Israel said that it intercepted a drone launched by the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon, which has launched an investigation into the incident…reports Asian Lite News
An Israeli military spokesperson said in a statement that troops shot down the unmanned aerial vehicle which entered the country’s airspace after crossing the border from Lebanon, reports Xinhua news agency.
“The drone was monitored by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) throughout the incident,” said the statement, adding that the IDF will continue to operate in order to prevent any attempt to violate Israeli sovereignty.
Meanwhile, a Lebanese army intelligence source told Xinhua that the country’s military and security authorities had opened an investigation into the incident in coordination with the UN.
The source said that the Lebanese side received a report from the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), indicating that the Israeli army had shot down an unmanned aircraft that infiltrated the airspace from Lebanon.
On the Lebanese side, the UNIFIL conducted patrols in coordination with Lebanese armed forces along the Blue Line, the source added.
The incident came one day after Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said that his group has been manufacturing drones inside Lebanon and has the ability to turn thousands of rockets into precise missiles.
Hezbollah and Israel, which fought a major war in 2006, have since then maintained a delicate balance of conflict with short flare-ups.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said that for the first time, the Lebanon-based group has the ability to turn thousands of rockets into precision missiles and produce drones inside the country…reports Asian Lite News
“We have been producing drones in Lebanon for a long time, and whoever wants to buy them, submit an order,” Xinhua news agency quoted Nasrallah as saying in a televised speech on Wednesday.
Iranian experts helped Hezbollah to transform rockets into precision missiles, Nasrallah said, adding that his group has also increased its anti-drone capabilities which led to a decline in Israeli drone overflights.
Earlier this month, Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz had signed an administrative order to seize the assets of three Lebanese companies that allegedly supplied materials to Hezbollah on manufacturing precision missiles.
Meanwhile, Gantz vowed to continue offering humanitarian assistance to Lebanese citizens while acting resolutely in the face of the Iranian precision missile project operating from the heart of the nation.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati has inaugurated the Lebanese National Library, a war-torn institution that has gone through decades of restoration…reports Asian Lite News
“Despite all the political, economic and social challenges, Lebanon will always be a hub for culture,” he told an inauguration ceremony, quoted by the Council of Ministers’ statement as saying.
Established in 1921, the library was closed to the public in 1979 due to bombing and looting during the country’s 15-year civil war, reports Xinhua news agency.
In 1999, the Lebanese government designated an old Ottoman-era building in the Sanayeh district as the new site of the library. Yet the restoration of the building and documents were repeatedly interrupted due to conflicts and challenges such as the Beirut port explosion in 2020.
The library’s collections contained 300,000 titles, including books, manuscripts, rare documents, periodicals, as well as paintings, music scores and postcards.
Report reveals nearly 400 per cent rise of Lebanese migrants … reports ADD News
The number of Lebanese migrants increased by 346 percent to 79,134 in 2021 from 17,721 in 2020, a report said.
The year 2021 witnessed the largest number of Lebanese migrants during the past five years, reported the quarterly online magazine The Monthly, affiliated with Information International, a research centre in Lebanon.
The magazine attributed the remarkable increase in migration to the deteriorating living conditions in Lebanon, where proper public services are becoming scarce, including electricity, water, transportation, in addition to the rising prices, Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying.
Lebanon has been going through the worst financial crisis in its history. More than 70 per cent of the population are living under the poverty line, according to a UN report unveiled in September 2021.
Nation Building
Lebanese experts believe that the country is still facing severe economic and financial challenges in 2022, urging the introduction of a comprehensive recovery plan which comprises thorough structural reforms to prevent it from sliding further into collapse.
Patrick Mardini, president of the Lebanese Institute for Market Studies, told Xinhua news agency that the main challenge facing the Lebanese government in 2022 is to achieve a budget balance.
“This is not the case with the 2022 budget, currently under study, which runs 15 trillion Lebanese pounds (LBP) in deficit,” he said.
Mardini suggested that the government should restructure its debt after it has defaulted on a $1.2 billion Eurobond in 2020, its first-ever sovereign default, which undermined the government’s ability to access international markets to finance the deficit.
Lebanon is facing the worst financial crisis in its history, with public debt of over $98 billion and the currency losing over 90 per cent of its value.
Mohammad Faour, a financial researcher, told Xinhua that Lebanon faces difficulties this year to restructure banks, not only to repay depositors’ money but also to allow the banking sector to restore its vital role as a financial intermediary.
“In the absence of a stable and relatively clean financial sector, we cannot dream of any kind of capital inflow into the country,” Faour said.
Another major challenge, according to Faour, is the urgent need to unify parallel exchange rates of the Lebanese pound to the US dollar.
In 1997, the pound was pegged to the dollar at the rate of 1,500 LBP to $1, and the two currencies were freely convertible on that basis until October 2019. After the country slid into the devastating economic crisis, the currency lost its value sharply in the market.
For now, the central bank allowed withdrawals at the official rate of 8,000 LBP to the dollar, even as the market rate soared beyond that, reaching 32,000 LBP to the dollar at one stage last month.
“The absence of a unified exchange rate has distorted economic activities. People need an anchor to set prices,” Faour said.
For his part, Mounir Younes, economist and former chief editor of Al Qabas Kuwaiti daily newspaper, said the government needs to deal with the elevated inflation which is eroding the purchasing power of the Lebanese.
Goods prices continued to climb as Lebanon imports most of its locally consumed goods, which drives prices upward with the strengthening of the U.S. dollar.
“Around 80 per cent of the Lebanese are paid in local currency and they have seen their purchasing power drop by 90 per cent,” he said.
Younes also emphasized the need to reform Lebanon’s dysfunctional energy sector which, alone, has accounted for about 40 per cent of the country’s public debt since 1992.
Lebanon started last month the first round of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund to unlock aid with talks focusing on topics including the budget, the banking sector and the exchange rate, the balance of payments, the energy sector, governance, and assistance to poor families.
The number of Lebanese migrants increased by 346 percent to 79,134 in 2021 from 17,721 in 2020…reports Asian Lite News
The year 2021 witnessed the largest number of Lebanese migrants during the past five years, reported the quarterly online magazine The Monthly, affiliated with Information International, a research centre in Lebanon.
The magazine attributed the remarkable increase in migration to the deteriorating living conditions in Lebanon, where proper public services are becoming scarce, including electricity, water, transportation, in addition to the rising prices, Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying.
US Energy Envoy, Amos Hochstein has said the gaps have narrowed between Lebanon and Israel regarding maritime border demarcation…reports Asian Lite News
“There is an opportunity today… We can reach an agreement, but we will not conclude it ourselves, as Lebanon and Israel must decide to do so,” Hochstein said on Tuesday in an interview with Lebanese MTV local TV channel.
The US official arrived in Beirut on Tuesday to look into ways to resume talks over Lebanese-Israeli maritime border demarcation, Xinhua news agency reported.
In 2020, Israel and Lebanon began US-mediated negotiations concerning their maritime border, but talks stalled when Lebanon expanded its demands, increasing the disputed area from 860 to 2,300 square km to include part of the Karish North field, initially claimed by Israel.
Recently, Israel had announced sanctions against three Lebanese companies that allegedly supplied materials to the Lebanese Hezbollah’s efforts to manufacture precision missiles.
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz signed an administrative order to seize the assets of three Lebanese companies, Toufali, Moubayed and Barakat, his office said on Sunday in a statement.
These companies focus on producing machines, oils and ventilation systems required for Hezbollah’s production lines, including the precision missiles project, according to the statement.
The order does not have immediate implications but it will allow the international financial system to blacklist the companies, the office said, adding that the order “will make it very difficult for (the companies) to continue operating”.
The order is part of the Defence Minister’s efforts to elevate economic pressure on the precision missiles project in Lebanon, Xinhua news agency reported.
Israel and Hezbollah, two sworn enemies, had their last full-fledged war in 2006 which took place mostly on Lebanese soil.
Ali Khayat, a Lebanese man in his 60s, is working behind an old sewing machine on a stack of threadbare shoes as he just opened a small repair shop in the southern city of Nabatieh…reports Asian Lite News
It has been 11 years since Khayat worked as a cobbler. Now he picked up the old profession to make ends meet for his family amid an unprecedented national financial crisis, Xinhua news agency reported.
“My old job came in handy as prices of shoes skyrocketed, forcing people to fix their old footwear and save money for their more basic needs,” Khayat told Xinhua.
Dozens of bags and shoes are stacked in his shop, a backlog so big that it has become difficult to meet the deadline for many of the orders, he noted.
“The cost of repairing shoes, no matter how much it has increased in the past two years, remains much more affordable than buying new shoes,” the old man said.
For the past two years, Lebanon has been reeling from an unprecedented financial crisis, with a poverty rate hovering around 78 per cent, where the Lebanese have been struggling to cover basic needs such as food, medication, and education.
Hassan al-Sharif, a tailor in Nabatieh, reopened his shop several months ago after noticing a surge in demand for his service, as prices of textiles and threads have skyrocketed since the collapse of the Lebanese pound to the US dollar starting late 2019.
Amjad Hayek spends hours in Lebanon’s southern villages to bleach copper kitchen utensils, during which villagers would gather around, marveling at his skills and craftsmanship.
“The rise in prices of utensils prompted people to repair their old kitchen items,” he said.
Lebanon’s financial crisis and currency collapse caused a devaluation of people’s salaries, sending a big percentage of the population into poverty.
Meanwhile, differences among political parties have hindered the process for Lebanon to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund on billions of dollars of aid funds.
Lebanon’s Culture Ministry has handed over to Iraq 337 ancient artifacts that had been on display in a private Lebanese museum for years, the National News Agency (NNA) reported…reports Asian Lite News
Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada on Sunday returned the items, which include clay tablets, to Iraqi Ambassador to Lebanon, Haider Shyaa Al-Barrak during a ceremony held at the National Museum of Beirut, NNA said.
Israel has announced sanctions against three Lebanese companies that allegedly supplied materials to the Lebanese Hezbollah’s efforts to manufacture precision missiles…reports Asian Lite News
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz signed an administrative order to seize the assets of three Lebanese companies, Toufali, Moubayed and Barakat, his office said on Sunday in a statement.
These companies focus on producing machines, oils and ventilation systems required for Hezbollah’s production lines, including the precision missiles project, according to the statement.
The order does not have immediate implications but it will allow the international financial system to blacklist the companies, the office said, adding that the order “will make it very difficult for (the companies) to continue operating”.
The order is part of the Defense Minister’s efforts to elevate economic pressure on the precision missiles project in Lebanon, Xinhua news agency reported.
Israel and Hezbollah, two sworn enemies, had their last full-fledged war in 2006 which took place mostly on Lebanese soil.
UNSC calls for normal functioning of govt
The UN Security Council (UNSC) has called for the normal functioning of government in Lebanon to carry out much-needed reforms and hold elections.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun
In a statement on Friday, UNSC members took note positively of the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Lebanon on January 24, and stressed the need for the swift resumption of its regular meetings, reports Xinhua news agency.
The members urged expeditious and effective decisions by the government to initiate measures, including the swift adoption of an appropriate budget for 2022 that would enable the quick conclusion of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund.
Moreover, the members reiterated with urgency the need to implement previously outlined, tangible reforms which are necessary to help the Lebanese population and also underlined the importance of delivering those reforms in order to ensure effective international support.
The UNSC members underlined the importance of holding free, fair, transparent and inclusive elections as scheduled on May 15, 2022, ensuring the full, equal and meaningful participation of women as candidates and voters in the election, and called on the government to enable the Supervisory Commission for Elections to carry out its mandate, notably by providing it with adequate resources and initiating the process of nominating candidates.
They deplored the recent incidents in the area of operations of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and recalled the necessity for all parties to ensure that UNIFIL personnel are safe and secure and their freedom of movement is fully respected and unimpeded.
They called on the Lebanese authorities to investigate all attacks against UNIFIL and its personnel and bring to justice the perpetrators of those incidents.
The Council members stressed once again the need for a swift, independent, impartial, thorough, and transparent investigation into the explosions which struck Beirut on August 4, 2020.
They called on all Lebanese parties to implement a tangible policy of disassociation from any external conflicts, as an important priority.
The UN Security Council (UNSC) has called for the normal functioning of government in Lebanon to carry out much-needed reforms and hold elections…reports Asian Lite News
In a statement on Friday, UNSC members took note positively of the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Lebanon on January 24, and stressed the need for the swift resumption of its regular meetings, reports Xinhua news agency.
The members urged expeditious and effective decisions by the government to initiate measures, including the swift adoption of an appropriate budget for 2022 that would enable the quick conclusion of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund.
Moreover, the members reiterated with urgency the need to implement previously outlined, tangible reforms which are necessary to help the Lebanese population and also underlined the importance of delivering those reforms in order to ensure effective international support.
The UNSC members underlined the importance of holding free, fair, transparent and inclusive elections as scheduled on May 15, 2022, ensuring the full, equal and meaningful participation of women as candidates and voters in the election, and called on the government to enable the Supervisory Commission for Elections to carry out its mandate, notably by providing it with adequate resources and initiating the process of nominating candidates.
They deplored the recent incidents in the area of operations of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and recalled the necessity for all parties to ensure that UNIFIL personnel are safe and secure and their freedom of movement is fully respected and unimpeded.
They called on the Lebanese authorities to investigate all attacks against UNIFIL and its personnel and bring to justice the perpetrators of those incidents.
The Council members stressed once again the need for a swift, independent, impartial, thorough, and transparent investigation into the explosions which struck Beirut on August 4, 2020.
They called on all Lebanese parties to implement a tangible policy of disassociation from any external conflicts, as an important priority.
