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The charges come in the waning months of Salameh's latest term as governor, a position he has held for three decades and for which he was often celebrated - until 2019, when Lebanon's economy began to unravel. In comments to Reuters on Thursday, Salameh said the charges were "not an indictment" and pledged to abide by the judicial procedures. The governor has dismissed accusations of illicit enrichment as part of an effort to scapegoat him for Lebanon's financial collapse. TWO INTERPRETATIONSSalameh was charged last year over illicit enrichment in a case related to the purchase and rental of Paris apartments, including some to Lebanon's central bank. Oueidat referred the case - which included Salameh and a number of unidentified associates - to a Beirut prosecutor to file charges including illicit enrichment, embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion.

☆ Explainer: The probes into Lebanese central bank chief Salameh
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

BEIRUT, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Lebanese authorities charged longtime central bank governor Riad Salameh, his brother Raja and one of his assistants on Thursday with money laundering, embezzlement and illicit enrichment after months of delay in the high-profile case. Top prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat stopped Tannous from attending a Paris meeting last year with European prosecutors investigating Salameh, Reuters reported. In June 2022, Oueidat ordered a prosecutor to formally charge Salameh with crimes including money laundering, illicit enrichment, forgery and tax evasion. On Thursday, a newly appointed prosecutor, judge Raja Hamoush, charged Salameh with money laundering, embezzlement and illicit enrichment. The finance minister said this month replacing him would be difficult, citing Lebanon's political complexities.

The senior source familiar with Syrian government thinking said that the UAE role in persuading Assad should not be underestimated. A Syrian source close to the Gulf said the UAE had used its "soft power" on Assad and a Turkish official also said the UAE had played a part in persuading him. Moscow has tussled with Western states repeatedly at the Security Council over cross-border aid into Syria, arguing it violates Syria's sovereignty. Other Arab states, including U.S. allies, have also moved to normalise ties with Assad. The UAE official said there was an "urgent need to strengthen the Arab role in Syria".

[1/2] Police officers stand amid the rubble of a damaged building at the site of a rocket attack in the Kafr Sousa neighbourhood of central Damascus, Syria, February 19, 2023. Its support for Damascus and the Lebanese group Hezbollah has drawn regular Israeli air strikes meant to curb Tehran's extraterritorial military power. A source close to the Syrian government with knowledge of Sunday's strike and its target said it hit a gathering of Syrian and Iranian technical experts in drone manufacturing, though he said no top-level Iranian was killed. "The strike hit the centre where they were meeting as well as an apartment in a residential building. On Sunday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as attacks on "residential buildings in Damascus which killed and maimed innocent Syrian citizens".

☆ Four U.S. troops wounded in raid that killed Islamic State official
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIRUT/WASHINGTON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Four U.S. troops were wounded during a helicopter raid that killed an Islamic State group leader in northeast Syria, U.S. officials said on Friday. The U.S. military said the troops and a military working dog suffered the injuries when the target of the raid - identified as Hamza al-Homsi - triggered an explosion. Buccino said the raid was carried out with the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance led by Kurdish fighters that has waged a years-long campaign against Islamic State in the country's north. A separate raid also killed an Islamic State assassination cell leader, Buccino added, without going into detail. Islamic State named a new top leader in December after its former chief killed himself during a raid in southern Syria.

The quake killed at least 36,187 in southern Turkey, while authorities in neighbouring Syria have reported 5,800 deaths - a figure that has changed little in days. While several people were found alive in Turkey on Wednesday, the number of rescues has dwindled significantly. Neither Turkey nor Syria have said how many people are still missing. More than 4,000 fatalities have been reported in the rebel-held northwest, but rescuers say nobody has been found alive there since Feb. 9. Deliveries from Turkey were severed completely in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, when a route used by the United Nations was temporarily blocked.

☆ Syria quake response needs outstrip resources, Assad says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] People search under the rubble of a damaged building, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in rebel-held town of Jandaris, Syria February 15, 2023. "The scale of the disaster and the duties we must undertake are much greater than available resources," Assad said in his first televised address since the earthquake struck last Monday. The U.N. has said nearly 9 million Syrians were affected by the quake and launched a $400 million appeal to cover immediate humanitarian needs over the next three months. The quake eased Assad's international isolation after more than 11 years of civil war, with aid pouring in mostly from Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, which had funded the armed opposition to his government. Senior diplomats also met with him in Damascus including Jordan's foreign minister on Wednesday in the first such meeting since the war began.

☆ Lebanese depositors smash up, burn Beirut banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Mohamed AzakirBEIRUT, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Several dozen Lebanese protesters attacked banks in a Beirut neighbourhood on Thursday, while blocking roads protesting against informal restrictions on cash withdrawals in place for years and rapidly deteriorating economic conditions. At least six banks had been targeted as the Lebanese pound hit a new record low on Thursday, a spokesperson for Depositors Outcry, a lobby representing depositors with money stuck in the country's banking sector, said. Since 2019, Lebanese banks have imposed restrictions on withdrawals in U.S. dollars and Lebanese pounds that were never formalised by law, leading depositors to seek access to their funds through lawsuits and often by force. The Lebanese pound has lost more than 98% of its value since the country's financial sector imploded in 2019. It was changing hands at around 80,000 pounds per greenback on Thursday, dropping from 70,000 pounds just two days earlier.

[1/5] Displaced Syrians who lost their homes during the earthquake set up tents in a school yard, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake, in rebel-held town of Harem, Syria February 13, 2023. Now his home there is gone too, destroyed in another catastrophe, this time made by nature rather than man. The quake killed at least 4,400 people in Syria's northwest, leaving millions needing aid, according to the United Nations. Firewood lies stacked in a pile beside newly-hoisted tents while children play, taking turns sliding down a stone slope. The setup is meant to be temporary, but in this part of Syria many have lived this way for years.

Shunned by the West, Assad has been basking in an outpouring of support from Arab states that have normalised ties with him in recent years, notably the United Arab Emirates (UAE). On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia sent its first reported plane of aid to Assad-controlled Aleppo, a notable gesture from a Gulf state still at odds with Syria's president. 'BREAK THE SIEGE'The UAE has pledged $50 million in aid to Syria, without saying in which part of Syria it will be spent. Once a backer of Assad's foes, the UAE has been pressing other Arab states to re-engage with Damascus, according to two Gulf sources, despite opposition from its strategic ally the United States. Tunisia, which cut off ties with Syria a decade ago, has said it will strengthen relations with Damascus since the quake.

☆ First Saudi aid plane lands in Syria’s govt-held areas - state media
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] A Saudi aid plane is seen, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake, at Aleppo airport, Syria February 14, 2023. REUTERS/Firas MakdesiBEIRUT, Feb 14 (Reuters) - A Saudi aid plane landed at a Syrian airport held by the government of President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday in the first such shipment from the kingdom that has backed the armed opposition to Assad during the country's 11-year civil war. It said the operation was carried out on the orders of Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The person, who was not identified, said that Tuesday's plane was the first of several set to arrive over the next days. Reporting by Timour Azhari, Kinda Makieh and Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Tom Hogue and Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EU envoy to Syria: 'absolutely unfair' to be accused of shirking earthquake aid
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Maya Gebeily | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dan Stoenescu told Reuters the bloc and its member states have gathered more than 50 million euros to provide aid and back rescue missions and first aid in both government-held and rebel-controlled parts of Syria. "It is absolutely unfair to be accused of not providing aid, when actually we have constantly been doing exactly that for over a decade and we are doing so much more even during the earthquake crisis," Stoenescu said in written comments. The war carved the country into various competing zones of control, making aid provision difficult even before Monday's 7.8 magnitude quake. Stoenescu said the EU was encouraging member states to provide help and that sanctions "do not impede the delivery of humanitarian aid." "We call the authorities in Damascus not to politicise the humanitarian aid delivery, and to engage in good faith with all humanitarian partners and UN agencies to help people," he said.

[1/8] Seho Uyan, who survived a deadly earthquake, but lost his four relatives, sits in front of a collapsed building in Adiyaman, Turkey February 11, 2023. Turkey said about 80,000 people were in hospital, with more than 1 million in temporary shelters. U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths described the earthquake as the region's worst event in 100 years, predicting the death toll would at least double. He praised Turkey's response, saying his experience was that disaster victims were always disappointed by early relief efforts. It has killed 24,617 inside Turkey, and more than 3,500 in Syria, where tolls have not been updated since Friday.

☆ Islamist group approval issues hold up Syria quake aid, U.N. says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Earthquake aid from government-held parts of Syria into territory controlled by hardline opposition groups has been held up by approval issues with Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a United Nations spokesperson told Reuters on Sunday. A spokesperson for the U.N.'s humanitarian aid office told Reuters "there are issues with approval" by HTS, without giving further information. An HTS source in Idlib told Reuters the group would not allow any shipments from government-held parts of Syria and that aid would be coming in from Turkey to the north. The European Union's envoy to Syria on Sunday urged authorities in Damascus to "engage in good faith" with aid workers to get help to those in need. "It is important to allow unimpeded access for aid to arrive in all areas where it is needed," Dan Stoenescu told Reuters.

Damascus has long said aid to the rebel enclave in the north should go via Syria not across the Turkish border. Jordan and the UAE, which once backed Syria's opposition but have normalised ties with Assad in recent years, have sent aid to Damascus, Syrian state media has reported. WRANGLE OVER RESOURCESMoscow has long argued that delivering aid to northwest Syria from Turkey violates Syrian sovereignty. But he said aid flows must be coordinated with the government and delivered through Syria not across the Turkish border. The Damascus-based Syrian Red Crescent called for lifting of sanctions, which Syria's government has long blamed for mounting economic hardship.

[1/9] Rescuers work at the site of a damaged building in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, February 8, 2023. said Melek, 64, in the southern city of Antakya, adding that she had not seen any rescue teams. With the scale of the disaster becoming ever more apparent, the death toll - now 6,234 in Turkey - looks likely to keep on rising. In neighbouring Syria, already devastated by 11 years of war, the death toll climbed to more than 2,500 overnight, according to the Syrian government and a rescue service operating in the rebel-held northwest. The initial quake struck just after 4 a.m. on Monday, the dead of night in the dead of winter, giving the sleeping population little chance to react.

☆ Fact Check-Clip shows Beirut port explosion, not blast in Turkey after Feb 6 earthquakes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Social media users have shared a clip of the 2020 Beirut port explosion and falsely claimed that it depicts an explosion in Turkey after two powerful earthquakes that struck central Turkey and northwest Syria on Feb. 6. The miscaptioned video shows the moment of a massive explosion at a facility in Beirut’s port in August 2020 that housed over 2,700 tones of ammonium nitrate (here). An example of the miscaptioned Beirut clip shared online can be viewed (here), archived (archive.is/GTEzh). Reuters geolocated the footage to a building near the Beirut port (approximately 33.8980685, 35.507933) (ibb.co/BzsXL9G), (archive.is/wip/GA8lF). The clip shows the moment a warehouse exploded in Beirut port in August 2020.

☆ Earthquake leaves Syrians across frontlines with shared catastrophe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

That’s humanity," said Suleiman, who was displaced to Idlib from Deir al-Zor in eastern Syria during the war. State media say at least 812 people perished in government-held areas including Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Tartous. It's a country that is inhabited by death," said Hassan Hussein, from the coastal city and government stronghold of Tartous. In the rebel-held city of Atareb, Yousef Haboush lamented how the quake had forced many from their homes yet again. One of the residents, Abu Hamid, said he felt a sense of "proximity" to other Syrians, including those in rebel-held areas.

☆ Quake halts UN cross-border aid to Syria, unclear when will resume
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Even before the quake struck in the early hours of Monday, the United Nations estimated that more than 4 million people in northwest Syria, many displaced by the war and living in camps, depended on cross-border aid. Sun-Suon said aid workers were also struggling with limited access to water and power as well as looking for their own colleagues and loved ones. Aid already positioned within the northwest will likely be rapidly depleted, aid officials said. "We have heard there are some supplies in the system for the next 3 - 5 days however our concern is that these will be exhausted rapidly," Kieren Barnes, country director for Mercy Corps Syria, told Reuters. "We will need to significantly increase resources for northwest Syria and ensure supply lines are clear for us to respond."

☆ Map: 7.8-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Pablo Robles | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A deadly earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8, according to a U.S. agency, struck Turkey on Monday morning. Hundreds of buildings collapsed, and millions of people in Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Israel felt the earth shake. Hundreds of deaths were reported in Turkey and Syria, and the toll was expected to rise. Area affected by the earthquake Shake intensity Severe Moderate Black Sea Ankara TURKEY Epicenter Gaziantep CYPRUS Beirut SYRIA LEBANON Damascus Tel Aviv IRAQ JORDAN ISRAEL 200 miles Istanbul Black Sea Ankara TURKEY Epicenter Gaziantep CYPRUS IRAN Beirut SYRIA Mediterranean Sea LEBANON Damascus Tel Aviv JORDAN IRAQ Area of detail ISRAEL 200 miles Istanbul Black Sea Ankara TURKEY Light Moderate Strong Epicenter Gaziantep Severe shaking IRAN CYPRUS Beirut SYRIA Mediterranean Sea LEBANON Damascus Tel Aviv JORDAN IRAQ Area of detail ISRAEL 200 miles Source: U.S. Geological Survey Note: Based on assessment as of 1:00 a.m. EST on Feb. 6.

[1/2] A man stands near a damaged vehicle, following an earthquake, in rebel-held Azaz, Syria February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Mahmoud HassanoSummary Quake strikes central Turkey, northwest SyriaHundreds of buildings across the region brought downRescuers begin hunt for untold numbers trapped in rubbleDIYARBAKIR/ANKARA, Turkey, Feb 6 (Reuters) - A major earthquake of magnitude 7.9 struck central Turkey and northwest Syria on Monday, killing about 200 people as buildings collapsed across the snowy region, and triggering a search for survivors trapped in rubble. "I have never felt anything like it in the 40 years I've lived," said Erdem, a resident of the Turkish city of Gaziantep, near the quake's epicentre, who declined to give his surname. The United States was "profoundly concerned" about the quake in Turkey and Syria and was monitoring events closely, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Twitter. More than 17,000 people were killed in 1999 when a 7.6-magnitude quake struck Izmit, a city southeast of Istanbul.

☆ Beirut blast investigator puts off interrogations of top officials
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, Feb 6 (Reuters) - The judge investigating the deadly 2020 Beirut port blast said he had postponed interrogations of senior current and former officials that had been set to begin on Monday until a legal dispute over the extent of his powers can be resolved. Bitar, who denies the accusations, had set interrogation sessions for about a dozen current and former officials in February, beginning with former ministers Ghazi Zeaiter and Nouhad Machnouk on Monday. He had also set sessions for former prime minister Hassan Diab and the intelligence chief, Major General Abbas Ibrahim. Some 40 Lebanese lawmakers and groups representing judges and lawyers have called for Oueidat to reverse his decisions and allow Bitar to resume his investigation. Reporting by Timour Azhari; Editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Powerful earthquake kills at least 200 in Turkey and Syria, toll expected to rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Rescuers search for victims of a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Diyarbakir, Turkey, in this video grab from AFP TV taken Feb. 6, 2023. A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday, toppling buildings and triggering a frantic search for survivors in the rubble in cities and towns across the area. At least 207 were killed and hundreds injured, and the toll was expected to rise. On both sides of the border, residents were jolted out of sleep by the tremors several hours before dawn and rushed outside in a cold, rainy and snowy winter night. The death toll in government-held areas of Syria climbed to 111 with at least 516 injured, according to Syrian state media.

☆ Syria earthquake toll rises to more than 230 dead, 600 wounded - senior health official
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/3] Rescuers work at the site of a damaged building, following an earthquake, in rebel-held Azaz, Syria February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Mahmoud HassanoBEIRUT, Feb 6 (Reuters) - A major earthquake killed more than 200 people and injured more than 600 others in Syria, a senior health official told Syrian state TV on Monday. "The earthquake toll rose to 237 killed and 639 injured," Ahmed Damiriyye, an aide to Syria's health minister, said. Reporting by Maya Gebeily; Writing by Clauda Tanios; Editing by Tom HogueOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Turkey’s two main fault zones — the East Anatolian and the North Anatolian — make it one of the most seismically active regions in the world. Magnitudes of major earthquakes since 1900 Map showing the East Anatolian and North Anatolian fault zones in Turkey. The 7.8-magnitude earthquake at 4:17 a.m. local time, and the unusually large 7.5-magnitude aftershock nine hours later, both were in the East Anatolian Fault Zone. The East Anatolian zone encompasses the area where there is movement of the Anatolian Plate relative to the Arabian Plate to the southeast. The North Anatolian zone is where there is movement of the Anatolian Plate and the Eurasian Plate to the north.

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