Home - el Khazen Family Prince of Maronites : Lebanese Families Keserwan Lebanon

Irregular migrants from Lebanon +176% in 2022, UN

Details

(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, JANUARY 9 - The number of people who attempted last year to reach Europe from Lebanon irregularly increased by 176%, according to figures just released by the Beirut office of the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR. UNHCR spokesperson Lisa Abou Khaled was quoted as saying by French-language Lebanese daily L'Orient-Le Jour that from January to December 2022, a reported 4,334 people tried to flee dire living conditions in Lebanon, which has struggled with financial collapse over the past three years and for the past decade has suffered the effects of the war in neighbouring Syria. In 2021, 1,570 irregular migrants departed from Lebanon, according to data provided by UNHCR. And in 2020, 794 fled by sea.

Last year, 62% of irregular migrants from Lebanon were Syrian, 11% Palestinian and 28% Lebanese. The figure was on the rise compared to the previous years: in 2021 Lebanese migrants were 11% (186 out of 1,570) and in 2020 they were 18% (148 out of 794). The significant increase of irregular migrants from Lebanon and the rising percentage of Lebanese nationals fleeing the country was attributed to worsening social and economic conditions in the country, which has been rocked by the worst financial crisis in its history. According to the UN, more than 80% of the population residing in Lebanon - including Syrian refugees, Palestinians and seasonal workers of other nationalities - live below the poverty line.(ANSAmed).

Saudi Arabia set to overtake India as fastest-growing major economy this year

Details

by arabnews.com -- NIRMAL NARAYANAN -- RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is set to overtake India as the fastest-growing major economy in 2023, driven by gains from energy prices. According to official data released by India’s Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, Saudi Arabia is expected to outpace India with 7.6 percent gross domestic product growth as the rising revenues from higher energy prices continue to bolster the Kingdom’s economy. This puts India in the second position with an expected GDP growth rate of 7 percent in the fiscal year ending March, as weakening demand has hampered the growth prospects of Asia’s third-largest economy. “The growth in real GDP during 2022-23 is estimated at 7 percent, compared to 8.7 percent in 2021-22,” said the Indian ministry in a statement.

The Indian government is using this estimate to decide its spending priorities in the upcoming union budget that will be presented on Feb.1, 2023, which will also be the last full-year expenditure plan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government before elections in 2024. Even though India started the ongoing fiscal year on a good note, monetary policies adopted by the Reserve Bank of India to combat inflation have apparently tampered with the growth curve of the nation. India's central bank, which has raised its benchmark rate by 225 basis points so far this fiscal year, is expected to announce further hike after its policy review meeting scheduled between Feb. 6 to 8.

AI got $1.37B of investments last year

Details

By Ruiqi Chen, Editor at LinkedIn News -- OpenAI’s expected $29 billion valuation is only the latest signal of the artificial intelligence craze even as the tech industry faces layoffs and tough economic conditions. Investors funneled more money into generative AI companies in 2022 than in the previous five years combined, reaching a total of $1.37 billion, according to Pitchbook. The excitement saw companies like AI text startup Jasper valued at $1.5 billion in October, around a year after it was founded, and image generator Stability AI reached a $1 billion valuation at the same time. LinkedIn parent company Microsoft invested $1 billion in OpenAI in 2019 and is in talks with the company for more funding.

Lebanese judges to end months-long strike on Monday

Details

Lebanese judges are set to end their five-month strike after an agreement on financial assistance was reached. Judicial work should resume progressively on Monday, The National has been told. The deal struck with the judges’ mutual fund for financial assistance aims to improve judges' purchasing power after their salaries were slashed by more than 95 per cent amid a sharp currency depreciation. Lebanon's unprecedented economic crisis, described by the World Bank as one of the worst in modern history, has taken a huge toll on judicial staff — and all the public sector’s professions. Judges started a strike in mid-August to protest against the decline of their salaries and the deterioration of their work conditions. As judges join strike for better pay and conditions ordinary Lebanese suffer This led to paralysis of the judicial system, with some of the nation’s top courts completely halting their activities, including for urgent judiciary matters.

Last week, the general assembly of judges agreed on new financial support, “ranging between $500 and $1200 per month, which will be financed by the Ministry of Finance, through the judges’ mutual fund”, a judicial source told The National. This is a type of monthly bonus, and not a salary increase, because “this would have implied a revaluation of the end-of-service indemnities”, the person said, who was not involved in the negotiations. Following the decision, the Supreme Judicial Council called “judges to return to the exercise of their duties, in a way that secures the continuity of the judicial public service”, in a statement published on Thursday. It is not known how the cash-strapped country will finance this new financial support in dollars, as details remain sparse. A Ministry of Finance representative said they did not have information on the mechanism and The National could not reach the Ministry of Justice for comment.

Mercedes to build EV charger network

Details

By Saundra Latham, Editor at LinkedIn News -- Mercedes-Benz aims to build a North American network of 2,500 high-powered EV chargers by 2027, putting it in direct competition with Tesla and its extensive network of Superchargers. The plan, announced Thursday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, will see the chargers spread among some 400 hubs and is expected to cost more than US$1 billion. Mercedes drivers will get priority access by being able to pre-book chargers, the automaker says. MN8 Energy, a renewable-energy firm, is partnering with Mercedes on the project and will foot half the bill.

Tesla's Supercharger network, which includes about 16,000 U.S. locations, has been a major lure for customers who want easy access to chargers, The Wall Street Journal writes.

Lebanese judiciary files charges against 7 over UNIFIL attack

Details

by naharnet -- Lebanon has charged seven people for participating in an attack against United Nations peacekeepers that killed one Irish soldier in mid-December, a judicial official told AFP on Thursday. Private Sean Rooney, 23, was killed and three others were injured on December 14 when their U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) vehicle was attacked near the village of al-Aqbiyeh in the south of the country, a stronghold of the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah. UNIFIL urged Beirut to ensure a swift investigation, the first violent death of one of its peacekeepers in nearly eight years. Seven bullets pierced the U.N. vehicle, one hitting the driver in the head, judicial sources said. Only one of the seven charged is in custody, Mohammed Ayyad, who was handed over to the army by Hezbollah last month. On Wednesday, Ayyad was charged "with killing the Irish soldier and attempting to kill his three comrades by shooting them with a machine gun," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they did not have permission to speak to the media. The judge also charged six fugitives "for uttering threats with an illegal weapon, destroying the UNIFIL vehicle and intimidating its passengers," the official added.

SpaceX valued at $137 billion

Details

Elon Musk's SpaceX is seeking to raise $750 million in a new round of funding that values the rocket maker and satellite internet company at $137 billion, CNBC reports, citing correspondence. The funding round will likely be led by venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz, also known as a16z, which also participated in Musk’s $44 billion Twitter buyout. Reuters reported in November that SpaceX was in talks about an offering of secondary shares that would value the company at up to $150 billion.

SpaceX raised more than $2 billion in 2022 and was valued at $127 billion during a May funding round, CNBC reported.