DAILY SCOPE: Lebanon’s Presidential Office Remains Void, KSA helps al-Qaeda in Oil Trade in Yemen
Local Editor
NEWSPAPER HEADLINES:
AS-SAFIR:
Increasing Fuel Prices: "Quickly Flammable" Suggestion
Algeria: A New Constitution for the New Post-Bu Tafliqa Phase
AL-AKHBAR:
Iraq; the US Game of Blackmail
Today's Cabinet Session to Convene, Without Election
"Israel": Assad's Victory in Aleppo is A Strategic Threat
AN-NAHAR:
Kaag: Do not Let Lebanon Slide Further, London Conference Aid Less Than Third the Needs!
AL-BINAA:
Turkey, Saudi Arabia Back Down from Military Intervention in Syria, Links Reason to War on ISIL
AL-LIWAA:
Tens of Thousands of Desperate Refugees Wait for Turkish Borders to Open
Lebanese newspapers on Monday, the 8th of February 2016, touched on the different topics, with focus on the cabinet session designed today, Monday to elect a President.
Despite differences in interpreting the details, newspapers shared the same expectations; all dailies saw that the 35th session to be held today will be to no avail, and that Lebanon will not see an end to the presidential vacuum. Also on the domestic level, newspapers discussed MP Fouad Seniora's suggestion to raise oil prices with a 5,000 Lebanese pounds increase amid popular rejection, and tackled the outcome of the London conference on Syrian refugees and how this outcome will be put into practice.
On the regional level, the dailies discussed several topics, including the latest developments in Syria and the al-Qaeda activities in Yemen.
AL-JOMHOURIA - Presidential Void Likely to Continue
Lebanese Health Minister Wael Abu Faour said that "the presidential void might be extended due to the current political conditions in the country," reported al-Jomhouria newspaper on Monday.
According to the minister, who has recently arrived from a visit to Saudi Arabia's Riyadh, "The latest reconciliations and mutual agreements [between the political rivals] complicated the political scenario and imposed additional complications instead of providing solutions to the different crises in the country, especially the presidential void that has been lingering for around two years now."
Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 when the term of Michel Suleiman ended without the election of a successor.
On another note, sources from the Lebanese delegation that took part in the Donor Conference in London told al-Jomhouria newspaper that Lebanon is waiting to see the practical "translation" of the promises made in the conference on the ground, expecting to see distribution of the funds allocated during the conference in the coming week.
According to the source, it is expected that the donor countries will start dividing and distributing the funds on Syria's neighboring countries that have been inflicted in the Syrian refugees' crisis.
The vast majority of Syrian refugees are sheltering in neighboring countries, including Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan. Lebanon alone hosts 1.2 million registered refugees. Their vast number has placed enormous strain on Lebanon's already struggling infrastructure, and exacerbated social tensions.
London played host to the biggest Syria donor conference, seeking to raise billions to combat the humanitarian disaster unfolding in the region.
Sixty countries alongside a host of aid organizations took place on the Syrian disaster, but sources suggest that humanitarian efforts are being overshadowed after talks between opposing political Syrian groups stalled in Geneva.
AN-NAHAR-Lebanon's Stability Should not Be Taken for Granted: Kaag
On the eve of the session designated to elect a President, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag called on the Lebanese to elect a president soon, warning from major repercussions in case the presidential void persists.
In an interview with an-Nahar newspaper, Kaag said that "The Lebanese people should unite together more than any other time," adding "It is difficult to see the institutions and the economy wearing out" as a result of the vacuum at the presidential palace.
"Lebanon should not be left to slide more or else it will be too late to save it," she said, assuring that "Lebanon's stability should not be taken for granted."
"It is unhealthy for a democratic country to get used to the vacuum in the presidency, which is an important post for the Christian sect and for the entire country," she said, further noting that "the Lebanese people should solve the presidential crisis that started with the end of President Michel Suleiman's tenure in May 2014 on their own."
Moreover, Kaag told the Lebanese daily that Lebanon is possibly the platform that can provide some space for proximity between Tehran and Riyadh, and might allow trust-building between the two countries despite other factors that also have direct impact on the dual-relations of the regional players.
The 35th parliamentary session to elect a president will be held today Monday, yet the session will be similar to its predecessor and it is likely that House Speaker Nabih Berri will adjourn it over lack of quorum.
On another note, an-Nahar newspaper quoted ministerial sources as saying that Prime Minister Tammam Salam would rather slow down in evaluating the London Conference, until Lebanon is officially informed of its share because Salam does not want to make promises before practical implementation of the decisions due to previous experiences Lebanon has witnessed.
The sources told the daily that "there is a ‘far distance' between the oral declaration of decisions and their implementation which happens only when the decisions are put into action."
AL-AKHBAR-Saudi-Coalition Naval Forces Facilitate Al-Qaeda Illegal Oil Trade in Yemen
Al-Qaeda terrorist group has increased its activities in Southern Yemen especially in terms of oil trade through major ports in the six districts of Yemen; a process which is being facilitated and provided by the naval forces of the Saudi-coalition army, said al-Akhbar newspaper on Monday.
Yemen's former Minister of Transport Bader Ba-Salama told al-Akhbar that "The al-Qaeda organization is in control of areas in the six major Yemeni districts including Shabwa, Abin, Lahej, Aden and Hadramaut that have many fuel and natural resources.
"If we consider that only 10 thousand tons of benzene enters the ports of these cities on daily basis [taking into consideration that the amounts are a lot more], and assume that al-Qaeda is selling every liter for 80 Riyals, this means that the terrorist group is reaping 800 million Riyals from this quantity only," the former minister said.
Ba-Salama assured that the tremendous amounts of fuel enter through the sea, which is evidence that the Saudi-coalition navy forces are facilitating al-Qaeda's illegal trade of oil. The former official also said that al-Qaeda groups in Yemen benefit from the smuggling of drugs and arms, with 200 million Riyals of profits daily.
Source: al-Ahed news
