Exclusive: Lebanese crisis plan ready in weeks, will meet IMF recommendations - minister

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By Tom Perry and Ellen Francis BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's plan to tackle a financial and economic crisis will meet IMF recommendations and will be ready in weeks, the finance minister said on Thursday, adding that any recourse to an IMF program must be politically agreed and its terms should not cause suffering. Speaking days after the heavily indebted state declared it could not meet coming debt payments, Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni also told Reuters the official exchange rate of the Lebanese pound would be maintained for the "foreseeable future", saying this helped control inflation among other factors. The plan being drawn up by Prime Minister Hassan Diab's government will form the cornerstone of efforts to pull Lebanon out of the worst financial crisis since independence in 1943. It will cover banking, financial and other economic reforms.

Lebanon has so far requested technical assistance from the IMF but not financial aid that would typically come as part of a program of reforms. A team of IMF experts visited Lebanon last month. IMF spokesman Gerry Rice, speaking before Wazni's remarks, underscored the need for Lebanon to draft a comprehensive plan. "Given the severity of economic conditions in Lebanon, it's important that the government designs and implements properly a comprehensive package of reforms to effectively address the economic challenges and improve Lebanon's economic prospects," he said. Wazni said the IMF was ready to send experts back to Lebanon once the plan was ready. The government's plan would meet "the recommendations of the IMF" and include a plan that Beirut is drawing up with the World Bank. Wazni said Lebanon was in need of $25 billion to $30 billion of assistance over the next five years to get out of the crisis. "Lebanon welcomes all international financial assistance without exceptions. But when it comes to the IMF, this depends on several matters: that the understanding with the IMF - if Lebanon resorts to it - ... does not negatively affect the political situation in Lebanon," Wazni said.

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Lebanon to ban flights from 11 coronavirus-hit countries

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by thenational.ae --Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Wednesday announced that Lebanon would be halting flights to and from several countries to try to curb the spread of coronavirus, moments before the World Health Organisation officially declared it a pandemic. “All air, sea and land travel will be stopped to and from the following countries: Italy, South Korea, Iran, and China,” Mr Diab said, without specifying when flights would be suspended. Lebanon will also suspend flights "from countries that have witnessed an important spread of the virus: France, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Germany, Spain and Britain, by air, land or sea,” he said.

By Timour Azhari Al jazeera-- Beirut - Lebanon will ban all travel to and from 11 countries that have witnessed significant outbreaks of the coronavirus, including an immediate ban on Italy, Iran, China and South Korea. Authorities will give a four-day grace period to Lebanese citizens, and their families who are seeking to return to Lebanon from France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, Iraq, Egypt and Syria before also banning all travel to and from those countries, Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced on Wednesday.

The ban includes travel by land, sea and air. Diab's announcement at a news conference came as Lebanon registered its second death from the coronavirus on Sunday, - a man in his 50s who reportedly had pre-existing conditions - while the total number of infections rose to 61. Conversely, Lebanon's first registered coronavirus patient, a woman who returned from Iran in late February, was announced to be entirely free of the virus. The global pandemic has seen more than 122,000 people infected, with deaths nearing 4,500. Many countries in the Middle East have taken similar steps of banning travel, including Saudi Arabia, which has banned flights to and from Lebanon. While Diab stopped short of announcing a state of emergency, he asked local authorities to prevent all large gatherings of people. Bars, nightclubs and exhibition centres were already ordered to close over the weekend until March 15, while schools and universities have been shuttered since the beginning of March. Diab also called on businesses and public institutions to work with the minimum required number of employees needed to maintain productivity.

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In the bitter struggle for Saudi rule, Prince Mohammed bin Salman has struck first

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By Madawi al-Rasheed-- All is not well in the House of Saud. On 7 March, Mohammed bin Salman, the young crown prince and future king of Saudi Arabia, boldly dispatched his masked security personnel to bring two of Saudi’s most senior princes, Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz and Muhammad bin Nayef, to the palace after a hunting trip in the desert. It’s still unclear whether they have been detained for short-term interrogations or to be imprisoned. What’s certain is that Prince Mohammed’s decision was a preemptive strike to intimidate those who have dared question his leadership style from inside the royal household. Although Mohammed is the crown prince, he plays the role of king. He remains in control of all economic, political, social and foreign relations, and eclipses his father, King Salman, as unofficial ruler of Saudi Arabia. The arrests were ordered after the royal court was passed details of an alleged plot to undermine Prince Mohammed’s ascendance to the throne. Among the two princes he arrested, Ahmed is the most eligible to become king – he is the only remaining brother of the incumbent King Salman and would have been first in line had his brother not promoted his own heir, much to Ahmed’s chagrin.

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Lebanon Banks, Prosecutor Agree Rules for Easing Deposit Restrictions

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by aawsat.com -- Lebanon's public prosecutor has agreed with commercial banks a set of rules aimed at protecting the rights of depositors, state news agency NNA reported on Tuesday, potentially easing restrictions on deposits amid a dollar shortage. Lebanese banks, fearing capital flight and grappling with an acute hard currency crunch, have imposed tight controls on withdrawals and transfers abroad, drawing outrage from depositors unable to access their savings. The agreement, which appears to be an attempt in part to standardize rules across the sector, states banks must transfer foreign currency abroad for payment of school fees, medical costs, taxes and "all that is necessary," as well as for imports of medical supplies, foodstuffs not produced in Lebanon, and goods deemed critical by the central bank, NNA reported. These include lenders allowing depositors to withdraw up to 25 million Lebanese pounds a month (around $16,500 under the official exchange rate). Other measures include allowing transfers abroad in hard currency for education fees, medical bills, tax purposes, “and everything else necessary,” NNA said. Banks would not be allowed to withhold any part of money freshly transferred into a Lebanese account.

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Lebanon's Government Is Accused Of Swarming WhatsApp To Catch Protesters

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npr.org -- DEBORAH AMOS -- In Lebanon, cyberspace is the new battle ground between protesters and the security services that have increased measures to curb dissent, intimidating and arresting government critics for online speech. Since October, Lebanese citizens have gathered to protest around the country, uniting across party and sectarian lines against an entrenched political oligarchy that protesters say has made fortunes mostly from government funds at the expense of the country. The massive outpouring was sparked by a proposed tax on calls made through Internet services such as WhatsApp. The government abandoned the tax after protesters paralyzed the country, forcing banks and schools to close. Now, the authorities use WhatsApp to identify protest leaders and arrest them, activists and lawyers say. In the first months of civil disobedience, Lebanon's mainstream media outlets — largely owned by the state, political parties or politicians — downplayed the unrest, ignored it or suggested the protests were exploited by regional and international enemies. Activists turned to social media platforms to get out their message. They organized and shared updates on WhatsApp, streamed protests live on Twitter and highlighted police abuse on Instagram. New podcasts documenting corruption also launched with the protest movement.

New cat-and-mouse game

Many Lebanese use WhatsApp, a Facebook-owned cellphone app that allows users to send each other encrypted text and voice messages as well as make calls for free, in a country where ordinary phone calls are expensive. Many demonstrators have used WhatsApp chat groups to criticize the government, call protesters to the streets and share videos of arrests and injuries from rubber bullets. The social media and WhatsApp activities also leave activists vulnerable to surveillance by the Internal Security Forces' Cybercrimes Bureau. Mohamad Najem, executive director of the Social Media Exchange, a Beirut-based digital rights group, says there is a "different kind of cat-and-mouse" game. "Social media is being used as a tool to identify protesters and to know who they are and their networks and all that," he says. Lebanon's print media, its newspapers and magazines, are protected by laws that are the envy of the Arab world, but comments posted to social media have little protection, says Najem. "The law is bad, it's a lot of gray area. It really depends on the mood of the general prosecutor, what he's doing, what kind of whiskey he is drinking at night, who is talking to him," he says. "All these issues are really how the decisions processes are made in this country."

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Analysts: Economic Troubles, Coronavirus Fears Make Lebanese Nervous

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By Dale Gavlak -- AMMAN - Lebanon's government has officially defaulted on its payment of a $1.2 billion Eurobond debt due Monday. This marks the first default in Lebanon's financial history, as it copes with dwindling foreign currency reserves and inflation running into double digits. In the past, the country once known as the Switzerland of the Middle East managed to repay debt, despite civil war and political unrest. But now it faces the challenge of securing loans amid global economic issues and the coronavirus outbreak. The situation has left many Lebanese concerned, said Habib Malik of the Lebanese American University. The national news agency says 41 coronavirus cases have been reported in Lebanon, one of several Middle Eastern countries grappling with the infection and its economic implications. "People are very, very nervous," Malik said. "If a global economic recession is going to kick in because of this epidemic, then this will simply mean that there will be less money for countries like Lebanon, ailing for other reasons. "Right now, the Diab government is being very honest and realistic with the people and the debtors that Lebanon would like to negotiate a restructuring of the debts. In the next couple of weeks, we will see the representatives of the debtors and the Lebanese government come together to try work out a deal. It’s going to be slow and rough going," Malik added.

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