A Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For March 30-31/2020 Addressing All That is happing In the Iranian Occupied & Oppressed Lebanon
Compiled By: Elias Bejjani
March 31/2020
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 30-31/2020
Lebanon: Coronavirus cases rise to 446
Lebanon Registers 8 New Coronavirus Cases, One More Death
Hariri Hospital: 3 More Virus Patients Recover, 4 Still Critical
Health Minister demands “maximum sentence” against those who neglected
ISF: No coronavirus cases among Roumieh inmates
Lebanese Applaud Virus-Battling Health Workers from Balconies
IMF Says ECB, ESM Support Key to Strong EU Coronavirus Response
Covid-19 tops Berri’s talks with ministers
Lawsuit Filed against Man who Transmitted Coronavirus to Others
Lebanese Embassy in London launches “Let’s Stand Together” initiative
Deputy Michel al-Murr’s Press Office: Michel al-Murr is in good health condition
Geagea criticizes government over appointments
Hezbollah Holds onto Lebanon’s Cabinet in Message to its Allies
PSP Warns of ‘Dangerous Social Explosion’
ABL Says Committed to Facilitating Transfers to Expat Students
Former PMs Criticize ‘Shady’ Administrative Appointments
Minister Urges Home-Grown Food During Crisis
Wazni, Hitti meet with ABL delegation
Lebanon Banks Halt Dollar Withdrawals over ‘Airport Closure’
The assassination of an ex-militiaman in Lebanon is President Aoun’s failure/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Al Arabiya/March 30/2020
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 30-31/2020
Lebanon: Coronavirus cases rise to 446
Annahar/March 30/2020
Three new patients recovered, bringing the total up to 35 recovered cases, and eight cases are in a critical condition.
BEIRUT: According to the Ministry of Public Health, 8 new coronavirus cases were recorded in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases up to 446. Additionally, Rafic Hariri University Hospital has recorded yet another death; a woman in her 80s suffering from previous medical problems, increasing the number of confirmed deaths to 11. Three new patients recovered, bringing the total up to 35 recovered cases, and eight cases are in a critical condition. The National Operation’s Room report also stated that most cases were recorded in El Metn (84), Beirut (69), followed by Kesrwane (53). Also, while 44% of the patients are females, the male percentage remains higher at 56%. As for the age group, 22% of the patients are 20-29 years of age, while only 3% are above 80. The health minister Dr. Hamad Hasan also stated in an earlier meeting today that ten hospitals are now ready to treat COVID-19 patients. In accordance with the Indian Health Ministry as well as the World Health Organization (WHO), the Ministry of Health also released guidelines on how to wrap and transport the bodies of the deceased coronavirus patients in order to avoid transferring the virus to others. The ministry has yet again stressed the importance of staying home as a civil and humanitarian duty that the Lebanese people owe to each other. As a token of salutation, the Lebanese people all across Beirut stood on their balconies last night clapping and cheering for all the doctors and nurses that are saving lives every day. The number of infected people globally is continuously rising, with the number now exceeding 700,000 and more than 30,000 deaths, with the United States being the new epicenter for the virus (exceeding China). This comes as Anthony Fauci, an American physician, and immunologist, warns that the virus could kill “between 100,000 and 200,000 Americans.”
Lebanon Registers 8 New Coronavirus Cases, One More Death
Naharnet/March 30/2020
Lebanon’s confirmed coronavirus cases surged to 446, as one elderly virus patient passed away, the Health Ministry said on Monday. In a statement, the Ministry said the tally includes cases reported by the state-run Rafik Hariri University Hospital and private hospitals and laboratories. It also said that the patient who died was in her eighties and suffering from underlying chronic illnesses. The patient died at the RHUH, which raises the death toll to 11. Lebanon has imposed a four-week lockdown in a bid to contain the spread of the virus while closing the country’s air, land and sea ports of entry. It upped the measures on Friday by ordering grocery shops, supermarkets, and restaurants offering delivery services to close at 5pm. It has also declared a curfew that starts at 7:00 pm, asking citizens and residents not to leave their homes unless it is extremely necessary.
Pharmacies, bakeries, mills and medical factories were meanwhile allowed to operate during the curfew.
Hariri Hospital: 3 More Virus Patients Recover, 4 Still Critical
Naharnet/March 30/2020
Three more coronavirus patients have recovered and four out of 64 patients at state-run Rafik Hariri University Hospital are in a critical condition, the hospital said on Monday. The three recoveries raise the total to 35, RHUH said in a statement. “All those infected with coronavirus are receiving the necessary treatment at the isolation unit and are in a stable condition except for four who are critical,” the hospital added. A statement issued by the Health Ministry at noon said Lebanon has so far confirmed 446 coronavirus cases among them 11 deaths. The Ministry later announced that the eight cases reported on Monday do not include numbers from private laboratories which had been closed on Sunday, suggesting that the real Sunday-Monday tally is likely higher.
Health Minister demands “maximum sentence” against those who neglected
NNA/March 30/2020
Minister of Public Health, Hamad Hassan, on Monday referred to the Court of Cassation’s Prosecutor General’s office the dossier of deceased Syrian patient, 40-year-old Majida Zoueir, who sought on March 17 several hospitals in North Lebanon to receive treatment for serious illness but was unfortunately denied this service by all. Hassan stressed that failure to assist an endangered patient was a crime stipulated by the criminal law and the law of exercising the medical profession. He called for an investigation, and the imposition of a maximum sentence against those who neglected this patient, leading to her death.
ISF: No coronavirus cases among Roumieh inmates
NNA/March 30/2020
The Internal Security Forces on Monday denied social media news claiming the novel Covid-19 has hit several inmates in the Metn-based Roumieh prison. “Certain social media sites have been sharing news about the contamination of Roumieh inmates with coronavirus, alongside a document showing test results issued by the Rafik Hariri University Hospital,” the ISF communiqué read. “The ISF General Directorate is keen to clarify that such news is completely untrue, and that the attached document is fake,” it said. “All prisoners in all cells are safe and sound,” it added, stressing that there are no coronavirus cases within the facility. The ISF also indicated that it would take legal action against rumormongers. For its part, the RHUH has earlier denied to have issued the aforementioned document. It said the document had been falsely attributed to the hospital and that it features forged signatures.
Lebanese Applaud Virus-Battling Health Workers from Balconies
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 30/2020
Cheering erupted from balconies and windows in Lebanon on Sunday evening, as the country’s citizens celebrated their “heroic” medical workers battling the coronavirus pandemic. The initiative spread online with the Arabic hashtag “a cheer for the heroes”, shared by public figures including journalists, actors and the Arab pop star Ragheb Alama. In one Beirut neighbourhood, a woman draped in a Lebanese flag sang the national anthem as her neighbours drummed on pots and pans, an AFP journalist said. Elsewhere, Lebanese played drums and blew vuvuzelas, sharing videos of the street performances online. Similar initiatives have gained attention from Italy to France but they have remained rare in the Arab world. Lebanon has reported 438 COVID-19 cases to date, with 10 deaths. To try to contain the spread of the virus, Lebanon has imposed isolation measures on its population until April 12, with a nighttime curfew in effect. Schools, universities, restaurants and bars are closed. Many fear the country’s healthcare system could be overwhelmed by cases.
IMF Says ECB, ESM Support Key to Strong EU Coronavirus Response
Reuters/March 30/2020
The International Monetary Fund said on Monday the relaxation of the euro zone’s fiscal rules and support from the European Central Bank and the European Stability Mechanism is critical to a strong regional response to the coronavirus pandemic. “The determination of euro area leaders to do what it takes to stabilize the euro should not be underestimated,” IMF European Department Director Poul Thomsen said in a blog post on the IMF website. He said large-scale interventions by the ECB and European leaders’ call for the ESM to supplement national fiscal efforts can allow countries with high public debt to react forcefully to the crisis. Europe’s major economies are losing 3% of GDP output for every month that key sectors are shut down to try to slow the spread of the virus, and “a deep European recession this year is a foregone conclusion,” Thomsen said. On Friday, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the global economy was already in recession and countries must respond with “very massive” spending to avoid a cascade of bankruptcies and emerging market debt defaults.
Covid-19 tops Berri’s talks with ministers
NNA/March 30/2020
Speaker of the House, Nabih Berri, on Monday discussed with a number of cabinet members the country’s general developments, especially the conditions of Lebanon’s health sector in its fight against the novel Coronavirus. In this vein, Minister of Health, Hamad Hassan, briefed Berri on the Ministry of Public Health’s efforts facing the pandemic’s outbreak. “We discussed the plan of the Ministry of Health to contain this pandemic, which is an outright challenge; the virus has toppled many global health systems in many countries, yet with all humility, we have managed to date, and with the support of official references and the plan approved by the Ministry of Public Health, of which the civil society is deemed the first partner, to respond to all the statements and instructions issued by the Ministry of Public Health,” Minister Hassan said on emerging. The Health Minister also noted that talks with the House Speaker had touched on the issue of expatriates and their safe return back home as per regulations established by the Ministry of Public Health. “We have seen from the President keenness to protect the local community, as well as his concern for expatriates to return to their homeland,” Hassan added. Separately, Berri has an audience with Minister of Finance, Ghazi Wazni, and Minister of Agriculture and Culture, Abbas Mortada, with whom he discussed general issues, especially the financial and economic situations. Later in the afternoon, Berri received Minister of Information, Dr. Manal Abdel Samad Najd, who gave him a briefing on the Ministry’s work at the current stage. Finally, Berri reviewed the latest political and security developments with Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, Zeina Akar.
Lawsuit Filed against Man who Transmitted Coronavirus to Others
Naharnet/March 30/2020
Akkar Governor Imad al-Labaki on Monday filed a lawsuit against a young coronavirus patient who infected several people after refusing to isolate himself. “Akkar young man Y.F. did not abide by the instructions given to him by the health and medical sides that examined him, in terms of pledging to stay in preventative home isolation pending additional lab tests to confirm his infection with the COVID-19 virus,” the National News Agency said. “He dishonored the pledge and mixed with a lot of his relatives in his town and in other regions after which tests revealed that he had the novel coronavirus and that he transmitted it to several people,” NNA added, noting that he was tested after being arrested by the Intelligence Branch of the Internal Security Forces. His behavior “sparked a state of anxiousness in his town and among all those he mixed with and the municipality concerned did not commit to monitoring him and obliging him to stay in home isolation as required,” the agency said. The governor filed a lawsuit against him on charges of spreading an infectious disease, NNA added, noting that the penalties range between a few months to three years in jail in addition to a fine.
Labaki also decided to refer the municipal chief to the Higher Disciplinary Commission, the Interior Ministry and the relevant judicial authorities over “his negligence and failure to carry out the missions he’s entrusted with under the law.” Lebanon has so far confirmed 446 coronavirus cases among them 11 deaths. The government has imposed a four-week lockdown, shuttering non-essential businesses, public administrations and educational institutions and the air, land and sea ports of entry. It has also asked citizens to stay home unless it is urgent while imposing a night curfew.
Lebanese Embassy in London launches “Let’s Stand Together” initiative
NNA/March 30/2020
The Embassy of Lebanon in London on Monday announced in a statement the launch of “Let’s Stand Together” initiative.
Lebanese Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Rami Mortada, said that the initiative aimed to provide financial and emergency life resources to Lebanese students and citizens affected by the conditions resulting from the current travel ban to Lebanon. “The initiative provides emergency assistance that will allow Lebanese Nationals stuck in London to secure life essentials until the travel crisis to Lebanon ends,” the diplomat explained. “The initiative was designed in a manner that takes into account the best practices in transparency, impartiality, and speed of responding to needs in accordance with objective criteria, and under the management of embassy officials and members of the Lebanese community,” Mortada added. The statement indicated further that the initiative was the result of exemplary cooperation between the Lebanese Embassy in London and LIFE and BLA associations.”In this vein, the embassy of Lebanon in the UK has called on Lebanese students in British universities, who endure life difficulties as a result of the current circumstances, to contact the embassy’s hotline on 07741260919, and to submit requests to benefit from the initiative or download the application on the embassy’s website.
Deputy Michel al-Murr’s Press Office: Michel al-Murr is in good health condition
NNA/March 30/2020
The Press office of Deputy Michel al-Murr on Monday issued a statement, in which it refuted circulated news about the death of MP al-Murr, affirming that he is in good health condition and circulated rumors are untrue.
Geagea criticizes government over appointments
NNA/March 30/2020
Lebanese Forces’ leader, Samir Geagea, on Monday criticized the government’s failure to abolish clientelism within the state administrations and to adopt competence and integrity as key criteria for appointments. “Despite all expectations, the current government is about to make appointments on the same basis that used to be followed previously,” Geagea said in a statement, accusing a tripartite camp of standing behind such failure. “Look for the trio,” he said. He added that there could not be any solution as long as this trio continued to grab power in Lebanon.
Hezbollah Holds onto Lebanon’s Cabinet in Message to its Allies
Beirut – Mohamed Choucair/Asharq Al Awsat/March 30/2020
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah’s strong support has salvaged the government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab from a shakeup, politicians with close ties to the March 8 alliance told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Last week, Speaker Nabih Berri expressed anger over the government’s delay in bringing back Lebanese expatriates who were stranded in their countries of residence following the closure of Beirut’s airport as part of the coronavirus lockdown measures.
The Speaker threatened to suspend his support for the government if it did not act to bring the expatriates back home. “If the government holds onto its position on the issue of expatriates … we will suspend our representation in the government,” Berri said in a statement released by his office. Political sources told the newspaper on Sunday that Diab was concerned that Berri’s warning was in line of a Shiite decision for a government change. However, the sources asserted that the PM’s concerns dissipated after a meeting with the Hezbollah leader’s political aide Hussein Khalil, who delivered Diab a message from Nasrallah. Khalil eased tension between the Speaker and the PM. The cabinet is scheduled to meet on Tuesday to agree on a mechanism for the return of the Lebanese expatriates from Africa, and Arab and European states. According to opposition sources, Nasrallah is deciding the fate of the cabinet. The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Hezbollah secretary general acts on behalf of President Michel Aoun and Diab. “He is the only person allowed to set the government’s priorities and determine its fate,” they said. Nasrallah’s televised speech on Saturday aimed to deliver a message to the party’s allies before its opponents. “The Hezbollah leader does not see any justifications for overthrowing the government,” they said. The sources added that Nasrallah insists that the cabinet tackles two main issues during Tuesday’s session – placing a swift mechanism to secure the return of expatriates to Lebanon and exerting pressure on banks to allow small depositors to withdraw their money from their accounts. Hezbollah holds the banks responsible for the dire financial situation in the country.
PSP Warns of ‘Dangerous Social Explosion’
Naharnet/March 30/2020
The Progressive Socialist Party on Monday warned that the growing economic and financial crisis which has been aggravated by the coronavirus lockdown risks to trigger a “dangerous social explosion.”
Slamming “the absence of any governmental vision that could give hope,” the PSP announced in a statement its solidarity with “the various marginalized and poor segments, low- and daily-income citizens and those laid off from their jobs or forced to close their institutions.”
Accordingly, the party said it warns “the government and all political forces, be them in the majority or the opposition, and the civil society and Economic Committee of the possibility of a dangerous social explosion,” calling for “launching the executive mechanism for the program of supporting poor families in a transparent, clear and effective manner.”
It also called for “a quick reform process that opens the door to international aid” and urged governmental support for the industrial and agricultural sectors and for the local initiatives and funds in the towns and villages. And addressing authorities, especially the Ministry of Economy and Trade, the PSP called for prosecuting merchants who monopolize and hike the prices of essential goods and suggested that security forces issue painful fines over the matter.
ABL Says Committed to Facilitating Transfers to Expat Students
Naharnet/March 30/2020
The Association of Banks in Lebanon on Monday announced that Lebanese banks are “committed to transferring the appropriate amounts of money to Lebanese students residing abroad, if these students or their families have bank accounts in Lebanon.”
In a statement, ABL said it will shoulder its “national, professional and humanitarian responsibilities” amid the current circumstances as Lebanon and the world battle the coronavirus pandemic and its repercussions.
“The Association also announces that should Lebanese authorities decide to return willing students to Lebanon due to the current situations, the banks will be fully ready to transfer the costs of travel tickets in US dollar to the Middle East Airlines company,” it added.
The government is expected to approve a plan Tuesday to repatriate Lebanese students and expats seeking to return home due to the COVID-19 crisis. Many political leaders have in recent days urged the government to approve the plan as soon as possible, warning that expats and students abroad are facing health and financial woes.
Former PMs Criticize ‘Shady’ Administrative Appointments
Naharnet/March 30/2020
Former Prime Ministers Saad Hariri, Najib Miqati, Fouad Seniora and Tammam Salam issued a joint statement on Monday denouncing what they said were “goals to monopolize the State’s positions,” as the government opts for a batch of key administrative appointments.
“At a time when Lebanon is enduring political, economic, financial, administrative and sectoral crises, the pandemic of coronavirus comes to deepen and complicate further the nation’s crises. The Lebanese can see how their government tends to make appointments sensing an intention to grasp control of administrative, financial and monetary positions in the Lebanese state without adhering to the rules of competence and merit, as well as neglecting the reform demands of young women and men of the uprising,” the PMs said in their joint statement.
Lebanon is facing “serious risks which call for reformative steps to reflect a strong picture of the Lebanese state that must be seeking to achieve practical and effective reform achievements that qualify it to be worthy of restoring the confidence of the Lebanese citizens, the trust of Arab brothers and the confidence of the international community, which enables the Lebanese state to obtain the assistance it needs.”“The situation in Lebanon can no longer tolerate more hesitation and distraction. Lebanon cannot face the current conditions and risks at various levels with the policy of distribution of quotas,” added the statement.
The PMs urged the government to initiate a “correct rescue and reform plan that contributes to re-positioning Lebanon on the right path to restore consideration for the Taif Agreement, the constitution and respect for the Lebanese state away from desires for dominance, revenge and control of the state’s positions
Minister Urges Home-Grown Food During Crisis
Naharnet/March 30/2020
Agriculture Minister Abbas Mortada on Monday urged Lebanon’s farmers and citizens to grow their “own gardens if the crisis of the novel coronavirus drags on.”Mortada said: “The “nation is going through a very difficult crisis. Farmers are invited to grow their fields and Lebanese are invited to grow their own gardens because food security is very important especially if the crisis persists.”Mortada made his remarks during a tour of the vegetable market in Beirut.He said the price of goods and products must take into account the crisis we are all going through. “There should not be a monopoly or exorbitant price hikes,” he stressed.
Wazni, Hitti meet with ABL delegation
NNA/March 30/2020
Ministers Ghazi Wazni (Finance) and Nassif Hitti (Foreign Affairs) on Monday highlighted the necessity to repatriate the Lebanese students abroad, and to raise the ceiling of financial transfers to help them return to Lebanon. These remarks came during a meeting held today at the Ministry of Finance with a delegation of the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL), who chairman, Salim Sfeir, vowed to allow the needed transfers to students as of today.
Lebanon Banks Halt Dollar Withdrawals over ‘Airport Closure’
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 30/2020
Banks in cash-strapped Lebanon have suspended dollar withdrawals until the airport reopens, a banking source said on Monday, after authorities grounded flights to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus. The country’s international airport in Beirut has been closed for almost two weeks as part of measures to stem COVID-19 in Lebanon, where 446 official cases and 11 deaths have been reported. The flight hub is to remain closed until at least April 12, a date until which all non-essential workers have been told to remain at home across the country. A member of the Lebanese banking association, who asked to remain anonymous, said all dollar withdrawals would be halted “pending the airport reopening.””Dollars are imported and this is no longer possible because of the coronavirus,” the source told AFP. “Dollar importers have suspended work.”On Monday, long queues formed outside several banks north of the capital as monthly salaries came through after two weeks of ongoing home confinement, an AFP photographer said.
A least two banks told clients that dollar withdrawals had been halted.
Coronavirus is the latest crisis to hit Lebanon, already reeling from mass anti-government protests and in the grips of the worst economic crunch since its 1975-1990 civil war. For decades, the Lebanese pound has been used interchangeably with the dollar at a fixed exchange rate of 1,507 pounds to the greenback. But a liquidity crisis had seen banks gradually restrict access to dollars and halt transfers abroad since fall 2019, leading the value of the Lebanese pound to plummet on the black market. On Monday, however, the banking association agreed to allow dollar transfers to Lebanese students abroad to help them face the coronavirus pandemic, the finance ministry said in a statement. A dollar is now worth more than 2,700 pounds on the black market and prices have shot up in recent months, but the banks have maintained the old exchange rate. Those with dollar accounts are frustrated at their inability to take out most of their cash to exchange it at a better rate from unofficial money changers, with some banks before Monday already capping withdrawals at as low as $400 a month. Lebanese banks stand accused of transferring millions of dollars abroad while preventing others from doing so after the start of mass protests against the political elite last October.
