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Lebanon's central bank denies Swiss report about 2016 IMF paper

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UPDATE 1-Lebanon's central bank denies Swiss report about 2016 IMF paper

by reuters -- Lebanon's central bank denied on Friday a Swiss newspaper report that alleged the International Monetary Fund had removed information from a 2016 report on the country at the request of central bank governor Riad Salameh. Switzerland's Le Temps said in a report on Thursday that in 2016, as Lebanon was headed towards financial ruin, 14 pages containing vital information were removed from an IMF assessment through the intervention of Salameh. Reuters could not independently verify the report.

Salameh did not respond to a request from Reuters for comment. "This article and everything that was mentioned in it has nothing to do with the truth," the Lebanese central bank said in a statement. "What was reported in Le Temps newspaper makes clear the article is not serious as it says the governor of the central bank of Lebanon personally omitted 14 pages from a report of an international and respectable organisation like the IMF." According to the IMF's transparency policy, deletions to staff reports are generally considered at the request of the authorities of the country the report is about.

"Deletions should be limited to information that is not already in the public domain that constitutes either: Highly market-sensitive material, mainly the Fund's views on the outlook for exchange rates, interest rates, the financial sector, and assessments of sovereign liquidity and solvency," the IMF rules, published in 2014, say. An IMF spokesperson told Reuters the 2016 report had highlighted as an early warning key vulnerabilities facing the Lebanese financial system. "It emphasized the need to reduce economic and financial risks, including the reliance on new deposit inflows to cover large fiscal and external deficits. It also pointed to significant resources that would be needed to ensure banks remained capitalized in the event of a severe shock," the spokesperson said. Lebanon is suffering what the World Bank has described as one of the deepest depressions in modern history. Its economic meltdown has thrown three-quarters of the population into poverty and the Lebanese pound currency has lost 90% of its value in the past two years.

President Michel Sleiman: . معظم الكتل النيابية للاسف ضد الكوتا النسائية

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هناك نوعان من الكوتا واحدة في الترشيح وواحدة في الفوز في المقاعد .
لدى اقرار مشروع قانون الانتخابات عام ٢٠١٢ لم تحظى الكوتا النسائية فوزاً بموافقة مجلس الوزراء وبعد الجهد الجهيد تمت الموافقة على كونا ١٠/١٠٠ ترشيحاً في كل لائحة على ان لا تقل عن مرشحة واحدة. معظم الكتل النيابية للاسف ضد الكوتا النسائية ولكن يجب المحاولة مجدداً في جلسة مجلس االنواب المخصصة لمناقشة التعديلات على القانون واقرارها

Iran-Saudi talks have gone a ‘good distance,’ Iran’s foreign minister says in Beirut

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Iran-Saudi talks have gone a ‘good distance,’ Iran’s foreign minister says in Beirut

By NAJIA HOUSSARI -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: Talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia have covered a “good distance,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told a news conference in Beirut on Thursday, referring to efforts to improve ties. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed on behalf of his government “the positivity prevailing on the Saudi-Iranian talks, hosted by Iraq.” He stressed the need to “believe in the honest intentions of the interlocutors to put an end to the conflict and pave the way for the establishment of new relationships based on mutual respect, to achieve states’ sovereignty and non-interference of internal affairs and preserve their stability and security and achieve the aspirations of their peoples, which will have positive effects on Lebanon.”

Amirabdollahian held a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart Abdullah Bou Habib, during which Amirabdollahian announced that “the dialogue that we believe in aims to address regional and international issues and we have come a long way in our talks with Saudi Arabia.” Amirabdollahian discussed with Lebanese officials the arrival of the first Iranian gasoline shipment to Syria’s Banyas port. This will be shipped to Lebanon by Syrian tankers that Hezbollah will get into the country through illegal crossings. None of the Lebanese officials directly criticized the Iranian fuel shipped into the country despite the sanctions placed on Iran. Instead, President Michel Aoun reiterated “Iran’s solidarity with Lebanon during its crisis and the aids it has provided for the country in the aftermath of the Beirut port blast.”

Minister Sejaan Azzi: لا تقسيمَ بالإكراه ولا وِحدةَ بالهيْمنة

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Azzi Says Most Local Factions Do Not Deserve | Kataeb

هناك شعوبٌ مهما حاولَ أعداؤُها تقسيمَها، تعودُ وتتوحّدُ لأنَّ شعورَها القوميَّ الواحِدَ أقوى من التقسيمِ. وهناك شعوبٌ مهما حاول حلفاؤُها توحيدَها، تعود وتَنقسِمُ لأنَّ مشاعرَ مكوّناتِها القوميّةَ مبعثرةٌ وولاءاتِها ضالةٌ تَجوبُ في أوطانٍ أخرى. محاولاتُ التمرّدِ على هذه الحتميّةِ التاريخيّةِ أدّت إلى مآسٍ. المئةُ سنةٍ المنصرمةُ شَهِدَت تغييرَ حدودِ ثمانينَ دولةً في أنحاءِ العالم انفصالًا أو تقسيمًا أو توحيدًا. من التغييراتِ ما حَصَل سلميًّا، منها ما جرى عسكريًّا، والباقي حَصلَ بفعلِ مخطَّطٍ خارجيّ. قد تكون تجاربُ ألمانيا والاتّحادِ السوفياتيِّ والعالمِ العربيّ أكثرَ تعبيرًا عن دورِ الحرّيةِ والقوميّةِ والدينِ والاستعمارِ في تغييرِ الدولِ والأوطان.

في مثلِ هذا اليوم 07 تشرين الأوّل 1949، أعْلنَت الدولُ المنتصرِةُ في الحربِ العالميّةِ الثانية (أميركا، فرنسا، بريطانيا والاتحاد السوفياتي) تقسيمَ ألمانيا رسميًّا دولتين بعد اقتسامِها سنةَ 1945. لكنَّ الشعبَ الألمانيَّ سارعَ واستعادَ وِحدتَه الفدراليّةَ لحظةَ بَدءِ سقوطِ الاتّحادِ السوفياتي سنةَ 1989. ولاحقًا أصبحَت أنجيلا ميركل، ابنةُ ألمانيا الشيوعيّة، مستشارةَ ألمانيا الموحَّدةِ الليبراليّة. المشاعرُ القوميّةُ حيّةٌ.

وفي مثلِ هذه الفترة أيضًا ـــ تشرين الأوّل سنة 1989 ـــ انتفَض الشعبُ الروسيُّ على الاتّحادِ السوفياتيّ، فإذا 15 دولةً، كان النظامُ الشيوعيُّ جَمعَها قَسْرًا طَوالَ أكثرَ من سبعينَ سنةً، بادَرت إلى الانفصالِ والرجوعِ إلى كياناتٍ قوميّةٍ سابقة. وبعضُ هذه الشعوب عاد وانقَسَم إتنيًّا ودينيًّا داخلَ كياناتِه الجديدةِ مثلَ دولِ بلادِ البلقان (تشيكوسلوفاكيا، يوغسلافيا ومقدونيا). لا تَحرّرَ من دونِ استقلالٍ.

Lebanese PM says he signs bill lifting immunity in Beirut blast case -Sky News Arabia

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Cairo (Reuters) -Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in a Sky News Arabia interview on Wednesday he had signed a bill that lifts immunity on "everyone" who might have borne responsibility for the Beirut port blast, saying they must be held accountable. The disastrous Aug. 4, 2020 explosion left more than 200 people dead and devastated swathes of the Lebanese capital. Mikati added in the interview that Lebanon's constitution stipulated that senior government officials must be tried in front of a special tribunal.

The investigation into the explosion, one of the biggest non-nuclear blasts in history, has made little headway amid a smear campaign against investigation Judge Tarek Bitar and pushback from powerful Lebanese factions. He said the government will extend help to the families of the blast's victims, adding that a plan has been formulated to reconstruct the port, a vital lifeline to the country's economy. Many in Lebanon, particularly families of the victims of the blast, are furious that no senior official has been held accountable more than a year later. Bitar's efforts to question former and serving state officials - including the prime minister at the time of the blast, ex-ministers and senior security officials on suspicion of negligence - have been repeatedly denied. (Reporting by Lilian WagdyEditing by Mark Heinrich)

Lebanese information minister rebuffs ‘baseless accusations’ over press freedom

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Lebanese information minister rebuffs ‘baseless accusations’ over press freedom

by arabnews.com -- DUBAI: Lebanon’s information minister George Kordahi on Tuesday labeled himself a “great defender of press freedom” and denied accusations that he was trying to repress the media. Kordahi, who was appointed to the new cabinet last month, has sparked controversy with a series of announcements seen as an attempt to restrict the media. Days after taking the position, he called on outlets not to host analysts critical of the new government. Last week, the former gameshow host and supporter of Syria’s Bashar Assad, said the media cannot “assault the dignity of politicians.”

Speaking as he toured the state-run TV channel Tele Liban on Tuesday, Kordahi said: “We are among the great protectors of freedom in Lebanon and the great advocates for it.” In response to questions over his recent comments, Kordahi said he wanted to reassure “all those who are afraid for freedom in Lebanon” that he is one of the greatest protectors of liberties. He described accusations that he is moving to stifle press freedom as false and baseless, the National News Agency reported. “I don’t want to fight the media but rather want to strengthen and support it … media is my family and I feel the suffering of every professional and will try to help all public and private media,” he said. “Does the Lebanese constitution and laws permit anyone to suppress the media?” the minister asked. He said he had been “unjustifiably targeted” by a campaign against him. In terms of his plans for the media, Kordahi said he is assessing the current condition of the information ministry.

Pandora Papers: Lebanon's power players tied to vast offshore wealth (Mikati, Diab, Salemeh among others)

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By Oscar Rickett -- middleeasteye.net -- Some of Lebanon's most powerful political and economic leaders, including Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, have had their secret offshore wealth highlighted in a major new leak of financial documents. A massive leak of more than 11.9m confidential files to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has revealed the secret offshore holdings of more than 300 politicians and public officials from over 90 countries and territories. The Pandora Papers consist of financial and legal records that expose what the ICIJ called a "system enabling crime, corruption and wrongdoing, hidden by secretive offshore companies".

World leaders from the king of Jordan to former British prime minister Tony Blair are implicated in the latest exposure of secret documents relating to offshore dealings. While establishing offshore companies in territories such as the British Virgin Islands or Panama is not necessarily illegal, it is a common tool for tax evasion, money laundering, and other secretive financial practices. Mikati and his predecessor Hassan Diab are among the 35 current or former world leaders included in the Pandora Papers leaks. Also prominent among the revelations is Marwan Kheireddine, a powerful Lebanese banker and the minister of state from 2011 t0 2014, and Riad Salameh, the governor of Lebanon's central bank. The publication of the Pandora Papers came as Lebanon resumed "interactions" with the International Monetary Fund, with a view to agreeing an "appropriate recovery programme", the country's finance ministry said on Monday.

Najib Mikati, prime minister