The following are summaries of today's major stories published in the
Arabic press. LBCI does not edit press digest articles for content,
giving English-language readers insight into the various views expressed
in newspapers across the Arab world.
An-Nahar Daily reported on Tuesday that those hinting at
power outages across Lebanon, which may plunge the country into total darkness, are
wrong since distribution is still organized according to a defined 24-hour
program. However, a new program is needed; “otherwise power cuts will gradually
spread to all regions, neighborhoods and streets, immersing the country in
total darkness.
In this regard, the Daily quoted a ministerial source as saying
that the cabinet session held at the Baabda Palace witnessed repeated power cuts.
The source added that it was not clear whether these cuts resulted from the “exhaustion”
of the generator or from a disruption in the converter due to excessive
consumption.
In this context, sources close to PM Najib Mikati told
An-Nahar Daily that the Premier has made a series of phone calls including ones to
Energy Minister Gibran Bassil, the general
director of Electricité du Liban (EDL) Kamal Hayek and the head of the
General Labor Confederation Ghassan Ghosn who is
following up on the issue of EDL contract workers and collectors. Mikati agreed
with them on a determined solution that is expected to take shape in the next
few hours.
A security official that participated in the
judicial-security meeting held yesterday at the Baabda Palace told
An-Nahar Daily on Tuesday that a gang arrested by the LAF intelligence with
explosives and weapons in its possession had sabotaging goals, “but had nothing
to do with the Israel espionage file”. The official said that one person
affiliated to this gang is still wanted and is expected to be arrested shortly.
In this regard,
Al-Akhbar Daily added that according to
preliminary information, this gang was planning on downing a UNIFIL chopper
during takeoff or landing at the Rmeileh airstrip used by the U.N. peacekeepers
in south Lebanon for logistic purposes. The gang was reportedly planning on utilizing a rocket of an unknown type for "their mission".
Al-Akhbar
Daily reported on Tuesday that a Lebanese judge used his position
of power and asked for the telecom data of his girlfriend who works at the
Public Prosecution in order to make sure she is not cheating on him. However,
concerned authorities did not meet his request, deeming it as “unnecessary”.
Sources close to PM Najib Mikati told
As-Safir Daily on
Tuesday that talks about total darkness in Lebanon are “exaggerated”, adding
that the Premiere is sparing no efforts for finding a solution to the EDL contract
workers crisis.
The U.N.
Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly told
An-Nahar Daily on Tuesday that the
U.N. is very concerned over incidents taking place along the Lebanese borders,
mainly with shelling reaching a number of border towns. However, Plumbly
stressed that the response in this regard is the prerogative of the
Lebanese government.
On the possibility
of building camps for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, like in Jordan and Turkey,
Plumbly stressed that Lebanon must expect additional Syrian refugees, adding that
the focus now is on building shelters, not camps.