It's not too late for Lebanon: A view from the ground

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by thehill.com -- John Craig is former U.S. Ambassador --Lebanon today can be likened to a bus without brakes, its driver hurtling toward a brick wall. One can see the impending collapse of the country’s economy and national currency, a perfect storm that’s been in the making for at least ten years. However, the passengers on this bus — the Lebanese people — are not sitting idly by. They have risen up against those who drove Lebanon toward its collapse, and many have abandoned it midway, taking from the country all they could carry. The Transatlantic Leadership Network held a conference earlier this month at the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington D.C. dedicated to Lebanon’s turmoil. All-star experts gathered in an effort to discuss best ways forward. One was one of the most reputable members of Lebanon’s parliament: Neemat Frem.

Frem left the comfort zone of a successful 25 years in the private business sector to run for parliament. After winning the seat, he began his public service with a simple question that ended up demonstrating the gravity of problems in Lebanon: How many paid employees were there in Lebanon’s public sector? Frem could not obtain the answer from anyone. Frem instructed the Central Audit Bureau to his parliamentary committee, officially requesting a bottom-up audit of all 150 governmental departments and directorates. The report displayed stunning results: Lebanon’s public sector workforce stands at 256,000 employees and 100,000 retirees — out of a total Lebanese workforce of 1.2 million. Almost a third of the country’s workforce was on the public sector payroll.

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WhatsApp dark mode is nearly here, but what else is coming to the messaging app?

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By Cat Ellis - techradar.com --

WhatsApp dark mode

  After a long, long wait, WhatsApp dark mode is now available to beta testers on Android and iOS, and hopefully a full global launch won't be far behind. Soon, everyone will be able to catch up with the group chat in comfort when the lights are low, and maybe even save a little battery power in the process. It's a big step for the messaging app, which now has over two billion active users, but there are lots more changes on the horizon. Here are some of the changes and new features we're expecting to see in the coming months. Some of these are almost certainly on the way, based on hints found in the app's install files, whereas others are speculation based on comments made by WhatsApp staff at conferences and trade shows. However many of them actually arrive on handsets, it's set to be an interesting few months.

Ads (a few, at least)

 Originally, WhatsApp's owner Facebook had intended to start slipping ads into your chats in 2020, but just a few weeks ago it emerged that the team tasked with this job had been disbanded. In January, The Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook had broken up a team responsible for finding ways to work advertisements into conversations – a move that would have been met with widespread annoyance. That doesn't mean WhatsApp will remain entirely ad-free, thoughl Facebook is still planning to plug ads into the app's Status feature. This works much like Instagram Stories, with posts that are only visible for a short time, but occupy your whole screen.

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Senator threatens sanctions for Lebanon over detained American citizen

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by washingtonexaminer.com -- by Zachary Halaschak -- A U.S. senator is threatening Lebanon with sanctions over the arrest and imprisonment of a cancer-stricken American citizen. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who is reportedly working on a sanctions bill, told Fox News that Amer Fakhoury is being held by authorities despite no proof of wrongdoing. “There has been no evidence to substantiate the charges against Amer Fakhoury, and his health condition is dire,” the New Hampshire Democrat said. “Time is of the essence, and the Lebanese government needs to understand there will be consequences for his continued detention.” Fakhoury, who was born in Lebanon, was arrested there during a visit last September after a Hezbollah-affiliated publication alleged that he tortured people imprisoned by the South Lebanon Army, a majority-Christian militia group backed by Israel in its fight against Hezbollah and Palestinian militias during the 1980s and 1990s. He was held for six months before being charged with murder, kidnapping, and the torture of prisoners at Khiam detention center, which is located near Lebanon’s southern border with Israel. Celine Atallah, Fakhoury’s lawyer, said that the charges are made up and noted that the names of SLA members accused of torture have been publicly released and do not include Fakhoury. “Amer’s only crime is that he is a United States citizen, which is making the Lebanese government hold him hostage to gain leverage over the United States," she said. "This is an egregious act of criminality by them.”

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U.S. will continue support for Lebanese Army: Esper

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The Daily Star BEIRUT: Washington remains committed to assisting the Lebanese Army, the U.S. defense secretary said Saturday. U.S. military aid to Lebanon has been a point of contention as some argue that it is benefitting Iran-backed Hezbollah. “In terms of security assistance, we’ve committed a lot to the Lebanese Armed Forces and we will continue that commitment,” U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper told CNBC. Esper added that “wherever theres that spark of freedom,” and where there are people who want “those values that we share, we want to support them.” Pressed about Iran and its role in the Middle East, including Lebanon, Esper said “the biggest challenge is Iran.”

Defiant, Lebanon's Hariri says deal with Aoun is 'history'

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by aljazeera.com -- Timour Azhari -- Beirut, Lebanon - Lebanon's former Prime Minister Saad Hariri has said he is charting a new political path from within his party after a 2016 deal with President Michel Aoun that brought him to power became "history". "I'm here, I'm not going anywhere; I'm staying in my country, in my house among my family and in political work," Hariri said on Friday, in his first public speech since resigning on October 29 amid widespread protests against a ruling elite blamed for corruption and steering the country into an acute financial crisis. Addressing a crowd of thousands of supporters outside his residence in the capital, Beirut Lebanon's leading Sunni politician said he had received criticism from within his party over the past months and acknowledged "shortcomings" - but said "the decision now is to enact change".

"The Future Movement will remain," he said, referring to his party. His comments came during a public event to mark the 15th anniversary of the assassination of his father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Rafik Hariri was killed along with 21 others when a massive bomb exploded as his convoy passed through the centre of Lebanon's capital, Beirut, on February 14, 2005. Prosecutors at The Hague-based Special Tribunal for Lebanon investigating Hariri's assassination have said that the Syrian government was at the heart of the plot, which was carried out by members of the pro-Iran Hezbollah group. Damascus and Hezbollah have denied involvement. A ruling in the case is expected this year. In defence of 'Haririism' Members of the leaderless protest movement, as well as Hariri's political opponents, have pointed to the policies of Hariri's father - termed "political Haririism" and dating back to 1992 - as the source of Lebanon's massive economic woes today. The country is saddled by the third-largest debt burden in the world as a percentage of its gross domestic product and is facing the worst financial crisis in its history, which may soon push it to default on debt repayments. Much of Friday's event was dedicated to responding to these claims. A video aired at the beginning of the commemoration blamed Lebanon's dire situation on a "series of obstructions" carried out by Lebanese parties allied with Syria over the years.

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Lebanese central bank caps interest rates on deposits: Lebanese media

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Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Lebanese central bank has set an interest rate cap of 4% on dollar bank deposits and a cap of 7.5% on Lebanese pound deposits, according to a circular reported by several major Lebanese news outlets on Thursday. The circular, published by al-Jadeed, LBC and MTV, set a cap of 2% on dollars deposited for a month and a 4% cap on dollars deposited for a year or more. The rates apply on deposits made or renewed from Feb. 12.

The Daily Star --  BEIRUT: The Lebanese pound Thursday morning registered little change on Wednesday’s black market exchange rate against the dollar. Exchange shops were selling the pound for between L.L.2,220 and L.L.2,300 to the dollar, compared to an average of L.L.2,275 Wednesday. President Michel Aoun is chairing a finance meeting Thursday morning with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Hassan Diab to discuss the payment of a $1.2 billion Eurobond payment due in March. Several other officials are attending including Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni, Deputy Prime Minister Defense Minister Zeina Akar Adra, Central Bank Gov. Riad Salameh, and Association of Banks in Lebanon head Salim Sfeir. The exchange rate of the Lebanese pound has been volatile in recent months due to a shortage of dollars in the market. Despite the Syndicate of Exchange Dealers agreeing in January to fix the unofficial buy rate at L.L.2,000 to the dollar, many exchange shops are still buying at above that rate. The syndicate did not fix the sell rate, which is officially pegged at L.L.1,507.5 to the dollar.