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Lebanese president says talks on new PM will begin next Monday and Opposition syndicate of Engineers achieve major victory

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By Najia Houssari -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun announced on Monday that parliamentary consultations to choose a new prime minister will begin on July 26. Lebanon has been run by a caretaker government for nearly a year. Meanwhile the nation’s currency has collapsed, many people have lost their jobs and banks have frozen customers’ accounts in what has been described as one of the most severe financial crises the world has seen in modern times. Saad Hariri, who was chosen as prime minister-designate nine months ago, resigned on Thursday after months of negotiations with Aoun failed to result in the formation of a new government. The previous administration, led by Prime Minister Hassan Diab, resigned amid public anger following the explosion at Beirut’s port on Aug. 4 last year. Since then, the escalating financial collapse has fueled hunger, unrest and fuel shortages as the country struggles with its worst crisis since the civil war that began in 1975. The Central Bank’s foreign reserves are rapidly running out and the nation’s currency has lost most of its value since 2019, pushing more than half of the population into poverty amid soaring prices.

A delegation from the US Department of Treasury’s Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes office arrived in Beirut on Monday. It will meet “with financial sector interlocutors and civil society groups to engage in discussing issues related to corruption, illicit finance and counterterrorism,” according to the US Embassy in Lebanon. Dana Stroul, the US deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, warned on Saturday that “the inability of the Lebanese to put food on their tables could lead to violence.” She also expressed concerns that “the failure to form a government and Hezbollah’s ongoing attempts, due to the support it receives from Iran, to challenge the Lebanese state” are “keeping Lebanon weak and not providing an alternative to the legitimate government.” She added that “the Pentagon is closely monitoring the situation and encouraging Lebanon’s leaders to take prompt steps to prevent the outbreak of this type of violence.” Meanwhile the results of Syndicate of Engineers elections in Beirut on Sunday suggested that voters are beginning to take matters into their own hands.

The opposition Syndicate Revolts coalition, which formed during the Oct. 17, 2019 revolution, achieved a resounding victory over the ruling parties that is unprecedented in the history of syndicate elections in Lebanon.

Washington Post report neglected spyware firm's Democratic connections in hacking investigation

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Rights groups join Facebook in lawsuit against Israeli NSO Group | Middle East Eye

Israeli NSO Group is well known for selling hacking software to government clients

By Lindsay Kornick | Fox News -- The Washington Post neglected to reference an Israeli firm’s Democratic connections when releasing an investigation into a hacking scandal. On Sunday, the Washington Post published an article titled "Private Israeli spyware used to hack cellphones of journalists, activists worldwide." The investigative report revealed the Israeli firm NSO Group was responsible for the successful hacks of 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, activists, and business executives. The piece explained, "Military-grade spyware licensed by an Israeli firm to governments for tracking terrorists and criminals was used in attempted and successful hacks of 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, human rights activists, business executives and two women close to murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to an investigation by The Washington Post and 16 media partners."

The investigation also emphasized that other phones could have likely been targeted as well, conflicting with the NRO Group’s original claim of only targeting terrorists or suspected criminals. This investigation led to the NRO Group’s name trending through Twitter as well as several critiques from journalists. However, the 4000-word article neglected to reference the firm’s connections to an advisor for President Joe Biden. In a Twitter thread, New York Times reporter Kenneth Vogel explained that the NSO Group had paid the company SKDK, the Democratic-aligned firm of Biden advisor Anita Dunn until late 2019. "The Israeli firm NSO GROUP was behind the spyware used to hack journalists & human rights activists, a @WashingtonPost investigation reveals. Not included in the story: NSO GROUP paid @SKDK (BIDEN adviser ANITA DUNN's firm) for advice until late 2019," Vogel tweeted. He further explained, "NSO GROUP also paid BEACON GLOBAL STRATEGIES (a firm started by JEREMY BASH, an MSNBC analyst who served as CIA & Pentagon chief of staff under OBAMA) until early 2020

The truth about the Syrian funds in Lebanese Banks

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The truth about the Syrian funds in Lebanon does not total more than 6 Billion Dollars

And this money was placed in Lebanese banks because they did not have other option

There were many sanctions from the international community not to move out the money from Syria

Bashar Al-Assad Says U.S. Is 'Not Serious' About Defeating ISIS

.. ومصادر مصرفية لبنانية تردّ عليه by annahar.com --
ليست المرة الأولى التي يتحدث فيها الرئيس السوري بشار الأسد عن أن في المصارف اللبنانية ما يراوح بين 40 إلى 60 مليار دولار ودائع للسوريين محتجزة في هذه المصارف ولذلك لا يتمكن الاقتصاد السوري من النهوض. ولا يتحدث الرئيس السوري عن ان تلك الاموال هرّبها اصحابها من المصارف السورية وليسوا في صدد اعادتها ولو تم تحريرها حاليا من لبنان، بل سيجهدون لتحويلها الى دولة ثالثة.
مصادر مصرفية لبنانية استغربت عبر وكالة "أخبار اليوم" هذا الكلام وقالت إن سبب عدم نهوض الاقتصاد السوري هو الحرب التي شهدتها البلاد منذ العام 2011، والعقوبات المفروضة على سوريا ونظامها ومؤسساته، إضافة إلى أن عملية إعادة الإعمار لم تبدأ بعد وليس من دولة واحدة حليفة للنظام السوري بدأت عملها في هذا الإطار، وشددت هذه المصادر على أن كلام الأسد يأتي في إطار الذرائع التي يريد من خلالها تبرير ركود الاقتصاد السوري وتراجعه، متجاهلا المشاكل الداخلية التي يعانيها النظام هناك.

Maronite Bishops Explain Lebanon’s ‘Message’ of Religious Freedom and the Struggles of Lebanese Christians

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Above, Bishop Gregory John Mansour of the U.S. Maronite Catholic Church celebrates Mass in Rome, May 17, 2012. He and his fellow bishops are calling for aid to Lebanon and support of religious freedom there.

by ncregister.com -- WASHINGTON — Bishop Gregory John Mansour of the Eparchy of St. Maron in Brooklyn, New York, and Bishop Abdallah Elias Zaidan of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles spoke with the Register at the 2021 International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. They shared how the beleaguered nation of Lebanon is a “religious haven” for so many faiths, including Christians, and detailed some of the threats and challenges to that coexistence. Bishop Mansour went to Lebanon earlier this month for the synod of bishops’ meeting with the head of the Maronite Church, Patriarch Cardinal Béchara Boutrous Rai.

Bishop Mansour called Lebanon “unique” because “it was formed, on purpose, to be a religious haven for Christians and Muslims.” He summarized the history of its formation, which was “at the initiative of the Maronite patriarch, Patriarch Elias Hoayek,” who in 1919 “went on a boat from Lebanon to Versailles, France, to meet with the Allied forces after they had defeated the Ottoman Empire so that a Lebanon carved out of the Middle East could include Christians and Muslims alike and the boundaries even were purposefully designed so that Sunni, Shiite and Christians could live in conviviality.” “By God’s grace, he got his way, and Lebanon was formed in a national pact between the religious communities, which is at the very heart of it. It was a pact between the religious communities, 18 different communities in Lebanon,” he said. Drawing on the history of its formation, Bishop Mansour said that he and Bishop Zaidan were at the religious-freedom summit in order to “promote and to advocate for a Lebanon that continues to be, as Pope John Paul II said, ‘more than a country, a message.’”

Current Challenges

Bishop Zaidan told the Register that, today, Lebanese Christians are facing challenges to that message, including “fear of that abuse of power outside the government from militia, specifically Hezbollah, that could undermine the existence of the country as an independent country, which means this would undermine democracy.” “That’s why the Church always stands for the government to be a strong, unified government for everybody,” he said. “Lebanon is a country for all, not just the Christians, not just one Muslim [group]; it’s for everybody to have and enjoy religious freedom — freedom at all sides, not freedom from religion, freedom of religion. And we want peace.” He continued, “That’s why our Patriarch Cardinal Rai has been a great advocate for neutrality of Lebanon, so that Lebanon can continue its mission; and we ask all the countries of the world to support that effort and to come together and support Lebanon.”

Syria's Assad says funds frozen in Lebanese banks biggest impediment to investment

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Syria's President Bashar al-Assad addresses the new members of parliament in Damascus, Syria in this handout released by SANA on August 12, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Saturday the main impediment to investment in the country was money stuck in ailing Lebanese banks. In a speech after being sworn in as president for a fourth term, Assad said estimates suggested the frozen funds were worth between $40 billion and $60 billion. "Both figures are enough to depress an economy like ours," he said. Lebanon is in the throes of a deep economic meltdown that is threatening its stability. Lebanese banks have locked depositors out of their accounts and blocked transfers abroad since the start of the country's crisis in late 2019. Many Syrian front companies had long circumvented Western sanctions by using Lebanon's banking system to pay for goods which were then imported into Syria by land.

Assad also said Syria would continue working to overcome difficulties caused by the Western sanctions imposed over its decade-long war. "Sanctions haven't prevented us from securing our basic needs but they have created some choke points," he said. "We will continue to work to overcome them without announcing what methods we used before to do that or what we will use in the future." Syrian authorities blame Western sanctions for widespread hardship, including soaring prices and people struggling to afford food and basic supplies. Assad secured a fourth term in office in a May election, winning more than 95% of the votes.

France to host Lebanon aid conference as political crisis deepens

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PATRICK BAZ/AFP via Getty Images

by al-monitor.com -- France will organize an international fundraiser for Lebanon next month, timed to coincide with the first anniversary of the deadly explosion that tore through Beirut. The UN-supported conference on Aug. 4 will be hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and will aim to "respond to the needs of the Lebanese whose situation is deteriorating every day," France's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The French announcement comes a day after Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri resigned after failing to form a government amid the partisan gridlock. Hariri said he withdrew his nomination after he and President Michel Aoun were unable to agree on a proposed cabinet lineup. Hariri's predecessor, current caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab, quit amid ongoing protests demanding accountability for the Aug. 4 explosion in Beirut, which officials blame on a stockpile of highly explosive ammonium nitrate stored improperly at Lebanon’s most vital port. The blast, which killed more than 200 people, injured thousands more and gutted much of the capital, added to the country’s economic woes.

Dozens injured in Lebanon as protests turn violent amid rising tensions

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General Joseph Aoun was speaking while inspecting the army units deployed in the Bekaa Valley. (AFP/File Photo)

By Najia Houssari -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: Riots left more than two dozen people injured in Tripoli on Friday, including 10 soldiers, as tensions continued to rise in Lebanon. “The situation seems to be getting worse, and things are about to escalate because we are facing a difficult political and social fate,” said Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun as he inspected army units deployed to the Bekaa Valley. Meanwhile the international community continued to call for progress in the country’s stalled political process. France, the EU and the US have urged Lebanese politicians to form a new government as a matter of urgency, and an international conference is being planned to support the efforts. “All concerned parties need to work with urgency to put in place a government that’s able to implement reforms immediately,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday night in a message posted on Twitter.

The Arab League said its secretary-general, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and his UN counterpart, Antonio Guterres, had agreed during a meeting in New York that the situation in Lebanon is going from “bad to worse.” The former said he hoped that “the international community will succeed in helping the Lebanese overcome the crisis.” As he inspected his forces on Friday, Aoun told them: “Our responsibility is great at this stage. We are required to preserve the security and stability of the homeland and prevent chaos.”

BACKGROUND The Arab League said its secretary-general, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and his UN counterpart, Antonio Guterres, had agreed during a meeting in New York that the situation in Lebanon is going from “bad to worse.” He said he considers the military to be “the only institution that is still active,” and added: “The army is the deterrent to chaos. I know that you will not allow anyone to invade our land, and you will not allow these circumstances to make you lose your sense of belonging to your homeland, your identity and your land. “What we are experiencing today is a temporary crisis and it will pass.” Private companies and institutions allowed employees to leave work early on Friday so that they could get home before roads were blocked. Angry crowds took to the streets for a second consecutive day to protest against fuel shortages and the continuing steep rise in the dollar exchange rate on the black market. Demonstrations had broken out across the country on Thursday, immediately after Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri announced his resignation after nine months of failed wrangling with President Michel Aoun over the formation of a new government.