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☆ 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.

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.

☆ 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.

[1/6] Members of the military walk on the street in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Antakya, Turkey February 16, 2023. The number of people killed by the deadliest earthquake in Turkey's modern history has risen to 36,187, authorities said. While several people were also found alive in Turkey on Wednesday, reports of such rescues have become increasingly infrequent. Authorities in Turkey and Syria have not announced how many people are still missing. Millions of people are in need of humanitarian aid after being left homeless in near-freezing winter temperatures.

More than 105,000 people were injured in the quake, he said, with more than 13,000 still being treated in hospital. Afterwards, Gungor's relatives hugged the rescue team, made up of military personnel and members of the disaster management authority AFAD. Families in both Turkey and Syria said they and their children were dealing with the psychological aftermath of the quake. A first convoy of U.N. aid entered rebel-held northwest Syria from Turkey via the newly-opened Bab al-Salam crossing. Russia also said it was wrapping up its search and rescue work in Turkey and Syria and preparing to withdraw.

The combined death toll in Turkey and Syria has climbed to more than 41,000, and millions are in need of humanitarian aid, with many survivors having been left homeless in near-freezing winter temperatures. It asked Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to open more border crossing points with Turkey to allow aid to get through. "I shouted, shouted and shouted. Civil war hostilities have obstructed at least two attempts to send aid to the northwest from elsewhere in Syria, but an aid convoy reached the area overnight. "The children and I, by some miracle, we ended up in this small space that I had left empty."

☆ 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.

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.

[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.

☆ UN aid chief: quake rescue phase 'coming to a close'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ALEPPO, Syria, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The phase of the rescue after the major earthquake struck Turkey and Syria a week ago is "coming to a close" with urgency now switching to shelter, food, schooling and psychosocial care, the U.N. aid chief said during a visit to Syria on Monday. The Feb. 6 earthquake struck a swathe of northwest Syria, a region partitioned by the 11-year-long war, including insurgent-held territory at the Turkish border and government areas controlled by President Bashar al-Assad. Griffiths said the United Nations would have aid moving from government-held regions to the rebel-held northwest, a front line across which aid has seldom passed during the conflict. The United Nations said more than 4,300 had been reported killed in the northwest, and more than 7,600 injured. Reporting by Reuters TV; Writing by Timour Azhari/Tom Perry, Writing by Clauda Tanios; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 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.

☆ First aid convoy bound for NW Syria from Turkey nears border -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Rescuers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed building, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Latakia, Syria February 9, 2023. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar/File PhotoFeb 9 (Reuters) - The first convoy of humanitarian assistance for people in northwest Syria since Monday's devastating earthquake is en route to the southern Turkish border with the hope of crossing on Thursday, two aid sources told Reuters. A Turkish official said the Bab al-Hawa border crossing was open for humanitarian aid and authorities will open a few more crossings after two days if security is sound. The United Nations has described access to the opposition-controlled area of Syria through Bab al-Hawa as a "lifeline" for some 4 million people who it says rely on humanitarian assistance. U.N. aid from Turkey served 2.7 million people in northwest Syria per month last year compared with 43,500 people a month who received aid from routes within Syria since August 2021.

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.

☆ 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."

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ Lebanon devalues official exchange rate by 90%
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIRUT, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Lebanon adopted a new official exchange rate of 15,000 pounds per U.S. dollar on Wednesday, the central bank said, marking a 90% devaluation from its previous official rate that had been unchanged for 25 years. The shift from the old rate of 1,507 is still far off the parallel market where most trades take place. Two market participants said the pound was changing hands at around 59,000 per dollar on Tuesday. Lebanese officials have described the adoption of the new official exchange rate as a step towards unifying an array of rates that have emerged during the crisis. Analysts expect the shift to have less impact on the wider economy, which is increasingly dollarized and where most trades take place according to the parallel market rate.

BEIRUT, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Lebanon will adopt a new official exchange rate of 15,000 pounds per U.S. dollar on Feb. 1, central bank governor Riad Salameh said, marking a 90% devaluation from its current official rate that has remained unchanged for 25 years. The pound has lost some 97% of its value since it began to split from the 1,507 rate in 2019. In order to ease the impact of this shift, banks would be given five years "to reconstitute the losses due to the devaluation," he said. Several rates remain, including the official rate, the central bank's Sayrafa exchange platform rate which currently stands at 38,000 pounds per U.S. dollar, and the parallel market rate. While capital controls have never been formally imposed in Lebanon, banks since 2019 have imposed their own controls, severely limiting withdrawals in dollars and Lebanese pounds.

☆ Lebanese MPs denounce top prosecutor's moves against judge probing port blast
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File PhotoBEIRUT, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Some 40 Lebanese lawmakers on Friday became the latest group to back the judge investigating the catastrophic 2020 Beirut port blast and call for the country's top prosecutor to be held accountable for steps taken against the judge and his probe. Judge Tarek Bitar on Monday resumed his probe into the blast that killed more than 220 people after a 13-month suspension caused by legal wrangling and high-level political pressure. He issued charges against senior security, political and judicial officials, including top public prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat. It said judges who have "sold themselves in service of political authorities" should resign and be held accountable. The Beirut Bar Association, representing lawyers, said that Oueidat's decisions "constituted an abuse of power and a violation of the law".

[1/3] George Bezdjian, whose daughter Jessica died in 2020 port explosion, holds her picture during a protest against steps taken this week to hamstring a probe into the 2020 port blast, in Beirut, Lebanon January 26, 2023. With friends and allies of Lebanon's most powerful factions, including Hezbollah, among those charged, the establishment struck back swiftly on Wednesday, when the prosecutor general charged Bitar with usurping powers. With deep fissures in the judiciary exposed, the tussle adds to the unravelling of a state accelerated by a three-year-long financial crisis, left to fester by the ruling elite. Attempts by a Lebanese judge to investigate Salameh have hit obstacles in Lebanon, where politicians have big sway over the judiciary. In opposing Bitar, Hezbollah has accused the United States of meddling in the investigation and Bitar of political bias.

"He is not above God," Oweidat told Reuters, referring to Bitar. Several members of parliament had earlier met with the justice minister and the head of the supreme judicial council. 'JUDICIAL SCANDAL'Families of those killed in the blast, members of parliament and other Lebanese flocked to Lebanon's justice palace on Thursday to demand Bitar be allowed to carry on. This week's developments have set up a tug-of-war in Lebanon's judiciary, where politicians have influence over many appointments. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Wednesday that splits in the judiciary could have "dangerous consequences" if left unresolved.

Bitar told Reuters on Wednesday that Oweidat "had no right" to file the charge or release detainees because Oueidat himself was charged over the explosion. Oweidat told Reuters he had summoned Bitar for questioning but did not say whether he had charged him. Oweidat had earlier recused himself from any involvement in the blast probe as Bitar had issued an arrest warrant for his brother-in-law, former public works minister Ghazi Zeaiter. "Instead of me appearing before him, he'll be appearing before me," Oweidat told Reuters by text message. He met with French investigators visiting Beirut last week as part of a French probe into the explosion, whose victims included two French nationals.

BEIRUT, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The judge probing the 2020 Beirut blast has charged Lebanon's top public prosecutor, the then-premier and other senior current and former officials in connection with the devastating explosion, judicial sources said and court summons show. He also charged Prosecutor General Ghassan Oweidat, the head of Lebanon's domestic intelligence agency Major General Abbas Ibrahim, former army commander Jean Kahwaji and other current and former security and judicial officials, court sources said. [1/2] Relatives of some of the victims of the August 2020 Beirut port blast carry their pictures and banners during a protest outside the Justice Palace, in Beirut, Lebanon September 7, 2022. The embassy on Tuesday tweeted that the United States "support and urge Lebanese authorities to complete a swift and transparent investigation" into the blast. Diab, an academic, became prime minister in January 2020 and resigned less than a week after the blast.

☆ Lebanon blast investigator charges public prosecutor, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIRUT, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The judge investigating the 2020 Beirut port explosion has charged Lebanon's top public prosecutor and three other judges in connection with the catastrophic blast, two judicial sources said on Tuesday. Judicial sources said interrogations had been scheduled for February for 15 people, including the top security officials, Oweidat, two former ministers, and Hassan Diab, who was the prime minister at the time of the blast. Bitar met French judges visiting Beirut last week as part of a French investigation into the explosion, whose victims included two French nationals. Bitar resumed work on the basis of a legal interpretation challenging the reasons for its suspension, the judicial sources said. Hezbollah has campaigned against Bitar as he sought to question its allies and accused Washington of meddling in the probe.

You feel like he's on a solo mission," Tania Daou-Alam, who lost her husband in the blast, told Reuters. Bitar went on to file his own charges against several top politicians, including former ministers allied to Hezbollah. Bitar, a devout Catholic from Akkar region of the north, has charged officials from across the sectarian spectrum including Shi'ites, Sunnis and Christians. "I said from the start 'the right person is in the right place'," he added, describing Bitar as just with no political affiliations. William Noun, who lost his brother in the blast, said of Bitar's move: "This is very much a judicial uprising".

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