Satellite dishes in Beirut. (Photo: João Sousa/L'Orient Today/File photo)
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After approving most items on its agenda yesterday, the caretaker cabinet is scheduled to reconvene following Eid al-Adha to discuss a proposal hiking state telecom provider Ogero’s tariffs, caretaker Telecoms Minister Johnny Corm told L’Orient Today. The government yesterday extended the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon’s mandate, approved promotions for military and security forces colonels, secured funding for baccalaureate exams and canceled middle school (“Brevet”) exams. Corm said the meeting lost quorum before the tariff hike was broached. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati criticized an ongoing boycott of cabinet meetings by ministers affiliated with the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), which contests the government’s ability to meet amid the presidential vacuum.
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said they are trying “to find solutions” after Israeli media claimed that Hezbollah pitched at least one military tent beyond Lebanon’s southern border. A senior member of Hezbollah’s political bureau told L’Orient Today he was unaware of the matter. Tenenti said UNIFIL is “looking into it” while he is only aware of one tent, whose ownership he can’t confirm, in an area of land disputed between Israeli territory and Lebanon. Earlier this month, Israel deployed tear gas in an attempt to disperse protesters holding a sit-in near the southern border in support of a Lebanese farmer who stood his ground against an Israeli bulldozer. In March, the Lebanese Army stood on alert near the southern border after another incident in a series of alleged border breaches was committed during Israeli construction work.
Housing prices led last month’s inflation increase, while telecommunications and alcoholic beverage prices showed the greatest year-on-year increase, the Central Administration of Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed. Overall, the CPI increased by 5.33 percent between April and May, continuing a slowdown in price increases which dropped from 33.27 percent in March to 8.55 percent in April. The CPI increased by 260.21 percent compared to last year, a slightly milder increase than the 268.78 percent registered in April. Transport prices dropped by 0.65 percent, likely due to a decrease in fuel prices.
French special envoy for Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, arrived in Beirut yesterday after his appointment earlier this month to “facilitate a consensual and effective solution” to the country's political impasse.” The French diplomat is expected to meet with local political leaders as well as ambassadors of five countries who met in February in Paris for a Lebanon-centered meeting. Le Drian’s visit comes one week after Parliament’s first attempt since January, and 12th overall, to end the presidential vacuum in effect since Oct. 31. Two days after the failed vote, a French diplomatic source claimed that French President Emmanuel Macron said that Hezbollah needs to "soften its stance to allow the arrival of a new president” during talks with Iran then relayed to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman.
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “Another movie banned in Lebanon: The latest Spider-Man movie featuring a transgender flag”
Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz