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In Lebanon, empty flats raise fears of real estate collapse

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AFP/ Beirut Ghostly apartment blocks and half-built buildings dot Lebanon, as entrepreneurs and experts fear that the country’s key real estate sector is on the brink of collapse. The small Mediterranean country’s construction sector witnessed an unprecedented boom from 2008, fuelled in part by sales to wealthy Gulf Arabs and Lebanese expatriates. But after civil war broke out in neighbouring Syria in 2011, political insecurity caused these sales to dwindle and local demand to drop. A slump in oil prices from 2014 compounded this slowdown, leaving thousands of apartments unsold across Beirut, and forcing some developers to freeze construction sites. “Some 3,600 unsold apartments exist today in Beirut alone,” says Guillaume Boudisseau, an expert at the Ramco real estate consultancy firm. In front of Beirut’s port, a building dubbed “The Coast” is one of many luxurious apartment blocks desperately looking for buyers.

The tower was completed in 2014, boasting views over the Mediterranean and moored cargo ships from its 500-square-metre apartments. But in the four years since, just two of its 21 flats have been sold. “When we started works in 2010, the context was very different,” said owner Hussein Abdallah, who had hoped to make lucrative sales. Instead, the businessman had to hand over ownership of eight flats in the building to the bank to pay off his debt. Other entrepreneurs have decided to halt building altogether. A road back from the Beirut seafront, the construction of another tower grinded to a halt two years ago, with only the concrete outer shell completed. “We only sold a single apartment off plan,” its owner said, asking to remain anonymous. He reduced the price by 20%, “but it didn’t help”, he added. Near the capital’s iconic Martyrs’ Square, the foundations of another high-brow project — “Beb Beirut” — stand frozen in time, concrete pillars jutting out from the ground, and rusty rebar rods protruding from them. Still cranes loom overhead, while all around the stunted construction site sparkling new apartment blocks appear completely empty. Owner Mireille Choufany decided to stop building two years ago. “Demand is almost non-existent,” she said.

Outside the capital, real estate sales have also dwindled. Sales dropped by 19% during the first 10 months of the year in southern Lebanon, and by the same percentage in the north, according to the country’s real estate registry. Multi-confessional Lebanon has been without a government since May, threatening to derail an already fragile economy. The deadlock is the latest in a series of political crises that make Lebanese reluctant to invest in apartments — both luxury and smaller-scale. To make matters worse, at the start of the year, the central bank suspended a subsidy to real estate loans for less well-off Lebanese. Among them, 33-year-old bank employee Marwan, who signed a contract to buy a flat in January. “The next day, I learnt that the subsidised loans had been suspended”, he said, asking that his family name be withheld. Marwan paid 20% of the apartment’s cost when he signed, but “was counting on the loan to pay the rest”, he said. “Now I risk losing the amount I already paid, without even getting a flat.”

To avoid a devaluation of the Lebanese pound — which has been trading at a fixed rate of 1,500 against the dollar since the mid-1990s — banks increased deposit rates, causing lending rates to jump more than 10%, which further discourages buyers from taking out loans. A banking source said they feared any collapse of the real estate sector could have repercussions on the banking sector. Builders and home buyers owe $24bn to banks, which is equivalent to more than a third of credits to the private sector, the source said. To avoid disaster, bank and real estate companies launched an investment platform in October that aims to raise $250mn to purchase some of the unsold properties. “The aim is to buy up more than 200 flats in greater Beirut and sell them on the foreign market,” focusing on Lebanese expatriates, said Massaad Fares, head of the Legacy One platform. But Wael el-Zein, chief of Lucid Investment Bank which is taking part in the project, says that it will not even cover 10% of unsold dwellings. “It’s a lifebuoy to avoid drowning, while waiting for political respite,” he said. Jihad Hokayem, a real estate investment expert at the Lebanese American University, agreed such initiatives were only temporary fixes. “These measures cover up existing or potential bankruptcies. It’s the beginning of a total collapse” of the real estate sector, he said.

Lebanese President Seeks to Find Ways to End Cabinet Deadlock

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by aawsat.com-- Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat President Michel Aoun is working on a solution to the cabinet crisis, and has informed his visitors that he might send a letter to Parliament for examining constitutional measures that could push all parties to assume responsibility in resolving the stalemate, informed sources in Beirut told Asharq Al-Awsat on Thursday. “Aoun believes that there should be an exit (to the cabinet crisis) soon, because he believes that the latest developments began to damage his powers and are driving the country towards bigger crises,” the sources said.

A proposal to form a 32 instead of a 30-member cabinet has so far failed to produce a breakthrough. Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri has not yet expressed his stance, although both Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri have backed the idea. The initiative, which was first made by caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, stipulates adding two ministers to the proposed 30-member line up - One representing the Christian minorities and the second the Allawite sect.

Commenting on the proposal, caretaker Education Minister Marwan Hamadeh, who is close to Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat, said: “We have not been given the proposal’s details. We are still attached to our position of supporting a national unity government, which includes all parties.” MP Michel Moussa from Berri’s parliamentary bloc denied reports saying the March 8 alliance was planning to withdraw its nomination for Hariri to form the next government. “No such article in the Lebanese Constitution allows this measure,” he said.

'The brightest of a thousand points of light': George H.W. Bush eulogized by son at funeral

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By Dartunorro Clark --nbcnews --- Former President George H.W. Bush, who died Friday at age 94, was honored Wednesday at a state funeral at the Washington National Cathedral with stories of his bravery in wartime, his compassion and loyalty, and his love of family, friends and country. George W. Bush, the 43rd president, gave a tearful eulogy of his father, peppered with jokes and personal reminiscences. He said his father taught his children about the importance of public service and how to live a life with grace, humility and kindness. "He was a genuinely optimistic man," Bush said. "And that optimism guided his children, and made each of us believe that anything was possible." He added, “To us, his was the brightest of a thousand points of light,” referring to the phrase popularized by his father when he accepted the presidential nomination at the 1988 Republican National Convention. Bush said that his father also showed him "what it means to be a president who leads with integrity." He recalled his father's final moments just days ago. Bush said he called his dad, who was unable to speak at the time, and told him he loved him. "The last words he would say on earth is, 'I love you, too,'" Bush said.

During the final moments of his eulogy, Bush's voice broke and he fought back tears as he imagined his father in Heaven. "Dad is hugging Robin and holding mom's hand again," he said, referring to George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush's daughter who died in 1953 from leukemia at the age of 3. Jon Meacham, his biographer, was the first eulogist and told the story of Bush's plane being shot down during World War II and how he was rescued. "George Herbert Walker Bush was America's last great soldier-statesmen," Meacham said, adding that the former president believed in causes larger than himself. "He believed that to whom much is given, much is expected." Meacham drew laughter from the mourners when he recalled how, on the campaign trail, an over-eager Bush once shook the hand of a department store mannequin as he sought votes. Realizing his mistake, Bush quipped, "Never know, gotta ask."

‘A man of faith and humility’ Catholics remember President George H.W. Bush

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By Courtney Grogan Washington D.C., (CNA).- George H.W. Bush, who died late Friday, served as a fighter pilot in World War II, head of the CIA, vice president under Ronald Reagan, and as the 41st president of the United States. But he maintained throughout his last years that his most important role was that of a father of six. “I can honestly say that the three most rewarding titles bestowed upon me are the three that I’ve got left: a husband, a father and a granddad,” Bush said in 1997 at the opening of his presidential library in Houston. In the days following the president’s death, Catholics around the country remembered the 41st president for his character and family values. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference and Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, offered prayers for the former president and for his family, and praised Bush as a “courageous man, dedicated leader and selfless public servant.” As a congressman, Bush represented Texas’ seventh congressional district, which is within DiNardo’s archdiocese. “President Bush’s career in the public eye – from the Lone Star State to the global stage – was marked by incredible statesmanship and honor,” DiNardo said in a statement released by the archdiocese. “His strong faith in God, devotion to his wife of 73 years, the late First Lady Barbara Bush, and his boundless love for the covenant of family served as a model for all to follow. The City of Houston was very proud to call him one of our own and one of our brightest points of light. We will forever be grateful for his presence and commitment to our community and to the people of Houston.” Bush’s marriage to Barbara, who died earlier this year, was the longest marriage in the history of the American presidency.

In his speech at the 1992 Knights of Columbus convention, President Bush, an Episcopalian, spoke of the importance of character and morality in American society. “I think my parents were like yours: They brought me up to understand that our fundamental moral standards were established by Almighty God. They taught me that if you have something for yourself, you should give half to a friend. They taught me to take the blame when things go wrong and share the credit when things go right. These ideas were supported by society,” he told the Knights. Joseph Cullen, a spokesman for the Knights of Columbus, told CNA that Bush had “a wonderful feel for what makes America great: her people and their individual communities, including faith communities.” “He knew that religious liberty produced varied and wonderful fruits, especially in the areas of charity and service. He knew us at the Knights. He encouraged us and did so personally at two of our conventions, including in 1992 as president. We are grateful to have known him and now pray for him and his family” Cullen said. Bush noted in 1992 that there was a “disturbing trend” in “the rise of legal theories and practices that reject our Judeo-Christian tradition.” “The President should set the moral tone for this nation,” Bush said. Other bishops and Catholic voices have issued their own tributes to the 41st president. “A gracious and humble man who lived a life of service to others, President George H.W. Bush is remembered as a man of character, a husband and father who did his best to bring about a kinder and gentler nation. He guided our country during difficult times with grace, dignity and courage,” Bishop Nelson Perez of Cleveland said Dec. 1.

Foreign students are skipping the US

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by linked-in -- Over the past two years, foreign student enrollment in American universities declined by 10%, according to the International Institute of Education. The decline — a major reversal from recent years — threatens the nation’s $42 billion higher education market. What’s keeping students away? Immigration concerns, tuition costs and fears about physical safety in the U.S., the BBC reports. The situation would be worse if not for China, which had 360,000 students in the U.S. in 2018, up from 60,000 in 2000.

A high-five from Putin and that awkward photograph - Saudi prince's G20 summit

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BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin walked up to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at a summit of G20 world leaders, high-fived him and then shook his hand heartily. Moments earlier the prince had been pictured on the far edge of the traditional “family portrait” photograph, ignored by other leaders. The two moments captured the dilemma facing world leaders at the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires this weekend: How to deal with the crown prince, who is dogged by controversy over the murder of a Saudi journalist but is also de facto leader of a rich, oil-producing kingdom that is a major global investor. To be sure Putin’s exuberant greeting of the prince was seen as over the top and promptly went viral. But, while leaders appeared to ignore Prince Mohammed on stage during the “family photo,” many went on to have closed-door bilateral meetings with him during the two-day summit. The Saudi government media office, in a statement responding to an earlier Reuters story about Prince Mohammed being sidelined in the photo, said he was standing “in the same proximity to the center of the group” as in a similar photo at the G20 summit in China two years ago. The crown prince, facing a global outcry over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul two months ago, had conversations with at least 12 world leaders. Three of them, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron, said publicly they had pressed Prince Mohammed for a full investigation into the murder.

Saudi Arabia has said the prince had no prior knowledge of Khashoggi’s murder. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said the killing was ordered by the highest level of Saudi leadership but probably not King Salman, putting the spotlight instead on the 33-year-old crown prince. Trudeau said he had a frank conversation with the prince at a leaders’ dinner on Friday, telling him there was “a need for better answers on the killing of Khashoggi.” May said she called for a full, credible and transparent investigation, while Macron insisted the crown prince allow international investigators to take part in any inquiry. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has defended U.S. ties with Saudi Arabia, “exchanged pleasantries” with the crown prince, the White House said. Trump has said it may never be known if Prince Mohammed ordered the killing or not. Sources say the CIA believes the crown prince ordered the killing.

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The crown prince also discussed investments and economic partnerships with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Readouts of those meetings did not say whether Xi and Modi had confronted the prince over the Khashoggi case. “China firmly supports Saudi Arabia in its drive for economic diversification and social reform, and will continue to stick together with Saudi Arabia on issues involving their core interests,” Xi said, according to China’s official Xinhua news agency. Modi and Prince Mohammed discussed scaling up investments in India’s tech, farm and energy sectors, according to an Indian official and the Saudi news agency (SPA). Before the start of the gathering, Argentinian President Mauricio Macri had said it was possible that the accusations against the crown prince could be discussed when the leaders convened. In the end, they were not. Days before the summit, Human Rights Watch called on Argentina to use a war crimes clause in its constitution to investigate any involvement by the crown prince in possible crimes against humanity in Yemen, where a Saudi-led military campaign is under way, and Khashoggi’s murder. The federal prosecutor’s office assigned to review the case had not announced whether a formal investigation would be opened by the close of the summit on Saturday. Reporting by Cassandra Garrison, editing by Ross Colvin and Toby Chopra Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Lebanese politician's Wiam Wahab stand-off with Hariri spirals

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BEIRUT (Reuters) - A stand-off between Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri and a pro-Syrian politician escalated on Saturday when shots were fired while police sought to bring the politician in for questioning over accusations of stirring strife. The past few days have seen a sharp rise in tension in Lebanon, after video emerged of Druze politician Wiam Wahhab filmed at a gathering making obscene personal insults. Although Wahhab did not name the target of his insults in the video, he was widely perceived as referring to Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his father Rafik, a statesman who was killed in 2005. Hariri’s allies filed a legal complaint, accusing Wahhab, an ally of the powerful Shi’ite group Hezbollah, of “stirring strife and risking civil peace” in the video.

The police, in a statement, said officers had gone to Wahhab’s residence in the village of al-Jahiliya on Saturday “with the aim of bringing him” for questioning, but he had fled before their arrival. It said police had not opened fire but unidentified gunmen had shot from neighboring buildings, and Wahhab supporters had fired “randomly”, wounding one of the politician’s aides.

Wahhab was quoted by news organization LBC International as saying one person was wounded in what he described as a clash. “I was subjected today to an attempted assassination and the person who was wounded was meters from me. Let Hariri bear the responsibility of this blood,” he told LBC International in comments reported on its Twitter feed. Wahhab, referring to the video that sparked the legal complaint, said his remarks were “general” and not directed at Hariri’s family. He criticized the security forces for arriving in large numbers, adding: “What happened today means civil war”. The police said a travel ban had been imposed on him. Earlier this week Hariri supporters staged protests and blocked roads after Wahhab denounced Hariri as incompetent in a TV interview. Hariri’s Future Movement has said the Hariris were being targeted by “a campaign of falsehoods” hatched by “sick minds” bent on obstructing efforts to form a new government. Wahhab, who has close ties to the Syrian government, is a prominent figure in Lebanon, although another politician, Walid Jumblatt is the main leader in the Druze community which is guaranteed eight seats in Lebanon’s 128-member parliament. “We support any measure that firms up civil peace and it’s enough that this person or anyone else threatens civil peace,” Jumblatt said on Saturday after a meeting with Hariri. Lebanon has suffered spasms of political crisis and violence since its 1975-90 civil war. Hariri leads a caretaker government but has been unable to form a cabinet since a May parliamentary election, with factions at odds over the division of posts. Reporting by Tom Perry, Laila Bassam and Lisa Barrington; Editing by Peter Graff Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.