DAILY SCOPE: Lebanon Responds to ’Israeli’ Assassination, National Dialogue Ongoing

Local Editor

NEWSPAPERS' HEADLINES:

AN-NAHAR:

Movement to Contain Tension and Its Ramifications on Syria

AS-SAFIR:

Gulf Markets Shake...Kerry Contacts Jubeir, Zarif and Moscow to Propose Its Mediation

AL-AKHBAR:

Shebaa Operation: Response to "Israeli" Threats

Lebanese newspapers on Tuesday shed light on the different files, including the operation carried out by Hizbullah in the Shebba farms [in retaliation for the "Israeli" assassination of the liberated Dean of Lebanese detainees in "Israeli" prisons Samir al-Quntar three weeks ago]. The dailies also focused on Lebanese domestic politics, hoping that the recent political escalation in the region would not have impact on the Lebanese arena.

Further quoting sources, the newspaper said that both sides reiterated that there is no need to stop the dialogue especially at such a sensitive time.

House Speaker Nabih Berri will host the delegations of the two parties next Monday, where dialogue sessions will resume. Talks between the two parties first started in 2014 under the patronage of Berri, with two aims topping the list: discharging sectarian tension in the country and avoiding repercussions of the regional conflicts on Lebanon.

On Monday, As-Safir newspaper said that dialogue between the two major political parties of the rival camps in Lebanon will resume by next week. The dialogue will not be halted because of the crime Saudi Arabia has committed by killing Sheikh Nimr, but will witness slow pace and might not be productive on the different levels, sources told the paper.

Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 when the term of Michel Suleiman ended without the election of a successor.

AL-LIWAA-Fears Regional Tension Might Reflect on Lebanon

A ministerial source expressed its fears that the Iranian-Saudi dispute might directly reflect on the Lebanese arena, increasing tensions in the country and affecting the different political files, particularly the presidential elections.

The source urged all sides in the country to consolidate together and work for the interest of the country. It also stressed that the government should work hard to fulfill the needs of the people in light of the presidential vacuum.

On the same note, a ministerial source told the paper "the current political escalation in the region is a source for pessimism". It added that by the end of 2015, there was some hope the presidential void would be resolved owing to the Hariri initiative, but all hopes seem to have vanished particularly as the regional tensions push the region a few steps to the back.

The latest presidential initiative, proposed by Saad Hariri, leader of the Future Movement, contemplated the selection of Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh. News of the presumed choice was met with opposition from different sides in the country.

House Speaker Berri insisted that internal obstacles were preventing the plan from happening, while Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai maintained that the initiative was serious "regardless of the identity of the candidate."

AL-AKHBAR-Waste Crisis Plan Soon Implemented, Lebanon to Produce Energy in Future

The plan to export wastes from Lebanon is almost ready for implementation and should start within one month, ministerial sources told al-Akhbar newspaper on Tuesday.

The two firms that agreed to export Lebanon's trash are said to close the deal with the Lebanese government by the end of the current week after presenting a guarantee of $2.5 million each, reported the paper.

"The two firms, Britain's Chinook Urban Mining International and Holland's Howa BV, are supposed to provide a guarantee worth $2.5 million each to the Lebanese government until the submission of documents of transport to whichever countries will receive the trash before signing the deal," it said.

The companies still have to sign the agreements with the countries that will receive the garbage. It is worth mentioning that there was a media hype a few weeks ago, suspecting the identity of the companies.

Furthermore, ministerial sources told al-Akhbar that by the time the deal ends in a year and a half, several factories should be ready in Beirut to transform wastes into energy. It noted that "in eight months, the villages surrounding the Ne'meh landfill will receive electricity free of charge for 15 years."

The waste management crisis erupted on July 17 following the closure of the Naameh landfill south of Beirut, which had been receiving trash from the capital and Mount Lebanon since 1997. The landfill was meant to operate for only a few years until a comprehensive solution was devised. But the government has so far failed to resolve the issue.

Sukleen; the main company in charge of collecting trash in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, stopped its work last week after it was no longer able to store waste at its facilities. Piles of trash filled the sidewalks and streets across Beirut and Mount Lebanon.

Source: al-Ahed News