Protests by few who were seduced by ignorance in Najafabad in Iran, chanting the slogan:

"Our youth is in prison, our dollars are in Lebanon"

According to statistics, there was 194% increase in kidnapping-for-ransom crimes in 2022 in comparison to 2021.

But there is decline in:

- Car theft crimes: -23.4%
- General theft crimes: -19.7%
- Homicides: -13.5%

This morning, Israeli infantry crossed the technical fence on the borders of Hula village, north of Al-Abad, while an enemy drone violated Lebanese airspace.

In retaliation, the Lebanese army opened fire at the drone.

Outgoing IDF Chief of Staff, Aviv Kohavi:

"It can be said that Hezbullah is the first enemy of Israel, and I would describe it as an army that has tens of thousands of missiles and large combat forces."

Iranian FM Abdollahian renewed his offers to help the Lebanese implement electricity projects

"My visit to Lebanon is to develop bilateral relations with Iran, and we are ready to sign an agreement with Lebanon to establish two electricity plants in Beirut and southern Lebanon."

⋯ He also revealed that a Lebanese technical team visited Iran and met with the relevant officials in order to secure fuel for Lebanon's power plants.

⋯ Additionly, Yazan Samer Al-Ja’bari (19 years old) from Al-Yamun, west of Jenin, succumbed to his wounds inflicted during an IDF raid 10 days prior.

This raises the death toll since the start of the year to 12, including 3 children.

Yesterday, for the first time ever, the USD exchange rate reached an all-time high of 49,400 LBP/USD, before descending to 48,900 LBP/USD this morning.

This record came after weeks of lingering in the 42,000-48,000 LBP range.

The 401st Armored Brigade's 52nd Battalion will become the first battalion in the IDF to receive the latest generation "Barak" tank during initial field trials.

Senior officials are dubbing it "Merkava 5" due to its advanced capabilities.

Bandits are let go in North Lebanon

In the wake of widespread thefts targetting summer homes in the northern village of Bqaa Safrine, investigations by the municipality police uncovered the identities of a number of culprits. The head of the municipality reported them to security forces.

Security forces refused to take action, however, claiming that the country's overcrowded prisons are unable to accommodate them, and that the judiciary has yet to take any steps to alleviate the prison crisis.

According to MTV, the Central Council of the Banque du Liban will hold a meeting on Monday to discuss the significant rise of the black market exchange rate, and urgent measures that can be taken to control the situation.

💸 Why the Central Bank can't save the currency

The Lebanese Central Bank won't be able to continue using Sayrafa—a forex exchange platform it created in June 2020—to influence the market value of the Lebanese Lira (LBP).

The currency is officially pegged to the dollar at 1,500 ⁠LBP since 1997, but forex reserves are too low to service it. On the parallel market, the rate is now at 48,600 ⁠LBP. Amid the financial collapse, the Central Bank created the intermediary ‘Sayrafa rate’ for money changers (2020), banks (May 2021), and customers (Aug ⁠2021, limited to $400 monthly then) in order to reduce pressure on the market.

However, with limited availability of Sayrafa dollars, people resort to the parallel market.

⋯ What the Central Bank does

To limit the parallel market rate, the Central Bank "dumps" dollars on the Sayrafa platform. Yet, whenever the effects wear off and the parallel market rate rises again, the Sayrafa rate is raised to curb the difference ("spread").

Another tactic Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh employs is using the Sayrafa rate as a leverage against banks. Any banks that don't abide by his decisions would be deprived of their quota of Sayrafa dollars, which prevents their customers from buying USD at Sayrafa rate.

Indeed, nearly a year ago, public sector employees were permitted to receive their wages at the Sayrafa rate for this political reason. This exerted pressure on banks, which received huge influxes of people daily seeking to exchange their LBP for USD at the lower Sayrafa rate.

⋯ As an illustration, in late December, when the parallel market reached 48,000 LBP/USD, the Sayrafa rate was raised from 31,000 to 38,000 LBP. This triggered a sharp decline on the market to 42,000 LBP before it began rising shortly afterwards, surpassing 49,000 LBP just yesterday.

It is apparent that the market has developed a resistance against such policies, and they can no longer be used to postpone the imminent economic disaster.

The coming days will demonstrate whether the Central Bank still has some tricks to temporarily remedy the situation. If not, the future of the Lebanese economy and Lebanese state will be unclear.

The Secretary-General of Hezbullah, His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, will give a speech next Thursday 19/1/23 at 3:00pm Beirut time on the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of the Consultative Center for Studies and Documentation.

Late last night, an IDF soldier was killed and 3 others were wounded at Kfir training base in Jordan Valley, when the grenade he found in a firing zone and kept in his bag exploded.