Lebanese prosecutor opens probe into central bank governor Riad Salameh and brother

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by reuters -- Lebanon’s public prosecutor has launched an investigation into central bank governor Riad Salameh, a judicial source said, after a Swiss legal request alleged that more than $300 million had been embezzled from the bank through a company owned by his brother. The senior judicial source told Reuters the offices of Salameh’s younger brother Raja had been sealed off, with computers and files confiscated in the course of the investigation. The public prosecutor had no comment. For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app. Riad Salameh, who denies any wrongdoing, had no comment when asked by Reuters about the opening of the investigation, the sealing of his brother’s office and the confiscation of the files. “The governor declared that all his actions and the actions of the Central Bank of Lebanon are legal and that no funds at the detriment of the central bank exist,” the central bank told Reuters in a statement. “Not one dollar has ever been paid from central bank money or funds or any budget as commission,” the statement said.

The central bank declined to provide contact details for Raja Salameh, and Reuters was not immediately able to ask him for comment. The Swiss attorney general’s office said in January that it had requested legal assistance from Lebanon in investigating “aggravated money laundering” and possible embezzlement relating to the Lebanese central bank, the Banque du Liban. The Swiss request, seen by Reuters, alleges that Forry Associates, a company owned by Raja Salameh with a bank account in Switzerland that took commission on sales of Lebanese Eurobonds and Treasury bills, was paid $326 million by the central bank between 2002 and 2014 in transactions labelled as fees and commissions. Most of the payments to Forry were then transferred to an account in Raja Salameh’s name. More than $7 million were also transferred from Forry Associates between 2008 and 2012 to an account in Riad Salameh’s name, the document said. Reuters was unable to find any contact details for Forry Associates. The Swiss attorney general’s office had no comment about the content of the legal request other than repeating its statement from January. It has not said whether Riad Salameh is a suspect.

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France ups pressure on Lebanese officials with entry restrictions

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by thearabweekly.com -- PARIS--France has begun imposing entry restrictions on certain Lebanese figures as a sanction for their role in Lebanon’s political crisis or corruption, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Thursday. “We reserve the right to adopt additional measures against all those preventing an exit from the crisis, and we will do so in coordination with our international partners,” added Le Drian, without naming which figures targeted by the measures. France has spearheaded international efforts to rescue Lebanon from its deepest crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war, but after eight months has failed so far to persuade squabbling politicians to adopt a reform roadmap or form a new government to unlock international aid.

With the European Union, Paris has been working on creating a sanctions regime for Lebanon that could ultimately see asset freezes and travel bans. However, that is likely to take time. As part of efforts to raise pressure on key Lebanese actors, France intends to stop issuing visas to certain officials, diplomats have said. “On a national basis, we have started to implement restrictive measures in terms of access to French territory against personalities involved in the current political blockage, or involved in corruption,” Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in remarks alongside his Maltese counterpart. “It’s not just words in the air,” said a French diplomat. They (Lebanese officials) can reassure themselves that it’s not just threats.” Two diplomats said a list of names had been put together and people were being made aware. The French foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment. As many senior Lebanese politicians have homes, bank accounts and investments in the EU and France and send their children to universities there, a withdrawal of that access could be a lever to focus minds.

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Marie el Khazen 1908-1983

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 Born in Lebanon at the beginning of the twentieth century, Marie el Khazen evolved into a modern, unconventional woman in a patriarchal society; a member of one of the oldest Lebanese families. Independent and with the famed Khazen sense of humor, her love of life and freedom inspired pastimes that encompassed broderie (with porcupine needles!), taxidermy, riding, driving, hunting, fishing, a fondness for animals, a love of literature and of course photography, at which she became famous only after her death. She grew up in a mansion in Tallet el Khazen, near Zgharta; her father being Said el Khazen, her mother Wardeh Torbey, and her grandmother Sultana Daher, the wife of Sheikh Fendi el Khazen, from Ghosta.

Rather than turning professional, Marie remained a serious amateur photographer. With her Eastman Kodak camera and keen on experimenting, she had the skills to set up and use her own darkroom. She would pose, and occasionally dress up her subjects, such as in the 1929 portrait of Two Women Disguised as Men, in which both Marie el Khazen and Alice her sister are sitting on plush chairs with their legs crossed, beneath an ancestral portrait within a handsome room in Talle. Dressed in suits and ties and wearing tarbooshes (traditional Arab hats), they are enjoying cigarettes in long elegant holders of the period,  and seem to be comfortable, even complacent in their newfound freedom.

 The New York Times art critic Adam Shatz said of it: "Such pictures don't come along often, but once seen, they are impossible to forget, lodging themselves in the mind with the visceral force of revelation."

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...إنْ ذَهبَت مجتمعاتُهم ذهَبوا

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سجعان قزي

وزير سابق

@AzziSejean

يستطيعُ حزبُ الله أو أيُّ حزبٍ آخَر أن يطالبَ بتعديلِ دستورِ لبنان. هذا حقٌّ شرعيٌّ لأيِّ مواطنٍ أو جماعة. نحن أيضًا لدينا ملاحظاتٌ على الدستورِ، إذ نُطالب بإدخالِ مبدأِ الحيادِ عليه. لكن ما هو غيرُ مسموحٍ لنا ولحزبِ الله أن نَعملَ على تغييرِ المجتمعِ اللبنانيّ. قبلَ أن يكونَ لبنانُ دولةً وكِيانًا كان مجتمعًا؛ وهذا ما ساعَدَنا على الصمودِ قبلَ نشوءِ دولةِ لبنانَ الكبير وبعدَ نشوئِها. هو المجتمعُ، لا الدولةُ، ما أتاح للبنانيّي الجبلِ مواجهةَ الاحتلالَين الـمَمْلوكيّ والعُثماني. وهو المجتمعُ، لا الدولةُ، ما مَكَّنَ لبنانيّي السيادةِ والاستقلالِ والتحريرِ من مواجهةِ الاحتلالَين السوريّ والإسرائيليّ. وهو المجتمعُ، لا الدولةُ، الذي حافظَ سنةَ 1975 ـــ وما بعدَها ـــ على لبنان رغمَ انقسامِ مؤسّساتِ الدولةِ الدستوريّةِ والأمنيّةِ والعسكريّة. وكان مجتمعُنا الوطنيُّ يَملِكُ قضيّةً مُثلَّثةَ الأضلع: أمنٌ، حريّةٌ، وحضارة.

طوالَ ثلاثينَ سنةً أمضاها في مرابعِ لبنان، غَيّرَ الاحتلالُ السوريُّ الطبقةَ السياسيّةَ الاستقلاليّةَ، وفرَضَ مجموعةً تابعةً له وتركَها خلْفَه وديعةً تُرَفْرِف. لكنّه لم يبالِ كثيرًا بتغييرِ المجتمعِ اللبنانيّ، لا بل فُتِنَ السوريّون، ضبّاطًا وسُيّاحًا، في حياةِ بعضِ اللبنانيّين وزاغوا وتَغلْغلوا في الليالي واقتَبسوا جوانبَ سطحيّةً نَقلوها إلى الشام. إلّا أنَّ ما خالَطَه السوريّون آنذاك ما كان المجتمعَ اللبنانيَّ الصامِد، بل مجتمعَ أوراقِ تسهيلِ المرور...

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We Should All Be Drinking More Lebanese Wine

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by Farrah Berrou -- eater.com -- The modern nation of Lebanon might be only 100 years old, but the wine trade here has been around for more than 5,000 years, thanks to a longitudinal coastline that runs the entire length of the country. Ancient Phoenicians shared amphorae with bustling port cities across the Mediterranean and shipped wine and other goods to the rest of the stops on their route, from Alexandria, Egypt, to Cádiz, Spain. Today’s Lebanese wine industry is small — its total production would barely match the output of one boutique winery in Italy — but mighty. Its growth really hit its stride in the early 2000s after the end of the 15-year civil war, and the country’s numerous vineyards now produce grapes for close to 80 official and unofficial local wineries. With Syria to the east and Israel/Palestine to the south, Lebanon’s limited square footage for wine production is often split into four or five distinct appellations and further segmented into varying microclimates clustered across the Bekaa Valley, where the majority of grapes are harvested.

Contrary to the grainy, yellow filter deployed by Hollywood, Lebanon is not made up of sand dunes. What it does have are mountain ranges cresting at nearly 10,000 feet above sea level, a valley floor at 3,000 feet, a natural water table, predominantly limestone soils, and 300 days of sunshine each year. The overall weather and topography are ideal for the kind of diverse, low-intervention grape-growing that makes for truly great wine. The irony in this overview is the enduring need for it to be included here in the first place — or in any piece of writing on the subject of Lebanese wine.

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Lebanese composer Elie Sfeir missing in Saudi Arabia - sources, local media

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by reuters -- A Lebanese music composer close to the president's party is believed to be detained in Saudi Arabia for unknown reasons, according to local media reports confirmed by two sources close to him and a security source. An official source said Lebanon's foreign ministry had tried to ask Saudi authorities about the whereabouts of Samir Sfeir, a well-known musician who has sung about President Michel Aoun. The Lebanese foreign ministry declined to comment. Saudi Arabia's government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An MP from Aoun's political party, Salim Aoun, had tweeted asking: "Where is Samir Sfeir?" with a hashtag calling for his "freedom". Local media said on Tuesday that the musician was believed to be detained in Saudi Arabia, where he has residence. Sfeir faced a backlash among Saudis on social media earlier this year when he shared a photo of himself getting a COVID-19 shot in Saudi Arabia. The post angered some who accused him of benefiting from the kingdom's services despite his past comments alluding to Saudi Arabia exporting terrorism, which the kingdom denies. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.