Lebanese PM to meet financial adviser Lazard soon over rescue plan

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By Maha El Dahan and Laila Bassam BEIRUT (Reuters) - Prime Minister Najib Mikati will meet with the advisory firm Lazard soon to see how a financial recovery plan it drafted for Lebanon could be developed into a "more realistic" vision for getting the country out of its crisis, he said on Monday. Mikati also said Lebanon would be very lucky if it was able to reach a framework for an agreement with the International Monetary Fund by the end of the year. Mikati took office earlier this month determined to revive IMF talks. A billionaire tycoon, Mikati faces a difficult path to remedying one of the sharpest financial meltdowns of modern times. The challenges include his government's limited shelf-life, with elections due next Spring.

In the most detailed comments yet on his approach for trying to reverse Lebanon's devastating financial meltdown, Mikati said in an interview with broadcaster LBCI that there would be a fair distribution of the losses in the financial system and to protect small depositors. Lazard helped the previous government draw up a financial rescue plan that identified losses of some $90 billion in the financial system. But the plan was shot down by objections from the banks, which said it made them foot too much of the bill for the collapse, in addition to opposition from the central bank and the ruling political elite that got Lebanon into its crisis. Reaching agreement on the losses is seen as the first step towards a deal with the IMF, which endorsed the figures in the previous government's plan. "I will not announce anything except if the whole financial recovery plan is complete," Mikati told LBCI. "We have the financial recovery plan, I have asked the company that set it to come to Lebanon and they will come and I will have a meeting with them in the coming days ... to see how we can update this plan", Mikati said. "I want to ask for a more realistic plan to get out of this crisis we are in," he added.

Mikati said he was not planning to privatise state assets. WANTS TO PROTECT SMALL DEPOSITORS An IMF agreement is seen as Lebanon's only path to accessing aid from foreign donors who are demanding reforms to address the root causes of the collapse, including state corruption and waste. "We will be very lucky if we finish before new year," Mikati said when asked about how long it might take to reach an IMF deal. "We will be lucky if we put the main framework (by then)."

Mikati formed a government after a year of political deadlock that compounded an economic meltdown that has propelled three quarters of Lebanon's population into poverty and seen its currency plummet by more than 90%. Savers have been frozen out of the paralysed banking system, being forced to take a hair-cut of as much as 80% of the value of their deposits on withdrawals. "I want to protect the depositor as much as possible, the small depositors, I need to see how we can do that, this is what I'm trying to do," Mikati said. "The inclination is definitely to protect the small depositors who have between $50,000 to $70,000 accounts, and these will take their money in dollars for sure." Since taking office, Mikati - a Sunni Muslim - has said he will not allow Lebanon to be used as a platform for actions against other Arabs, implicit criticism of the Iran-supported Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah, which backs his government.

But on Monday, Mikati said there was currently no plan for him to visit Saudi Arabia, which once spent heavily in Lebanon but has shunned it for years because of Hezbollah's influence, and the matter of Lebanon's Gulf ties was not discussed with French President Emmanuel Macron during a visit to Paris last week. (Reporting By Laila Bassam and Maha El Dahan; Writing by Maha El Dahan and Tom Perry; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Grant McCool) Copyright 2021 Thomson Reuters.

Lebanese voice concerns and mixed emotions on new government

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By By Robert McKelvey -- aljazeera.com -- Beirut, Lebanon – With Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s new cabinet having won a parliamentary confidence vote, many Lebanese are tentatively hopeful the years-long crisis that has engulfed their country may finally have reached a turning point. At the same time, there are concerns this new cabinet – filled with many familiar faces – represents just another continuation of a status quo that increasing numbers of Lebanese wish to see ended.

Has Lebanon found a lifeline? Speaking to Al Jazeera, people expressed their feelings on Mikati’s new government and his plans to address their country’s numerous woes after 13 months of political deadlock. “We hope it will be good for the country because the people are tired,” said Jihad Jaber, owner of a clothing shop in Hamra, Beirut. “We’re seeing it seems like they’re willing to work, unlike the last cabinet. We’ll have to wait and see. As citizens, we ask for them to solve these crises, from the fuel shortage to the poor quality of life, and for the dollar rate to come down. We want to live well.” Spiralling financial meltdown -- According to recent figures published by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), almost 75 percent of the Lebanese population are currently living in poverty. Even basic amenities such as electricity and water are in short supply, while residents queue for hours at a time outside petrol stations hoping to buy fuel for their cars and generators.

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President Michel Sleiman: في ذكرى تأسيس امن الدولة نثمن دور قيادتها وضباطها وافرادها

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في ذكرى تأسيس امن الدولة نثمن دور قيادتها وضباطها وافرادها ونتمنى تفعيل دورها لتنفيذ المهمات التي عهدت لها وفق قانون انشائها

Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian is the new Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians

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Rome (Agenzia Fides) - The Armenian Catholic Synod of Bishops, convened by the Holy Father in Rome on September 22nd, 2021, elected the new Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians on Thursday, September 23rd. It is Raphaël François Minassian, currently titular Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia and bishop for the Armenian Catholic faithful of Eastern Europe. The newly elected has adopted the name Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian. The new Armenian Catholic Patriarch was born in Beirut on November 24, 1946. He completed his studies at the Patriarchal Seminary of Bzommar (1958-1967) and studied Philosophy and Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University (1967-1973). At the Pontifical University of the Salesians, he completed a specialization course in psycho-pedagogy. He was ordained a priest on June 24, 1973. From 1973 to 1982 he was parish priest of the Armenian Cathedral of Beirut, from 1982 to 1984 Secretary to Patriarch Hovannes Bedros XVIII Kasparian, and from 1984 to 1989 responsible for the establishment of the parish complex of the Holy Cross of Zalka, Beirut.

From 1975 to 1989, Raphaël François Minassian was a Judge at the Ecclesiastical Tribunal of the Armenian Church in Beirut. He taught Armenian liturgy at the Pontifical University of Kaslik from 1985 to 1989 and in 1989 was transferred to the United States of America, where he worked as a parish priest in New York for a year. He then worked as parish priest for the Catholic Armenians in California, Arizona and Nevada until 2003. Since 2004, Minassian has been running Telepace Armenia, of which he is the founder. In 2005 he was appointed Patriarchal Exarch of Jerusalem and Amman for the Armenians. On 24 June 2011 he was appointed Ordinary for the Catholic Armenian Faithful of Eastern Europe. The Holy Father gave him the titular seat of Cesarea in Cappadocia for the Armenians and the title of Archbishop ad personam. (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 24/9/2021)

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Lebanon's army receives food aid from Italy

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BEIRUT, (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese army on Saturday received 13 tonnes of food products from Italy through Beirut's airport, the army reported in a tweet. The donation comes at a time when Lebanon's military is facing serious challenges amid the ongoing financial crisis in the country. Leaders in the country have warned that the military institution may collapse as the country's economic crisis drags on, and asked for global help on food, medicine and equipment. In the past few months, the Lebanese army has received aid from Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Oman, Turkey, Spain, Germany and Serbia.

TV show on Beirut port blast nominated for International Emmy Award

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by english.alaraby.co.uk - A television series that shares the stories of 15 people caught in the devastating Beirut Port explosion last year has been nominated for an Emmy Award. 'Beirut 6:07' – which refers to the time the massive blast took place on 4 August - is nominated under the Short-Form Series category. The International Emmy Awards is set to take place on 22 November, which coincides with Lebanon's Independence Day from the French. The series, released around two months after the explosion and shown on Arabic content streaming platform Shahid, is narrated by 15 Lebanese directors in the short film format, each telling the story of a victim on that day. While the makers of the series came under fire due to the timing of its creation last year, others have now voiced their support as they believe it could help shed light on the case.

The investigate judge in charge of the inquiry in Lebanon has faced major hurdles due to officials refusing to lift immunities and cooperate. He is now at risk of being removed from the case like his predecessor was in February. Over 200 people died and around 6,000 were injured as a result of the blast. Large swathes of the capital heavily damaged have undergone slow but gradual renovation, allowing residents to gradually move back.