Banks in Lebanon have extended a three-day closure that came after several lenders were held up last week by armed depositors trying to retrieve their savings.
The banks began their initial three-day closure on Monday following a decision last week that was motivated by security fears.
A banking sector source told The National that banks would remain closed on Thursday. Later on Thursday evening, a statement from the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL) did not give a time frame as to when the closures would end.
In justifying the shutdown extension, the ABL cited the continued risks that bank employees and customers face. It also pointed to an “absence of any procedures or even assurances” from the government and security forces that would ensure a safe working environment.
The ABL board had met at noon on Wednesday to discuss the matter.
Announcing the initial closures last week, the ABL said it came “after the repeated attacks on banks and the physical assaults on bank employees and their dignity”.
An economic collapse described by the World Bank as one of the worst in modern history, has plunged much of Lebanon into poverty and eroded more than 90 per cent of the currency's value.
There are severe shortages of basic essentials including bread, medicine, water and electricity.
In 2019, banks imposed informal capital controls, severely restricting access to hard currency and compounding economic difficulties faced by people in Lebanon.
It has forced some desperate depositors to take matters into their hands. Many in Lebanon have praised the actions of the armed depositors.
Sali Hafez, who held up a bank branch with a toy gun in Beirut’s Sodeco neighbourhood last week, managed to get $13,000 out of her savings.
Still, after an emergency meeting last Friday, Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said that “reclaiming rights in this way … can break the system and make the rest of the depositors lose their rights”.
On Wednesday, a judge ordered the release of four people who had been detained for their involvement in some of those bank hold-ups last week.
The lowdown
Bohemian Rhapsody
Director: Bryan Singer
Starring: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee
Rating: 3/5
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
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Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
Mobile phone packages comparison
THE NEW BATCH'S FOCUS SECTORS
AiFlux – renewables, oil and gas
DevisionX – manufacturing
Event Gates – security and manufacturing
Farmdar – agriculture
Farmin – smart cities
Greener Crop – agriculture
Ipera.ai – space digitisation
Lune Technologies – fibre-optics
Monak – delivery
NutzenTech – environment
Nybl – machine learning
Occicor – shelf management
Olymon Solutions – smart automation
Pivony – user-generated data
PowerDev – energy big data
Sav – finance
Searover – renewables
Swftbox – delivery
Trade Capital Partners – FinTech
Valorafutbol – sports and entertainment
Workfam – employee engagement
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
pakistan Test squad
Azhar Ali (capt), Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Abbas, Yasir Shah, Usman Shinwari
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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'HIJRAH%3A%20IN%20THE%20FOOTSTEPS%20OF%20THE%20PROPHET'
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MATCH INFO
Osasuna 1 Real Madrid 4
Osasuna: García (14')
Real Madrid: Isco (33'), Ramos (38'), Vázquez (84'), Jovic (90' 2)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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CABINET%20OF%20CURIOSITIES%20EPISODE%201%3A%20LOT%2036
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
