Beirut Court Rejects Recusal of Judge in Lebanese Probe Against BDL Governor After the top Lebanese prosecutor, Ghassan Oueidat referred a high-profile corruption probe investigating Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, and others, to a Lebanese court, the judge he ordered to preside over the case, Ziad Abu Haidar, recused himself. Following this development a Beirut court rejected this recusal, allowing the case to move forward. [Reuters]
Chemical Leak Contained at Port of Beirut Yesterday, the Beirut Fire Brigade’s Chemical Biological, Radio Nuclear Events Preparedness Program contained the flow of a sulfuric acid spill leaking from a shipping container stored at the Port of Beirut. [L’Orient Today]
Fifteen Constitutional Council Appeals Filed Over Election Results According to L’Orient Today, “Unsuccessful candidates in the 2022 parliamentary elections submitted 15 appeals to the Constitutional Council in the past month, the head of the Constitutional Council Judge Tannous Mechleb announced Thursday afternoon.” [L’Orient Today]
Small Steps To Economic Reform And Combating Corruption Jean AbiNader
AbiNader writes, “The Lebanese depositors must be wondering which weaker banks will be spared from failure and which will be among those able to survive the crisis and be responsible for bearing the burdens of restructuring the sector. It will be telling if these questions are once again addressed by Parliament’s agenda. As this restructuring takes place, revised government spending allocations should shift the focus toward supporting Lebanon’s private sector rehabilitation. This will put the economy on the right track, which will lead to hopefully more investments flowing in, unlike the past 30 years . . . As Parliamentary committees move ahead with their formation, the prospects of smooth banking and political reforms have become increasingly unlikely. Obstructionist personalities in the Parliament – who are known to oppose restructuring of the bank sector, changes in procurement laws, and other laws aiming to increase fiscal transparency – are retaining their leadership positions. It will be a lesson to the new members on how to wisely orient their political alignments around change that matters.”
On the Middle East with Andrew Parasiliti and Amberin Zaman, Al-Monitor US Energy Policy Requires A Saudi Hotline, Says Hadley Gamble
Each week Andrew Parasiliti, president of the award-winning news site Al-Monitor, and Amberin Zaman, Al-Monitor’s Senior Correspondent, interview newsmakers, journalists and thought leaders from the US and Middle East about the latest news and trends in the region.
Hadley Gamble, anchor for CNBC’s Capital Connection from Abu Dhabi, discusses US President Joe Biden’s upcoming trip to the Middle East; why Saudi-Israel normalization may be a “matter of time”; the fate of the Iran nuclear deal; why Turkey is holding out on Sweden and Finland’s NATO bids; the global food crisis and the consequences of the Ukraine war; and some good news trends in regional markets.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the American Task Force on Lebanon, a non-profit, nonpartisan leadership organization of Lebanese-Americans.
