Source: Reuters
Security & Justice
Southern Lebanon Endures Massive Damage: 40,000 Homes Leveled Across 37 Towns
Israeli forces have systematically destroyed entire neighborhoods in southern Lebanon, leveling more than 37 towns and wiping out over 40,000 residential units, according to Lebanon's National News Agency.
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Gaps in Coastal Radar Enabled Israeli Raid in Batroun, Army Commander Says
Lebanon’s army chief, General Joseph Aoun, detailed to Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati how Israeli forces likely exploited gaps in the country's coastal radar system during the recent raid carried out in Batroun. The briefing comes as Lebanese officials seek answers on how Israel’s elite Shayetet 13 unit carried out the landing undetected.
Monday, November 4, 2024
Opinion
The Emptying of Baalbek Is a Moment to Take Stock
“Large numbers of people continue to flee their homes every day, as Israel’s military operations in Lebanon have been going on unabated.” These disturbing words could be from almost any news report about Israel’s invasion of its northern neighbour over the past month. However, they can be found in a report by the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre issued on July 27, 2006.
Saturday, November 2, 2024
A Future Without Hezbollah
At the end of September, when Israel’s campaign to destroy Hezbollah was reaching its height, I met one of the group’s supporters in a seaside café in western Beirut. He was a middle-aged man with a thin white beard and the spent look of someone who had not slept for days. He was an academic of sorts, not a fighter, but his ties to Hezbollah were deep and long-standing.
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Sports
Tottenham Forward Son Heung-min Crowned Asia’s International Player of the Year
Tottenham forward Son Heung-min was crowned as Asia’s International Player of the Year for the fourth time by the Asian Football Confederation at its annual awards ceremony Tuesday.
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Real Madrid Launch Investigation into Racist Insults After El Clasico Defeat
Real Madrid has launched an investigation into racist insults directed at players during Saturday’s 4-0 home loss to Barcelona in LaLiga, it said on Sunday.
Monday, October 28, 2024
Saturday 27 May 2023 09:51:36
Lebanon to Take Steps to Fix Finance Sector Shortfalls, Finance Intelligence Unit Says
Lebanon will work over the next year to address deficiencies in policing corruption identified by a financial crime watchdog, the country's financial intelligence unit said on Friday.
The Special Investigation Commission said in a statement it "discussed and adopted" an evaluation report by the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) during the body's plenary this week in Bahrain.
The evaluation is a crucial step towards regaining or further degrading trust in Lebanon's financial system, which has been in a tailspin since 2019. Its authorities are struggling to implement reforms to secure a deal with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout.
The report will be published in June, the commission said, without noting any amendments to the draft.
A draft seen by Reuters showed Lebanon scored as only partially compliant in several categories, including anti-money laundering measures, transparency on beneficial ownership of firms and mutual legal assistance in asset freezing and confiscation.
The cumulative score put Lebanon "one mark over the threshold to be grey-listed," said a diplomatic source.
The commission did not respond to requests for comment.
Its statement cited "recent uninformed statements and analysis that Lebanon may be listed on the 'grey list' this week'."
"Lebanon will have to take corrective measures to address the identified deficiencies and submit to MENAFATF a progress report during 2024," it added.
Being on the grey list could disrupt a country's capital flows, the IMF found in a 2021 paper, with banks possibly ending relationships with customers in high-risk countries to reduce compliance costs.
Other risks include reputational damage, credit ratings adjustments, trouble obtaining global finance and higher transaction costs.
Lebanon's financial crisis has severely restricted banking transactions and many corresponding institutions have cut their ties to the country. It has made little progress on reforms required by the IMF, and its central bank governor has been charged by France in a financial fraud case, triggering an Interpol red notice.
