Lebanon

BEIRUT (AP) — Talks between the Lebanese government and the International Monetary Fund over an economic recovery plan should make progress in the next two weeks, Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Saturday.

Speaking to reporters in Qatar, where he is attending the Doha Forum, Mikati said an IMF delegation will resume talks with the government in Beirut on Tuesday over the country’s economic meltdown that began more than two years ago.

25 March 2022; MEMO: The British Embassy in Beirut said on Friday it was "deeply concerned" by Lebanese banks closing accounts belonging to people who are nationals or residents of the United Kingdom, Reuters reports.

In a statement, the Embassy said "this unilateral action" by banks had singled out account holders on the basis of their British residency or nationality, in "what appears to be a targeted and discriminatory manner".

24 March 2022; MEMO: The details of torture in an Israeli-run prison in Lebanon, including the electrocution of a female detainee and denial of medical care, have been uncovered in newly declassified Israeli documents.

BEIRUT, March 24 (Reuters) - When a Lebanese bank told Aref Yassin it had closed accounts worth $20 million belonging to the professional syndicate he heads and issued a cheque for the balance that was worth a fifth of its face value, he took the matter to court.

The money, saved from engineers' subscriptions and deposited at Fransabank, was earmarked for healthcare and pensions covered by the syndicate for about 100,000 people who now face losing a lifeline in a country in the third year of an economic meltdown.

BEIRUT, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Tuesday urged the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to intervene in Israel's violations of the country's airspace.

The prime minister's remarks came during his meeting at the Grand Serail with Aroldo Lazaro Saenz, head of UNIFIL, a day after the peacekeeping mission marked the 44th anniversary of its establishment, the Council of Ministers said in a statement.

17 March 2022; MEMO: Lebanon is gearing up for parliamentary elections on 15 May following the closure of candidate registration for the vote this week, Anadolu News Agency reports.

The polls will be the first since the Arab country was rocked by popular protests in 2019 on the back of economic deterioration and energy shortages.

So far, 1043 candidates have submitted their applications to run for parliamentary seats, with women making up 15 per cent of the candidates, with 155 hopefuls.

17 March 2022; MEMO: Raja Salameh, the brother of the Head of Lebanon's Central Bank, was arrested on Thursday, following his interrogation at a courthouse east of Beirut, Judge Ghada Aoun told Reuters.

Reuters reports that a judicial source separately said that Aoun had charged Salameh with "complicity in illicit enrichment" that also involved his brother, Central Bank Governor, Riad Salameh.

Riad Salameh has not been charged with a crime. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

BEIRUT, Mar 17 (NNN-NNA) – Lebanon’s cabinet approved an electricity reform plan yesterday, a critical step in addressing the country’s financial crisis, according to a statement by the Council of Ministers, or Lebanon’s cabinet.

The plan includes the construction of new power plants and the establishment of an electricity regulatory authority in 2022, as requested by western donors and the World Bank.

BEIRUT, Mar 17 (NNN-NNA) – An official Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) for Lebanon, revealed yesterday that, 53.1 percent of the country’s residents are poor and 16.2 percent categorised as extremely poor.

Issued by the Central Administration for Statistics and the World Bank, the index is derived from 19 indicators across five dimensions, including education, health, financial security/well-being, basic infrastructure and living standards.

15 March 2022; MEMO: Lebanon's prime minister announced on Monday that he does not plan to stand as a candidate in the parliamentary election scheduled for May. Najib Mikati said in a televised speech that he wishes to allow the new generation to speak and define its options through the election, and he called upon Lebanese citizens to turn out to vote, calling the process a "national duty" which should not be neglected.