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BEIRUT, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Lebanese bankers told European prosecutors they believed that commissions now at the centre of a graft probe had been paid to the central bank, four sources said, while investigators suspect the cash illegally ended up with the governor's brother. They suspect central bank governor Riad Salameh and his brother Raja illegally took more than $300 million from the central bank between 2002 and 2015 and invested some of the funds in Europe. The bankers and officials told the visiting European prosecutors that they were not aware that the funds had gone to Forry Associates, the four sources said. The four sources said former central bank officials and private bankers had told the European prosecutors they first heard of Forry Associates when the investigation began and the name appeared in the media. A separate but related Lebanese probe charged Riad Salameh with illicit enrichment in March, which he has denied.

When it rains, I'm worried the car will slide," Omayraat said. With foreign currency coffers dwindling, the state has already lifted subsidies on fuel and most medication. That is set to pile even more financial pressure on people struggling to make ends meet. He's not able to eat and I won't be able to eat," Omayraat said. It has left him sceptical that Lebanon will implement the reforms necessary to score a final IMF bailout in the coming months.

His children's school expenses are mostly covered by a charity and a portion of his medicine is subsidised by the state. Before, we used to plan for a month or a year or two ... now, we've lost that ability," he said. The government says it remains committed to implementing reforms that would pave the way for an IMF deal. While Lebanon had long relied on remittances, the flow has increased as some 200,000 people had emigrated since 2019, he said. Meanwhile, basic state functions are increasingly propped up by international donors seeking to prevent total state failure.

But among critics, their appearance has evoked parallels with the civil war when the state collapsed, militias controlled the streets and Beirut split into cantons. Such criticisms are rejected by Gemayel, a lawmaker in the Kataeb Party whose father, Bashir, led the main Christian militia in the civil war until he was assassinated in 1982 after being elected president. Lebanon's sectarian parties disarmed at the end of the war, bar Hezbollah, which kept its arsenal to fight Israel. Their pervasive influence is never far from the surface and tensions are common in a country awash with guns. Supporters of different groups fought deadly clashes in Beirut as recently as last year.

☆ Lebanon central bank to use forex rate of 15,000 pounds per dollar as of Feb 1
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Lebanon's central bank will adopt an exchange rate of 15,000 Lebanese pounds per U.S. dollar as of Feb. 1 as part of a process to unify the country's multiple exchange-rate system, Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh said on Monday. The parallel market exchange rate was hovering at around 39,000 pounds per dollar on Monday. Salameh said the rate for withdrawals governed by central bank circulars would be brought up to 15,000 pounds as of Feb. 1. The central bank would then have just two rates, Salameh said: 15,000, and a rate set by the central bank's Sayrafa exchange platform, which sat at around 30,000 pounds per dollar on Monday. Depositors have paid a big price, and have been mostly unable to access dollar savings or forced to make withdrawals in pounds at unfavourable rates.

☆ Middle East Airlines plane hit by stray bullet while landing in Beirut, no injuries
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] A bullet hole is seen in a Middle East Airlines (MEA) passenger plane, after it was hit by a stray bullet while landing in Beirut, with no injuries reported, according to MEA Chairman Mohamad El-Hout, Lebanon November 10, 2022. Middle East Airlines/Handout via ReutersBEIRUT, Nov 10 (Reuters) - A Middle East Airlines (MEA) passenger plane bound from Jordan to Beirut was hit by a stray bullet while landing in Beirut on Thursday, with no injuries reported, MEA Chairman Mohamad El-Hout said. Hout told Reuters that seven to eight stationary planes are hit by stray bullets shot from areas neighbouring Beirut airport each year, but Wednesday's incident was the first time this had occurred while a plane was moving. Lebanese lawmaker Paula Yacoubian was on the flight and shared images on her Twitter page appearing to show a hole in the fuselage of the plane. Reporting by Laila Bassam and Timour Azhari; Editing by Toby Chopra and Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: Arabs view revived Netanyahu with concern but as balance against Iran
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister predicted a new maritime border deal would hold, while Palestinians and Jordanian experts forecast new strains. "Netanyahu was part of the Abraham Accords and signed it so there is no change in the course of normalisation," he said. But in Jordan, home to millions of Palestinian refugees and their families, his expected triumph was met with concern. "Today the Israeli right is talking about expelling Palestinians, they are saying there is no (Palestinian) state ..so what is left for Arabs?" Netanyahu "has been terrible for even the semblance of a peace process which Egypt officially upholds," he said.

☆ Lebanon to resume sending refugees back to war-damaged Syria
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Timour Azhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Lebanon hosts the highest number of refugees per capita in the world. The plan would not involve the United Nations, which maintains that conditions in Syria do not allow for the large-scale return of refugees. The Lebanon office of the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said it was "not facilitating or promoting the large-scale voluntary repatriation of refugees to Syria." New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in July that "Syria is anything but safe for returnees". In its September report, the United Nations' Syria commission said the country was still not safe for returnees.

read moreIt will take effect once Lebanon and Israel send letters to Washington, which will issue a notice announcing the deal is in place. Parties to the deal would seek to resolve any further maritime differences through the United States, securing an ongoing guarantor role for Washington. A centrist, Lapid's caretaker government wants the deal done soon but has denied that the country's election is the deadline. TotalEnergies is set to begin exploration at the Qana prospect immediately after the deal takes effect, though Lebanon's energy minister said preparations would take a number of months. Seeking to play down future Lebanese profits, Israeli Energy Minister Karine Elharrar told Tel Aviv's 103 FM radio initial estimates put that prospect's total value at some $3 billion.

A view shows the border wall between Lebanon and Israel as pictured from Kfar Kila village, southern Lebanon, October 11, 2022. The agreement is meant to resolve a territorial dispute in the eastern Mediterranean sea in an area where Lebanon aims to explore for natural gas. It was also endorsed by the heavily armed, Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, which until recently has threatened to attack Israeli gas facilities, according to two officials. While Israel has moved ahead with production and export of natural gas, Lebanon's efforts have been hamstrung by political dysfunction. An Israeli official said final approval was expected within the next three weeks.

☆ EXCLUSIVE Lebanon satisfied with final draft of Israel maritime border deal -top Lebanese negotiator
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Timour Azhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Lebanon has received a final draft of a U.S.-mediated maritime border deal with Israel that satisfies all of Lebanon's requirements and could imminently lead to a "historic deal," Lebanese lead negotiator Elias Bou Saab told Reuters. "We received minutes ago the final draft... Lebanon felt that it takes into consideration all of Lebanon's requirements and we believe that the other side should feel the same," Bou Saab said. Israel's official view of the latest draft of the deal was not immediately clear. Israel last week rejected last-minute amendments to the deal by Lebanon that briefly appeared to jeopardize longstanding efforts to reach an agreement. Lebanon's president said that a deal would not signify a "partnership" with Israel, a country Lebanon does not recognize and officially regards as an enemy.

BEIRUT, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Lebanon plans to slash its official exchange rate, replacing the 1,507 per dollar rate adopted 25 years ago with a rate of 15,000 in a step towards unifying numerous exchange rates, the finance minister told Reuters on Wednesday. The Lebanese pound has plunged by more than 95% from the official rate since Lebanon fell into financial crisis three years ago, with dollars currently changing hands at around 38,000 on a parallel market. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"The goal is for there to be a unification of the exchange rates in Lebanon," Finance Minister Youssef Khalil said, calling the decision a "fundamental step" in that direction. Unifying the numerous exchange rates operating in the country is one of several conditions set by the IMF for Lebanon to secure a badly needed aid package. Khalil noted that unification of the exchange rates was an IMF demand, but added it was also something that must happen regardless, saying the government was taking a gradual approach.

☆ EXCLUSIVE Lebanon to slash official exchange rate from end of October, finance min says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIRUT, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Lebanon plans to slash its official exchange rate from the end of October, replacing the 1,507 per dollar rate adopted 25 years ago with a rate of 15,000 in a step towards unifying numerous exchange rates, the finance minister told Reuters. The pound has slumped by more than 95% from the official rate since Lebanon fell into financial crisis three years ago, with dollars currently changing hands at around 38,000 on a parallel market. Finance Minister Youssef Khalil said doing away with the 1,507 rate was a "good start". He said the government would be explaining the move to the public over the next month, after which the 1,507 rate would be abolished. Unifying the numerous exchange rates is one of several conditions set by the IMF for Lebanon to secure a badly needed aid package.

☆ Lebanese MPs to convene to elect new president, no consensus on candidate
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterBEIRUT, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri will call for a session to elect a new president on Sept. 29, state media reported, despite no political consensus on a candidate and dim chances of a sucessful vote. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe votes of two-thirds of lawmakers in the 128-member legislature are required for a candidate to be sucessful in the first round of voting, after which a simple majority suffices. Aoun came to power after a 29-month presidential vacuum in which parliament was unable to agree on electing a president. Aoun is limited to one term, and major political parties have not announced any agreement on his successor. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Timour Azhari; Editing by Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Lebanon parliament passes 2022 budget that falls short of IMF reform
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Timour Azhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sept 26 (Reuters) - Lebanon's parliament passed the 2022 budget on Monday using an exchange rate for customs tax revenues that lies far below the market value of the Lebanese pound, falling short of economic reform measures that would pay the way for an IMF deal. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterBut parliament endorsed a rate of 15,000 pounds to the dollar. The market rate sat at around 37,000 pounds on Friday. Officials view the approval of a higher exchange rate for imports as a move that would be unpopular with their constituencies in the heavily import-dependent country. The budget - adopted with just three months left in the year - calculated expenditures at 41 trillion Lebanese pounds, or $1.1 billion at the market rate on Monday, and revenues at 30 trillion Lebanese pounds.

A picture of Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati is placed on a residential building in the northern city of Tripoli, Lebanon September 23, 2022. The tragedy has underscored soaring poverty in northern Lebanon, and Tripoli in particular, that is driving ever more people to take desperate measures three years into the country's devastating financial collapse. Tripoli, Lebanon's second city with a population of roughly half a million, was already Lebanon's poorest before the country plummeted into financial crisis, the result of decades of corruption and bad governance overseen by ruling elites. The economic crisis has led poverty to sky-rocket, with 80% of the population of some 6.5 million poor, according to the United Nations. Several other boats attempted the voyage from Lebanon last week: Cyprus rescued 477 people from two vessels that left Lebanon.

Samer Qubrusli, the Syrian director-general of ports, told Reuters that authorities had found 34 bodies and rescued 14 people in Syrian waters by Thursday evening. The Syrian transport ministry cited survivors as saying the boat left from Lebanon's northern Minyeh region on Tuesday with between 120 and 150 people onboard. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterLebanese transport minister Ali Hamiye said he had been informed by Syrian Transport Minister Zuhair Khuzaim that 33 bodies had been recovered and 16 people rescued. The Syrian transport ministry statement said the director of the small island port of Arwad off the coast of Tartus informed them at 4:30 p.m. that a drowned person had been sighted near an anchored ship. About 80 Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian migrants were on board, of whom some 40 were rescued, seven were confirmed dead and around 30 officially remain missing.

George Haj of the bank employees syndicate said the holdups were misguiding anger that should be directed at the Lebanese state, which was most to blame for the crisis, and noted some 6,000 bank employees had lost their jobs since it began. Authorities have condemned the holdups and say they are preparing a security plan for banks. "They are all in cahoots to steal from us and leave us to go hungry and die slowly," she said. To aid her escape, Hafiz posted on Facebook that she was already at the airport and on her way to Istanbul. Abdallah Al-Saii, an acquaintance of Hafiz who held up a bank in January to get some $50,000 of his own savings, said more hold-ups were coming.

☆ Iran ready to send fuel ships to Lebanon in a week or two -Iranian embassy in Beirut
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sept 19 (Reuters) - Iran is ready to send ships loaded with fuel to Lebanon within one or two weeks to help run the country's power plants, the Iranian embassy in Beirut told Al-Manar TV as a Lebanese delegation was in Tehran to discuss energy cooperation. A Lebanese energy ministry spokesperson said they were unaware whether a fuel import deal had been struck but said "any gift from anywhere is welcome". Iran had previously proposed providing fuel to the Lebanese state in the form of a donation in an effort to avoid U.S. sanctions on Iran's energy sector, two government sources told Reuters earlier this month. read moreRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterLebanon and Iran are also discussing the construction of new power plants and fixing electrical power networks, the embassy said. Lebanon has struggled with outages for decades but its economic meltdown since 2019 has drained state coffers, slowing down imports of fuel for government plants.

Wylie did not respond to messages requesting updates on Rushdie's condition on Saturday, though the New York Times reported that Rushdie had started to talk, citing Wylie. In a statement on Saturday, President Joe Biden commended the "universal ideals" that Rushdie and his work embody. Rushdie was stabbed 10 times, prosecutors said during Matar's arraignment, according to the Times. There has been no official government reaction in Iran to the attack on Rushdie, but several hardline Iranian newspapers praised his assailant. A Hezbollah official told Reuters on Saturday that the group had no additional information on the attack on Rushdie.

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