BEIRUT: The Lebanese government will resume negotiations with the International Monetary Fund while beginning reforms demanded by donors, according to a draft policy program that aims to tackle one of the worst financial meltdowns in history.
New Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s government will also resume negotiations with creditors over a restructuring of public debt on which Lebanon defaulted last year, the draft seen by Reuters on Wednesday said.
The government was agreed on Friday after more than a year of political conflict over seats in cabinet that left the country rudderless as more than three-quarters of the population fell into poverty and shortages crippled normal life.
The cabinet is due to meet on Thursday to approve the draft, which will then go to a vote of confidence in parliament.
Underscoring the gravity of the situation, the policy program was drawn up in a matter of days, much faster than the weeks the process has taken in the past.
The draft said the government was committed to resuming talks with the IMF for a short- and medium-term support plan.
Donors want to see Lebanon enact reforms, including measures to tackle the corruption and graft that led to the economic collapse, before they will unlock billions of dollars of assistance already earmarked for the country.
Talks with the IMF broke down last summer when Lebanon’s political elite and banking sector objected to the scale of financial losses set out in a recovery plan drawn up by the previous government.
The draft program said the Mikati government would renew and develop the previous financial recovery plan, which set out a shortfall in the financial system of some $90 billion — a figure endorsed by the IMF.
The government will also draw up a plan to “correct the situation of (the) banking sector,” which has been paralyzed since late 2019, the draft said.
Lebanon’s financial system unraveled in late 2019.
The root cause was decades of profligate spending by the state and the unsustainable way in which it was financed.
As dollars dried up, depositors were frozen out of their accounts. The value of hard currency savings has plummeted by up to 80 percent since then, with the Lebanese pound collapsing by 90 percent from a peg that had existed for more than two decades.
The program draft said the government was committed to all the articles set out in a reform initiative drawn up by France, which has been at the forefront of efforts to help Lebanon.
The government will work with parliament to pass a capital control law, the draft document said.
It also said parliamentary elections due next spring would be held on time.
Lebanon to resume IMF talks, begin reforms, draft policy statement says
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Lebanon to resume IMF talks, begin reforms, draft policy statement says
- New government will also resume negotiations with creditors over a restructuring of public debt
- The draft said the government was committed to resuming talks with the IMF for a short- and medium-term support plan
‘It wasn’t just about me’: Imam honored for unity efforts after UK race riots
- Three children were killed, and 10 others — eight of whom were children — were injured in an attack in Southport
- In days following attack, crowds gathered to demonstrate outside Liverpool mosque
LONDON: A Muslim leader in the UK has been recognized for his efforts to foster unity after embracing protesters outside Liverpool’s Abdullah Quilliam Mosque in the wake of a knife attack in the northern English town of Southport in July.
Three children were killed, and 10 others — eight of whom were children — were injured in the attack.
Axel Rudakubana was detained and charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder, and possession of a bladed article.
In the days following the attack, crowds gathered to demonstrate outside the mosque in Liverpool after misinformation was spread online about the knife attack suspect.
Imam Adam Kelwick described how he approached protesters outside the mosque once tensions had eased, offering food, handshakes, and conversations.
Photographs of the peaceful exchanges, which included sharing food and even hugs, went viral, symbolizing a moment of reconciliation.
After receiving the Most Impactful Imam accolade at the British Beacon Mosque Awards, Kelwick said: “It wasn’t just about me. I’m dedicating this award to the people of Liverpool, who really came together during difficult times.”
He added: “Some of the most vocal protesters, after everyone else had gone, came inside the mosque for a little tour.”
The imam praised Liverpool’s residents for their unity.
“For those who knew better than to blame a whole religion for the evil actions of one person, for those who came to defend our mosque, and even for those who protested but later reflected and opened their hearts,” he said.
Kelwick, also a humanitarian aid worker and long-time volunteer, expressed gratitude for the award, which recognizes the contributions of mosques and leaders across the UK.
Saudi FM arrives in Italy to attend G7 ministerial meeting
RIYADH: Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Italy on Sunday to participate in an expanded ministerial meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) countries in Fiuggi, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The meeting will discuss the current situation in the Middle East, SPA added.
During his stay in Fiuggi, Prince Faisal will hold a number of discussions that will address regional and international issues.
Pakistani authorities broker seven-day ceasefire between warring factions in Kurram
- Three-day clashes have killed 82 and injured more than 150, according to local officials
- KP administration sent delegation to the area, convincing people to settle disputes amicably
PESHAWAR: Following days of clashes that left at least 82 people dead and injured more than 150 in Pakistan’s northwestern Kurram district, provincial authorities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) said on Sunday the warring tribes had agreed to temporarily halt attacks and enforce a seven-day ceasefire.
The violence in the restive tribal district bordering Afghanistan began on Thursday when gunmen attacked a convoy carrying members of the minority Shiite community, killing 41 people.
Clashes intensified over the next two days, with sporadic gunfire reported in multiple areas of the district, taking the death toll to 82, according to local officials.
“Both sides agreed on a seven-day ceasefire and to return each other’s prisoners and bodies,” provincial government spokesperson Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif said in a statement.
The development comes just a day after KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said the provincial authorities were working toward a ceasefire, adding they would formulate a strategy to address such deadly incidents in consultation with local elders.
Gandapur chaired a meeting via video link to evaluate the situation with officials after his administration dispatched a delegation to Kurram to engage with tribal leaders.
“After meeting Shiite elders a day before, today the jirga [tribal council] members met with Sunni elders, convincing both sides to implement the seven-day ceasefire and settle their disputes amicably,” Saif added.
The clashes in Kurram mark one of the deadliest incidents in the region in recent years, following outbreaks of sectarian violence in July and September that killed dozens.
The KP chief minister noted on Saturday establishing peace in the area was his government’s top priority.
Around 300 families fled on Saturday as gunfights involving both light and heavy weapons continued into the night. However, no fresh casualties were reported on Sunday morning.
Police have regularly struggled to stem violence in Kurram, which was part of the semi-autonomous Federally Administered Tribal Areas until its merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018.
Earlier on Sunday, KP’s Law Minister Aftab Alam Afridi said the provincial administration’s priority was to broker a ceasefire.
“Once that is achieved, we can begin addressing the underlying issues,” he said.
Several hundred people demonstrated against the Kurram violence in Pakistan’s two largest cities, Lahore and Karachi, reflecting nationwide concern over the situation.
With inputs from AFP
Saudi companies exhibiting at ArabPlast in Dubai to showcase petrochemical innovations
- ArabPlast will feature a diverse range of products, technologies and solutions that shape the future of plastics and petrochemicals in the region
LONDON: Saudi petrochemical firms will showcase their products and innovative solutions at the 17th ArabPlast, hosted by the Dubai World Trade Center, the Emirates News Agency — WAM —reported.
ArabPlast, an international trade show that takes place from Jan. 7-9, is an important event in the calendar of companies working in the plastics, recycling, petrochemicals, packaging and rubber industries.
In 2025, ArabPlast will host 12 national pavilions and 750 exhibitors from a total of 35 countries, including companies from Saudi Arabia, Austria, China, Egypt, Germany, Italy, India, Switzerland, Jordan, UAE and the rest of the GCC countries.
They will showcase “a diverse range of products, technologies and solutions that shape the future of plastics, petrochemicals and rubber sectors in the region,” WAM reported.
Nidal Mohammed Kadar, director of ArabPlast, said that the event would also feature the “latest developments in robotics and artificial intelligence technologies in the field of recycling,” which will contribute to sustainability.
Sadiq Al-Lawati, executive director of Polymers Marketing at OQ Oman, said that ArabPlast will focus on “sustainable, environmentally friendly solutions” as the global demand for plastic increases in industrial sectors, such as construction, food and beverage, aviation, automotive, health care and sports.
Alongside the exhibitions, hundreds of professionals and decision-makers will discuss the latest solutions and challenges that the plastic and petrochemical industries are facing in the Arab region.
India mosque survey sparks clashes, two dead
- Hindu nationalist activists were emboldened earlier this year when Modi inaugurated a grand new Hindu temple in Ayodhya, built on grounds once home to Babri mosque
LUCKNOW: Indian Muslim protesters clashed with police Sunday with at least two people killed in riots sparked by a survey investigating if a 17th-century mosque was built on a Hindu temple.
“Two persons were confirmed dead,” Pawan Kumar, a police officer in Sambhal in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, told AFP, adding that 16 police officers were “seriously injured” during the clashes.
The Press Trust of India news agency quoted officials saying three people had died.
Hindu activist groups have laid claim to several mosques they say were built over Hindu temples during the Muslim Mughal empire centuries ago.
Street battles broke out when a team of surveyors entered the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal on orders from a local court, after a petition from a Hindu priest claiming it was built on the site of a Hindu temple.
Protesters on Sunday hurled rocks at police, who fired tear gas canisters to clear the crowd.
Hindu nationalist activists were emboldened earlier this year when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a grand new Hindu temple in the northern city of Ayodhya, built on grounds once home to the centuries-old Babri mosque.
That mosque was torn down in 1992 in a campaign spearheaded by members of Modi’s party, sparking sectarian riots that killed 2,000 people nationwide, most of them Muslims.
Some Hindu campaigners see an ideological patron in Modi.
Calls for India to more closely align the country’s officially secular political system with its majority Hindu faith have rapidly grown louder since Modi was swept to office in 2014, making the country’s roughly 210-million-strong Muslim minority increasingly anxious about their future.
