Tag Archives: corruption

 Riots left more than two dozen people injured in Tripoli on Friday, including 10 soldiers, as tensions continued to rise in Lebanon. “The situation seems to be getting worse, and things are about to escalate because we are facing a difficult political and social fate,” said Lebanese Armed Forces Commander …

Lebanon’s prime minister-designate Saad Al-Hariri said on Wednesday he had presented a cabinet proposal to President Michel Aoun and is awaiting his response on Thursday, in a move that could end almost nine months of political deadlock amid an economic collapse. “Now is the moment of truth,” Hariri, who has …

Police fired tear gas to try to disperse relatives of victims of last year’s Beirut port blast protesting outside the home of the caretaker interior minister on Tuesday over his refusal to let the lead investigator question Lebanon’s security chief. Nearly a year after the Aug. 4 explosion, which killed …

The death toll from a fire that tore through a coronavirus hospital in southern Iraq rose to 92, health officials said on Tuesday, as authorities faced accusations of negligence from grieving relatives and a doctor who works there. More than 100 people were injured in the blaze on Monday night …

The European Union said on Monday it wanted to agree by the end of July the legal framework for a sanctions regime targeting Lebanese leaders, but cautioned that the measure would not be immediately implemented. Led by France, the EU is seeking to ramp up pressure on Lebanon’s squabbling politicians …

Lebanon’s most senior Christian cleric said on Thursday he hoped for an improvement in ties with Saudi Arabia, which has withheld support for the crisis-torn Lebanese economy because of the rising influence of its arch-enemy Hezbollah. Lebanon is battling an economic meltdown that poses the worst threat to its stability …

A Palestinian activist who died in the custody of President Mahmoud Abbas’s security forces took blows to the head, a Palestinian rights group said after conducting an autopsy, adding the wounds indicated “an unnatural death”. According to relatives, Nizar Banat was severely beaten during his arrest by Palestinian security forces …

The European Union’s foreign policy chief said on Sunday a fight among Lebanese leaders to secure power is at the heart of its government crisis and he urged them to set their feud aside and form a cabinet or risk a total financial crash and sanctions. Speaking after talks with …

Josep Borrell, the high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy, has criticized Lebanese officials and conveyed a “severe” message for “not forming the government after nine months of the resignation of Hassan Diab’s government and nomination of Saad Hariri as prime minister-designate.” Borrell, who is also …

Criteria for European Union sanctions being prepared for Lebanese politicians are likely to be corruption, obstructing efforts to form a government, financial mishandling and human rights abuses, according to a diplomatic note seen by Reuters. Led by France, the EU is seeking to ramp up pressure on Lebanon’s squabbling politicians …

A Jordanian MP expelled from parliament for inciting riots, has been arrested Jordan News Agency reported on Wednesday. Jordanian MPs voted earlier this month to remove Osama Al-Ajarmeh from the lower house after violence erupted in the suburb of Naour, a stronghold of the Ajarmeh tribe in southwest Amman.  Four …

Public prosecutors in Lebanon have been instructed to crack down on the monopoly on foodstuffs and oil derivatives as political, security and diplomatic concerns grow over explosive daily protests. The spontaneous protests are also demanding access to medicine, fuel, hospitalization and electricity. The Crisis Observatory at the American University of …

In a speech seen as an act of defiance against the Lebanese state and the US, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday insisted that Lebanon should be “negotiating with Iran to buy gasoline and diesel with the Lebanese currency if Lebanon’s shortages persist.” Seemingly unconcerned about the possibility that this …

Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun approved an exceptional loan of up to 300 billion Lebanese pounds ($200 million) on Monday for the state electricity company to import fuel for generation before supplies run out, an official statement said. Lebanon is mired in a financial crisis, caused by a mountain of debt built …

France has opened a probe into the personal wealth of Riad Salameh, central bank chief in crisis-hit Lebanon, sources told AFP Sunday. Paris financial prosecutors have opened a preliminary probe into criminal association and money laundering by Salameh, a source close to the investigation and a judicial source said, following …

Prime Minister-Designate Saad Hariri asked the Lebanese government on Saturday to pay its dues to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and for the international community to shoulder its responsibility. The tribunal was set up to prosecute those behind the 2005 assassination of Hariri’s father, Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. It is …

Part of the file being considered by French investigating judges who questioned fugitive former car executive Carlos Ghosn in Beirut this week should be considered invalid, his defense team said on Friday. French judges have been holding hearings in Beirut’s Palace of Justice since Monday, in a process that Ghosn’s …

Lebanon’s central bank yesterday said depositors with accounts active as of October 2019 would be able to withdraw up to $400 a month plus the equivalent amount in local currency, marking a significant concession after a chaotic two days in Lebanese banking. Lebanese banks had locked depositors out of their …

Pope Francis said Sunday he would invite Lebanon’s Christian leaders to the Vatican on July 1 to reflect and pray for “peace and stability” in the stricken Middle Eastern nation. Lebanon is in the throes of a double economic and political crisis. It is experiencing its worst financial downturn since …

 Lebanon’s central bank said on Thursday that a system for importing subsidised medical goods could not be sustained without using its mandatory reserves and asked the relevant authorities to find a solution to the problem. Lebanon, which in the throes of a financial crisis that is threatening its stability, has …

Lebanon’s parliament will convene on Friday to discuss a letter written by the president saying Prime Minister-designate Saad Al-Hariri had shown he was incapable of forming a government that could pull the nation out of financial crisis. The letter, seen by Reuters, follows months of political negotiations in a country …

Political and economic figures have expressed their opposition to dragging Lebanon into a regional conflict amid the Palestine-Israel crisis and violent clashes. The Vice President of the General Labor Confederation Hassan Fakih warned against “taking the country into total chaos that will wipe out what is left of Lebanon.” His …

Saudi Arabia has released construction tycoon Bakr Bin Laden after more than three years since he was detained as part of a corruption crackdown in 2017, two sources told Reuters on Thursday. The former chairman of Saudi Bin Ladin group and a half-brother of Osama bin Laden, was released a …

The EU is drawing up sanctions on politicians in Lebanon seen as blocking the formation of a government, readying the bloc’s first penalties on its Middle Eastern ally in frustration at the ruling elite’s mismanagement, diplomats said. Led by former colonial power France, the bloc is seeking to ramp up …

Israel’s president on Wednesday chose Yair Lapid, a centrist politician and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s strongest rival, to try to form a new government, but his path to success was still uncertain. Israel’s longest serving leader, Netanyahu, 71, has been fighting to hold onto office through four inconclusive elections since …

A deadline for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new government has expired. He had been trying for the past 28 days to build a coalition after the fourth inconclusive general election in two years, but the deadline ended at midnight on Wednesday (22:00 GMT). President Reuven Rivlin could …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced a midnight deadline on Tuesday to put together a new coalition government — or be looking at the possibility of leading his Likud party into the opposition for the first time in 12 years. Netanyahu has struggled to secure a parliamentary majority since March …

BEIRUT: A ship prepared Friday to ferry dozens of containers of hazardous materials from Lebanon’s capital to Germany, managers of a cleanup project said, months after disaster struck on the dockside.German firm Combi Lift was tasked with removing dangerous substances from the port after the explosion of hundreds of tons …

Lebanon’s public prosecutor has launched an investigation into central bank governor Riad Salameh, a judicial source said Friday. The probe follows a Swiss legal request alleging that over $300 million had been embezzled from the bank through a company owned by Salameh’s brother. The senior judicial source said that the …

During a private audience in the Vatican with Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, Pope Francis on Thursday confirmed that he wants to visit the country as soon as possible. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told a press briefing attended by Arab News that the pope “reiterated his closeness to the Lebanese …

A Lebanese judge who defied a decision dismissing her from an investigation into possible currency export breaches was Tuesday referred to the Judicial Inspection Authority over her actions. Judge Ghada Aoun had been investigating the Mecattaf money exchange company and Societe Generale Bank for allegedly withdrawing US dollars from the …

Jordan’s King Abdullah and former crown prince and half-brother Prince Hamza made their first joint appearance since a rift shook the country, attending a ceremony on Sunday marking 100 years of independence. State media showed the monarch and other members of the royal family laying wreaths at the memorial to …

Israel’s president planned on Tuesday to announce a candidate to try to form a government after consultations he held with political parties left Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the apparent favourite with the most endorsements. But the president, Reuven Rivlin, has wide discretion under law in making his choice. He said …

-An Israeli prosecutor told a court on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had helped a business couple to clinch deals worth hundred of millions of shekels in exchange for favourable coverage of him on a news website they controlled.https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.448.1_en.html#goog_1632484994  Prosecutor: Netanyahu’s favors were ‘currency’ 01:57 Speaking at the opening …

The half-brother and former heir of Jordan’s King Abdullah, Prince Hamza, liaised with foreign parties over a plot to destabilise the country and has been under investigation for some time, the deputy prime minister said on Sunday. On Saturday the military said it had issued a warning to the prince …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in court Monday for his corruption trial, which resumes as the veteran premier seeks to form a coalition to extend his record 12-year tenure. Wearing a black mask and dark suit, Netanyahu was seated in the Jerusalem District Court following an order from judges …

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman made a phone call to King Abdullah II, affirming the Kingdom’s solidarity with Jordan, Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday. During the call the king also said Saudi Arabia “supports all measures taken by the king to preserve Jordan’s security and maintain its stability.” King Salman …

Lebanon’s top Christian cleric has made unusually direct comments criticizing the Shi’ite Hezbollah movement, accusing it of harming the country by dragging it into regional conflicts. “I want to tell them…You want us to stay in a state of war that you decide? Are you asking us before you go …

Lebanon’s largest Christian bloc, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), warned prime minister-designate Saad al-Hariri on Saturday against sidelining President Michel Aoun and other parliamentary interests in talks over forming a cabinet. Hariri and Aoun have been at loggerheads over the cabinet for months, dashing hopes of a reversal of Lebanon’s …

Lebanon’s outgoing prime minister said on Friday that experts had found “dangerous chemicals” at a warehouse at the Zahrani oil installations in the south. Hassan Diab said the country’s atomic energy authority identified the substances as “nuclear” after reviewing a report by German company Combi Lift, which Lebanon had tasked …

Two Saudi citizens have been sentenced to 28 years in jail and fined up to $3.47 million after an investigation revealed an organized crime gang laundering money overseas. An official source in the Public Prosecution stated that the Financial Investigation Unit launched an investigation into a man and a woman …

Thousands marched in central Beirut on Friday demanding a new independent government to lift Lebanon out of its deepening crisis as frustration over the country’s financial meltdown grew. Lebanon’s economic crisis is posing the biggest threat to its stability since the 1975-1990 civil war. Erupting in late 2019, it has …

A planned visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday was canceled, Israel’s public radio Kan said, citing a source involved in the planning. Neither Israel nor the UAE have formally confirmed that such a visit — the first by the prime minister to …

The United States on Monday revoked a sanctions waiver for Israeli mining magnate Dan Gertler that was issued in the last days of the Trump administration. The Treasury Department said exempting Gertler from sanctions was “inconsistent with America’s strong foreign policy interests in combating corruption around the world,” specifically in …