Lebanon running out of passports, suspends renewal requests

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by english.alaraby.co.uk -- The agency in charge of issuing passports in Lebanon said Thursday it has stopped taking appointments for renewals because of a rush that has depleted stocks of new passports. Since 2020, requests for passport renewals have been ten times higher than in previous years, which has piled pressure on passport centres and "affected available passport stocks," General Security said in a statement. Grappling with its worst-ever financial crisis, Lebanon has undergone a massive population exodus that is only worsening as politicians fail to chart a path towards recovery.

Lebanese authorities have yet to pay for more passports to be produced "at a time when the available amount of passports has started to run out," the agency added. "Accordingly, General Security was forced to stop work on the passport appointment platform as of 27 April," it said, clarifying that those with pre-existing appointments are still eligible for new travel documents. The suspension will last until funds are paid to the company contracted to issue new passports, it said, meaning those without existing appointments are left with no idea as to when they might get a new passport. Even those able to gain appointments have often had to wait months. According to an Arab Barometer survey published this month, around half of Lebanon's population is looking to exit the country.

Lebanese security forces warn of rise in kidnappings for ransom

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by arabnews.com -- Najia Houssari -- BEIRUT: Lebanon’s security forces have warned citizens and residents that there has been a rise in kidnappings in the country, with perpetrators seeking large sums of money for the safe return of their victims. The General Directorate of the Internal Security Forces, or ISF, said that these gangs have been using social media to lure their victims, often through ads on TikTok, claiming they can help with emigration applications. The gangs are mostly active in the Baalbek-Hermel area and on the Lebanese-Syrian border, but also operate deep in Syrian territory. A security source told Arab News that between Jan. 1 and April 20, the security services in Lebanon recorded 53 cases of kidnapping in Lebanon.

A few days ago, the Lebanese army’s intelligence officers managed to liberate local businessman Akram Jomaa seven hours after he was kidnapped in the town of Lala in the western Bekaa. The kidnappers had fled with him to the Baalbek-Hermel area in the northern part of Bekaa and tried to sell him to another gang. They demanded that his family pay a ransom for his return, but he was eventually released between the towns of Dar Al-Waseah and Bouday, in the vicinity of Baalbek.

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LebElon? After Musk’s Twitter takeover, Lebanese plead with him to buy their country

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this is an opinion article does not represent khazen.org 

by arabnews.com -- DUBAI: Eccentric entrepreneur, random tweeter and Tesla CEO Elon Musk this week bought his favorite social media platform, Twitter, for $44 billion — an amount approximately the equivalent of the gross domestic product of Jordan. Musk’s ambition to “save” Twitter and, as he sees it, free speech, has given hope to some Lebanese people who are asking Musk to now consider buying their country. If Musk can revolutionize the electric-car industry and attempt to shake up social media, he’s surely capable of saving Lebanon, they argue. Even if he cannot and utterly fails in the attempt, as some commentators predict will be the case with Twitter, many in Lebanon query whether the situation in their country could get any worse. Some critics suggest that Musk is impulsive and brash and bought Twitter on a whim. That is simply not true; the move was very much premeditated. In fact, he had been contemplating it to some degree for more than four years.

In December 2017, he took to Twitter to share his love for the platform and when a user suggested he buy it, he asked how much it would cost. This month, Musk decided to make his move with little concern about whether the platform was for sale or not. In February, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation posted a message on Twitter asking Musk to make his satellite internet system, Starlink, available in Ukraine. Musk replied within 24 hours: “Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route.” It remains to be seen whether and how he will respond to the requests from some Lebanese people that he buy their country.

Fears grow over negative impact of Hezbollah victory in Lebanon elections

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by english.alarabiya.net -- Hussein Dakroub -- Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has warned that Lebanon will be deprived of promised regional and international aid if Hezbollah and its allies control the country by winning a parliamentary majority in the elections set for May 15. “There are no signs that Arab and international aid will be forthcoming if Hezbollah continues to control Lebanon,” Siniora told Al Arabiya English on Monday.

In another statement carried earlier in the day by Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, Siniora, a harsh critic of Hezbollah, said: “What does it mean if Hezbollah and its allies gain a majority in Parliament? Amid Hezbollah’s control [of Parliament], will there be a possibility for any salvation, reforms, and Lebanon’s recovery after it was pushed into this deep abyss: a kidnapped state, a fully collapsing economy, the threat of depositors losing their money and the need for reforms in all aspects of life such as electricity, water, food, medicine and education? Definitely, no.” “With the expansion of the control of Hezbollah and the sectarian and confessional parties allied with it, this will be at the expense of the Lebanese state and its institutions, which will lead to the continued implementation of Iran’s agenda in the region. In this case, there will be no aid and no Arab or international support,” Siniora added.

Although he is not running in the upcoming polls, Siniora is supporting an 11-member electoral list that will compete to gain mainly Sunni seats in parliament in the Beirut district after former Prime Minister Saad Hariri decided to remove himself from political life. A professor of economics and international relations agreed with Siniora, warning that an election victory for Hezbollah and its allies will further complicate the Lebanese crises and impede efforts for the country’s economic rescue. “A victory by Hezbollah and its allies in the elections is bound to block the road to the possibility of Lebanon’s economic salvation. Consequently, the situation will continue to deteriorate and Lebanon will no longer exist on the map because the economic collapse means the state’s inability to survive, while it is already unable to survive,”

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KSrelief signs two deals to booster humanitarian work in Lebanon

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by arabnews.com -- RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) has signed two deals to support the food and health fields in Lebanon. The memorandums of understanding were signed in the Lebanese capital Beirut with the French ministry for foreign affairs and the French Development Agency, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday. Under the first phase of the agreements, the Saudi and French sides will contribute €36 million ($38 million) each, bringing the total to €72 million, to support urgent humanitarian and relief works in Lebanon. The agreements fall within the Saudi-French partnership and represent the Saudi government’s keenness to stand with the Lebanese people and contribute to achieving stability and development to overcome the crisis in Lebanon, SPA said.

لقاء الجمهورية: لتكن ثورتكم خلف العازل منعًا لتغيير هوية لبنان

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by nna-leb.gov.lb

وطنية - شدد "لقاء الجمهورية" خلال اجتماعه الدوري عبر تطبيق "زوم" برئاسة الرئيس ميشال سليمان، على "أهمية الاستحقاق الانتخابي في 15 أيار، كون مجلس النواب العتيد سينتخب رئيس الجمهورية المقبل، وهذا ما يُرتب مسؤولية كبيرة على المواطن الناخب المفترض ان يعلم انه مصدر السلطات، فيحاسب حيث يجب ان يحاسب، ويُطلق ثورته الخاصة خلف العازل، وهي الثورة القادرة على التغيير الحقيقي، فيما لو اقتنع الشعب اللبناني بفكرة الانتخاب السياسي، وليس الانتخاب العقائدي أو العاطفي أو الزبائني".

وقال: "نلفت المقترعين الى ان خيارهم ينبغي ان يكون الى جانب حصر السلاح بيد الدولة، وتحييد لبنان عن صراعات المحاور وليس لصالح اللوائح التي ترفع شعار الاكثرية النيابية لحماية السلاح، في حين يجب ان يكون هذا الفوز المنشود من قبل ذاك الفريق ضمانة للتخلي عن السلاح غير الشرعي الذي يحول دون تحقيق سيادة الدولة وانقاذها من الانهيار".

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