Lebanese army soldiers aboard a ship off the coast to monitor the search operations for the victims of the sinking, Aug. 22, 2022. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
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Fuel sector representatives called on the Ministry of Energy to “increase the US dollar profit margin” in its fuel price lists. Members of the Gas Station Owners’ Syndicate and the Syndicate of Tanker Owners and Fuel Transport Contractors, as well as a number of station owners, co-authored the statement making the demand. Meanwhile, daily fuel consumption dropped by 14 percent in the first seven months of 2022 compared to the same period the year before as prices rose by 358 percent, a new study by Beirut-based research center Information International found. Queues formed at gas stations across Lebanon this week amid fears of gasoline shortages as the Lebanese lira further plummeted. Closed gas station owners cited delays in the publication of official fuel price lists while the central bank revised its fuel import payment scheme, mandating a greater portion to be covered in USD. Importers are now making 45 percent of payments in USD and 55 percent at Banque du Liban’s Sayrafa exchange rate, which was LL7,000 lower than the parallel market rate.
Blue Whale, the Indian submarine deployed to retrieve the bodies of around 30 people who were aboard a makeshift migrant boat that capsized last April, arrived at the sinking site. The submarine search began six nautical miles from the shore off the coast of Tripoli, North Lebanon, after being delayed on Monday and Tuesday due to poor weather conditions. Blue Whale will attempt to extract bodies from the wreckage site of a smuggler boat that was carrying 85 passengers, around 40 of whom are believed to have died after the boat sank following an interception by the Lebanese Army. “This mission will continue for several days, depending on the results,” Navy commander Col. Haytham Dennaoui had said Monday, noting that the rescue is being closely supervised by a Navy operation team. The Lebanese Army meanwhile arrested 113 people on Wednesday in Bebnine-Abdeh, in Akkar, of Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian nationals, who were preparing to migrate on an irregular boat to Europe.
There was no apparent progress on Cabinet formation following yesterday’s meeting between President Michel Aoun and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, one week ahead of the start of the presidential race to elect the former’s successor. Cabinet formation has dragged out after prime minister-designate Mikati proposed ministerial assignments to Aoun on June 29. Lebanon’s last government took 13 months to assemble, sparking disagreements over whether the caretaker Cabinet has the powers to manage Lebanon in case of a presidential vacuum. Gebran Bassil, head of the Aoun-founded Free Patriotic Movement, and Mikati issued statements on Sunday evening accusing one another of corruption and government blockage, prompting criticism from the Amal Movement who called on them to “reduce disputes, personal score-settling and tensions through press releases, as well as information leaks.” The proposed Cabinet lineup, which Mikati submitted to Aoun in June, would renew the terms of most current caretaker ministers with the exception of caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayad, caretaker Finance Minister Youssef Khalil, caretaker Minister for the Displaced Issam Charafeddine and caretaker Economy Minister Amin Salam.
Caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi called on security forces to carry out the “necessary investigations” in response to alleged threats of a “terrorist attack” against the Saudi embassy in Lebanon posted on social media. A man wanted by Saudi authorities for “terrorist crimes” reportedly posted a threatening voice recording, prompting Mawlawi to call on authorities “to arrest anyone involved in this case, bring them to justice, and take the necessary measures as quickly as possible.” Saudi Arabia restored diplomatic ties with Lebanon and reopened its embassy on April 8 after a diplomatic crisis between Lebanon and the Gulf monarchies which had begun in Oct. 2021 sparked by then-Information Minister Georges Kurdahi’s controversial statements on Saudi’s involvement in the war in Yemen and Hezbollah’s influence on domestic politics. In July, a Saudi national was kidnapped in Baalbeck where he was allegedly buying land, and a Saudi political dissident was assassinated.
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “Aliya Ogdie Hassen: The elusive ‘Mother of Arabs.’”