DAILY SCOPE: Litani River, Qaroun Lake Clinically Dead, Lebanese Officials Hampering Presidential Elections

Local Editor

LEBANESE DAILIES:

AS-SAFIR:

Official "Mourning" of the Qaroun Lake, Litani River

Erdogan Declares State of Emergency, Revolt Not Over Yet

AL-AKHBAR:

Berri to Aoun: I will Elect You under One Condition...

AN-NAHAR:

Erdogan Declares State of Emergency for Three Months, Says Some Foreign Countries Might Be Involved

AL-BINAA:

Syrian Ambassador to al-Binna: to Coordinate on Displaced File...

Lebanese newspapers on Thursday touched on the different domestic and regional topics, with focus on the clinically dead major water resources in Lebanon; a matter that has alarmed the Lebanese altogether. The newspapers also followed up on the Lebanese presidency, as officials point out that the Lebanese politicians are hampering the process for no logical reasons.

AL-JOMHOURIA: Lebanon Can Elect President, Officials Do Not Want

Member of the Democratic Gathering Bloc, MP Aladine Terro, told al-Jomhouria newspaper on Thursday that "the conditions and circumstances for resolving the presidential impasse are apt yet the Lebanese officials are not ready for such a move."

In a statement to al-Jomhouria newspaper, Terro said that "the circumstances are apt and suitable for electing a president anytime, and it has been so for the past three years since the time former President Michel Suleiman stepped down at the end of his tenure."

He went on to say "Electing a president is possible despite the paralysis in the cabinet, but the officials do not want to elect a president," adding "I believe the ball is in the court of the Lebanese MPs, and the settlement to which MP Walid Jumblatt has called for is in my opinion a good opportunity to elect a president and end the impasse...the names are not important, what matters is to have a president."

On the same note, diplomatic sources told al-Jomhouria newspaper that heavy communications are taking place through internal and foreign channels on the presidential vacuum in Lebanon and in a faster pace than the past.

Nevertheless, the sources noted that these attempts do not seem to be real initiatives but rather wishes that Lebanon would elect a president very soon.

AS-SAFIR: Lebanon's Major Water Resources Clinically Dead

The rising levels of toxins in water sources especially the Qaroun Lake and the Litani River have led to declaring them both "clinically dead".

According to As-Safir newspaper, the waters are no longer suitable for cultivating fish, irrigation of the tens of thousands of hectares of land not to mention that it started to constitute a threat to the lives and health of the people living nearby.

The secretary General of the National Council for Scientific Research, Dr. Moeen Hamzeh told As-Safir newspaper that the water life in these places has come to an end. According to Hamzeh, it will take around 3 years at least to retrieve life to the lake and the river if all the pollution sources are stopped and the two water resources are completely cleaned.

The Litani river, which is the source of the aroun lake, has changed its colors over the years from crystal blue to murky brown, threatening populations over its 140 km stretch. According to the scientist, there are poison emissions from the Cyanobacteria seaweed that has been covering most parts of the river and has even killed tons of fish as it grew inside its gulls and deprived it from breathing.

The Lebanese Cabinet agreed last week on July 13 to form a ministerial committee to address the ongoing environmental disaster in Lebanon's vital Litani River, Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk said Thursday. The Litani River is a major source of water for local farmers, as well as a popular swimming spot for residents of areas in the south and Bekaa Valley.

AL-AKHBAR: Minimum Wage in Lebanon Decreased Without Reason!

For its part, al-Akhbar newspaper said on Thursday that the Lebanese government and with a rude and unprecedented move reduced the minimum-daily wage to from 30,000 Lebanese pounds to 4,000 Lebanese pounds, after discussions for four years. The 30,000 value was already too little in comparison with the living expenses and the poverty level in the country, said the daily.

Lebanon has been struggling for a while to set up an adjustment to its current level of minimum wages but to no avail. In 2012, and following an agreement reached between the economic committees and the General Workers' Union, the cabinet approved raising Lebanon's minimum wage from 500,000 LL to 675,000 LL per month.

During the past, and due to a rise in the minimum-wage, price inflation and an increase in unemployment were among the repercussions of the step.

Lebanese MP Charbel Nahhas told al-Akhbar that the Lebanese government took an unprecedented move in the human history and decided to decrease the minimum wage without any clear index or emergency case such as going bankrupt.

Source: al-Ahed News