DAILY NEWS
Parliament Approves Early Elections
Today Lebanon’s parliament approved early elections to be held on March 27, 2022. The parliament voted on the early election date earlier this month, but the electoral amendments were sent back by President Michel Aoun for reconsideration. Elections were originally scheduled for May 8. Parliament also endorsed for a second time the cancelation of six additional seats assigned to Lebanese expatriate voters which prompted a walk out by leader of the Free Patriotic Movement Gebran Bassil. Canceling the six extra seats would allow Lebanese expatriates to cast their vote within the 128 seats. [National]
2016 IMF Report Reveals BDL’s $4.7 Billion Hole
A 2016 International Monetary Fund report seen by Reuters showed that Lebanon’s central bank had a $4.7 billion hole in its reserves at the end of 2015, which was not disclosed to the public. The report detailed that the Banque Du Liban had $36.5 billion in gross reserves, but that the “reserves net of the commercial banks’ claims on BDL and gold were negative $4.7 billion in December 2015.” [Reuters]
Saudi Arabia and UAE Summon Lebanon’s Ambassadors Over Minister’s Comments
Earlier this week an August 5th interview of Lebanon’s Information Minister George Kordahi surfaced in which the minister, who was not yet appointed at the time of the interview, criticized Saudi Arabia’s efforts in Yemen. He called the war futile and said Yemen had been subjected to foreign aggression while Iran-backed Houthis defend themselves. Yesterday Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates summoned Lebanese ambassadors in protest over the comments. [Reuters]
OPINION & ANALYSIS
Financial Times
Another Lebanon: A Journey Back in Time
Gilles Khoury
Khoury writes, “As the years passed, and as I witnessed my country constantly living on the edge of chaos and peril, I started to worry about these stories dying. I felt increasingly invested in the mission of watching over these tales. That is why I became a journalist. Many of my Lebanese contemporaries experience this very curious nostalgia, the one of longing for a time they never knew. Last year, on 4 August, an enormous explosion shattered the city of Beirut. An economic crisis, deliberately provoked by a ruthless ruling class, had already torn up the social fabric of the country. Lebanon is changing; it is a country painfully giving birth to another, one we still can’t define. At such turning points in history, what happens to our memories? Where are those stories safe?”
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.