by the bank on Wednesday . The Index posted a monthly average of 33.2 points in the first quarter of 2018, constituting a decline of 26.1 percent from 44.9 points in the fourth quarter of 2017 and a decrease of 23.7 percent from 43.5 points in the first quarter of 2017. The first-quarter results constitute their lowest level since the second quarter of 2015 and their third lowest level in 43 quarterly readings. Further, the Index’s average monthly score in the first quarter of 2018 came 74.7 percent lower from the peak of 131 points registered in the second quarter of 2010 and remains 70 percent below the annual peak of 109.8 points posted in 2010. Also, it is 45 percent lower than the Index's monthly trend average score of 60.3 points since the Index’s inception in July 2007. Nassib Ghobril, Byblos Chief Economist, said: "Demand for housing in Lebanon declined sharply in the first quarter of 2018 due to the suspension of interest-rate subsidies on housing loans at the beginning of the year.” ''Banque du Liban, in cooperation commercial banks, has subsidized interest rates on housing loans since 2009 through various measures and mechanisms,” said Ghobril, adding, “The subsidies were supposed to be temporary in order to give the executive branch time to develop a housing policy. But the successive governments took these measures for granted, as they assumed that the subsidies would continue indefinitely.”

The economist noted that both citizens and the sector benefited for nearly nine years from these measures, but now the available funds to subsidize interest rates on mortgages have been exhausted. This, in turn, has reduced local demand and negatively affected people’s decision to buy a house in the first three months of the year. He added that the majority of Lebanese have found themselves priced out of the market without any subsidy support, which significantly impacted their decisions to buy or build a house. “The suspension of the subsidy program will weigh on the willingness of prospective buyers to acquire a residential unit, given that buying a house constitutes one of the most important investment decisions for the Lebanese, and the value of a house is usually the single most important non-financial asset for Lebanese residents,” he said. According to the Byblos statement, the answers of respondents to the Index's survey questions in the first quarter reflected this trend, as only 3.8 percent of Lebanese residents had plans to either buy or build a residential property in the coming six months compared to 5.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017. “The intentions of the Lebanese to buy or build a house need a conducive environment in order to translate into actual sales, which, in turn, requires immediate measures and incentives from the government.'' In this context, Ghobril reiterated the need for the government to revive demand through two immediate measures. First, the government should inject $500 million into the banking system in 2018 in order to revive the mortgage subsidies. Second, the government should reduce from six percent to three percent the registration fee on all purchased residential units, not just on apartments whose price is $250,000 or less as stipulated in the government’s budget for 2018. He noted that buyers of apartments that are priced at $250,000 or less were already exempt from registration fees if they qualified for loans through the Public Corporation for Housing, which was the case for the vast majority of mortgages that commercial banks approved in 2017.

Annahar asked a variety of young home shoppers about their plans given the current situation, with the common answer being that there was little question of trying to buy something in the near term, which meant waiting. For some residential shoppers – such as one engaged young executive Annahar spoke with – instead of the unavailable lower rates of the subsidy program, he is finding himself paying a call on the commercial banking sector, where interest rates range on average between 7 to 8 percent. “It remains the sole responsibility of the executive branch to develop a housing policy that would provide citizens access to affordable housing, with the banking sector standing ready to support a properly developed housing policy,” Ghobril said.

Saudi Arabia reaffirms offer to deploy troops in Syria

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by middleeasteye.net  - Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir reaffirmed on Tuesday the kingdom's willingness to deploy troops to Syria as part of US-led efforts to stabilise the conflict-torn country. Speaking at a press conference alongside UN chief Antonio Guterres, Al-Jubeir said that Riyadh had held previous discussions with America to deploy troops in Syria after the civil war began. "We are in discussions with the US and have been since the beginning of the Syrian crisis (in 2011) about sending forces into Syria," Jubeir said at a press conference in Riyadh. The comments were in response to a Wall Street Journal report on Monday that US President Donald Trump's administration was seeking to assemble an Arab force, including troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to help stabilise Syria. The report follows weekend strikes by the United States, Britain and France against Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad's regime that hit targets they said were linked to its chemical weapons programme. Jubeir emphasised the proposal to send its troops was "not new". "We made a proposal to the (previous US) Obama administration that if the US were to send forces... then Saudi Arabia would consider along with other countries sending forces as part of this contingent," he said. Syria's war, the most tangled of the region's conflicts, is a crucial point of contention pitting Riyadh and its allies, who mainly back Sunni Muslim rebels, against forces loyal to Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah. Riyadh and Shiite rival Tehran also back opposing sides in other hotspots across the mainly Sunni Middle East, including Lebanon, Iraq and Saudi Arabia's southern neighbour, Yemen.

The announcement by Saudi Arabia comes amid heightened tensions between Russia and the west as the war of words continue to escalate on the diplomatic stage. Syrian state media said on Tuesday that inspectors had entered Douma to begin its investigation over the suspected chemical attack that took place in the area. "Experts from the chemical weapons committee enter the town of Douma," SANA wrote on its website. The OPCW told Middle East Eye that it could not confirm or deny that its inspectors had entered Douma. France said it is "highly likely" that evidence disappeared before weapons experts arrived in the area. On Monday, Syrian and Russian authorities had prevented inspectors from going to the scene in Douma. Damascus and Moscow had both denied using poison gas and issued statements from hospital workers in Douma, claiming that no chemical attack no place.