Source: AFP
Security & Justice
Over 70% of Baalbek Residents Forced to Flee Amid Escalating Conflict
Over 70 percent of Baalbek’s residents have fled the eastern Lebanese city in recent days following heavy Israeli bombardment and evacuation orders, according to the National News Agency (NNA).
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
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
Opinion
My Hope for Lebanon
A company of Lebanese soldiers assigned to maintain order in this anxious wartime capital is gathered at its headquarters 100 yards from the Mediterranean. I make the blunder of asking their commander how many of his men are Shiites, Sunnis, Christians and Druze.
Monday, November 4, 2024
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
Sports
FC Barcelona Fears First Team Star Will Be Banned From Playing, Reports SPORT
FC Barcelona is concerned that one of its main first-team stars will be banned from playing at the turn of 2025 because of issues related to his registration and Financial Fair Play (FFP) limits according to SPORT, which cited anonymous sources.
Friday, November 1, 2024
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
Monday 27 February 2023 09:50:32
Media Report: 'Embezzled' Lebanese Cash in Swiss Banks
Banks in Switzerland are holding a substantial amount of the millions of dollars Lebanese central bank chief Riad Salameh is accused of embezzling, Swiss media reported on Sunday.
Salameh, 72, faces investigations related to suspicions of money laundering and illicit enrichment in Lebanon and abroad after he amassed a fortune in the country mired in financial crisis.
A Lebanese judge on Thursday filed new charges against Salameh, his brother Raja and his former assistant Marianne Hoayek for embezzlement of public funds and money laundering.
Salameh categorically denies all accusations against him and has rarely appeared before the judiciary, despite numerous complaints, summonses, investigations and a travel ban issued against him a year ago.
Twelve Swiss banks have received a large part of the money he is alleged to have embezzled, estimated at up to $500 million, SonntagsZeitung reported on Sunday.
The Swiss weekly said $250 million was left on Raja Salameh's personal account with HSBC's subsidiary in Geneva.
Other amounts ended up with UBS, Credit Suisse, Julius Baer, EFG and Pictet, with the transactions carried out using an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Islands, the report added.
"Considerable sums" were then allegedly used to buy real estate assets in several European countries.
SonntagsZeitung said some of the funds have already been frozen, but federal prosecutors have not revealed how much.
Switzerland's federal market regulator FINMA has been carrying out preliminary investigations into 12 Swiss banks "for months", it reported.
A spokesman told the weekly that legal proceedings had been started against two banks in the "Lebanese context", but their names were not revealed.
Lebanon opened an investigation into Salameh's assets in 2021, after a request for assistance from Switzerland's public prosecutor probing more than $300 million in fund movements by the governor and his brother.
Riad Salameh has headed Lebanon's central bank since 1993.
