5 years later, first initiative organized by Lebanese state on Aug. 4 'repercussions'
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Nahar Net
an hour ago
- Nahar Net
Hezbollah MP says group will not sign disarmament decision
by Naharnet Newsdesk 05 August 2025, 16:01 As cabinet convened Tuesday to discuss a thorny and controversial plan to disarm Hezbollah under heavy U.S. pressure, Hezbollah and its ally Amal were reportedly trying to postpone the discussion after overnight protests that Hezbollah said were "spontaneous". Supporters of the group had roamed the streets of the capital and its southern suburbs on motorbikes, in a show of defiance reflecting their rejection of Hezbollah's disarmament. Hezbollah MP Ali Al-Moqdad told Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik that Hezbollah will not sign a decision that would end sovereignty and completely erase a large portion of the Lebanese people. "Is this session necessary for Lebanon, or for the Israelis and Americans?" he asked. President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam have both vowed to disarm Hezbollah. Hezbollah and ally Amal MPs gave twice their confidence to Salam's government and backed President Aoun in a second round of voting last January. Al-Moqdad said the presidential inaugural speech mentioned the Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories in south Lebanon and the halt to Israeli attacks on Lebanon before Hezbollah's disarmament. "Solving domestic crises should be done between the Lebanese without any external pressure," he added. Under a ceasefire deal reached in late November, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters back north of the Litani river and Israel was required to fully withdraw its troops from the country, but has kept them in five locations in south Lebanon that it deems strategic. Whether Hezbollah must first disarm or Israel must first withdraw remains a chicken and egg situation. Israel has kept up regular raids on Lebanon since the truce, mostly saying it is striking Hezbollah targets, and has threatened to keep doing so until the group has been disarmed. Hezbollah has demanded that reconstruction of areas destroyed during the war begin, and that Israel stop its attacks, withdraw from five areas it occupies and release Lebanese prisoners, before discussing the fate of its weapons, which it considers a matter of domestic defense strategy.
L'Orient-Le Jour
3 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Finance Ministry raises tone against tax fraud
BEIRUT — The Finance Ministry raised the tone in an unusually stern statement against taxpayers who commit tax fraud, reminding them of the sanctions provided by Lebanese law for such offenses. Targeting "taxpayers subject to taxes and duties collected by the Directorate General of Public Finance as well as taxes collected by the Customs Administration," the ministry assured that it will be "strict in applying the necessary legal measures to combat tax fraud, including those relating to the lifting of banking secrecy when fraud is established, in addition to imposing the criminal penalties provided for by existing laws." The ministry recalled that tax fraud is one of the offenses outlined in Law No. 44 of 2015 concerning the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, and that Law No. 44/2008, the code of tax procedures, provides for a wide array of behaviors that could constitute such an infraction. These include concealing taxable income, creating off-the-books accounts, recording fictitious expenses, or hiding the real beneficiary of a transaction, to name just these four examples. The ministry's warning seems to be part of measures taken to assure the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of the authorities' willingness and ability to reform the country. However, many businesses that pay their taxes fear that these measures may also serve to increase the pressure on taxpayers who are already compliant, while allowing informal economy actors who completely evade their fiscal obligations — and may be politically protected — to continue to thrive.
L'Orient-Le Jour
3 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
New World Bank director for Lebanon meets with RDCL
The new World Bank director for Lebanon, Enrique Blanco Armas, met in Beirut with members of the Lebanese Business Leaders Gathering (RDCL), chaired since early June by Joumana Saddi Chaya, according to a RDCL statement published Tuesday. 'This meeting demonstrates the World Bank's decision to address the RDCL first among private sector organizations, aiming to hear its analysis of current economic challenges and reform priorities,' the organization said. In her remarks, the RDCL president stressed that 'the legal private sector has always been — and remains — the backbone of the Lebanese economy' and called for any international support to Lebanon to be 'directly directed to it.' Armas, for his part, presented the current World Bank programs 'in the energy and digital sectors, notably a solar project in northern Lebanon, as well as a $50 million digital transformation initiative,' without offering further details on these matters. Armas was appointed following an internal reorganization of the World Bank. He remains subordinate to Jean-Christophe Carret, who is now based in Amman.
