Beirut: «Al-Khaleej», agencies
Yesterday, Wednesday, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati confirmed that his meeting with President Michel Aoun was fruitful, and it was agreed to open an extraordinary session of the House of Representatives (Parliament), and that the general budget for 2022 is ready and will be received within the next two days. As soon as it is received, the Cabinet will be invited to convene. Meanwhile, the Syndicate of Central Bank of Lebanon employees refused to hand over personal data to those in charge of criminal scrutiny, while peacekeepers working to maintain security and stability in southern Lebanon were attacked by unknown persons.
After the meeting, Mikati said that the meeting with President Aoun was fruitful, and it was agreed to open an extraordinary session of Parliament. He added: I informed the President that the general budget for 2022 is ready and will be received within the next two days, and as soon as the budget is received, the Council of Ministers will be called to convene. And he continued, it was agreed to release all financial benefits for all employees in public administrations.
government crisis
The meeting between Aoun and Mikati witnessed a phone call with Berri, during which they discussed the opening of an extraordinary session of the House of Representatives and the convening of the Council of Ministers to approve the budget.
In this context, the opening of the extraordinary session is considered as a disengagement with Speaker Berri, who was seeking to sign a parliamentary petition from more than 64 deputies in order to oblige Aoun to open the extraordinary session of the Council in a manner that secures immunity and cover for Representative Ali Hassan Khalil not to pursue him in the investigation file of the port explosion with the issuance of a memorandum The arrest against him, which has not yet been implemented due to his parliamentary immunity, but with the failure of the session, this immunity will fall from the beginning of the new year, at a time when Aoun was certain that the petition could be signed and therefore pre-empted that by agreeing to sign the decree that opened it after the insistence of Mikati, who in turn seeks to secure an atmosphere Consensus to revive the sessions of the Council of Ministers. As a goodwill gesture, President Aoun signed yesterday 16 laws approved by the House of Representatives in its last session, and referred them for publication according to the rules. Aoun had made it clear in a press interview yesterday that President Berri’s opposition had harmed the country, and said that the dispute with him dates back to the day the decision was taken to elect him. The former Minister of Finance, MP Ali Hassan Khalil, came out to say that what he had talked about in his last conference was a lie and slander, denying that he and his current supported the extension of the Governor of the Banque du Liban, Riad Salameh.
Central employee data
On the other hand, the Syndicate of Central Bank of Lebanon employees said, yesterday, Wednesday, that it does not want to hand over personal data to the restructuring consultancy firm Alvarez & Marcel, which could further disrupt attempts to conduct a criminal audit. The union said in a statement that it “declares its refusal to provide those in charge of financial audits and/or criminal investigations with the names and ranks of current and former Banque du Liban employees and the movement of their bank accounts that fall within the scope of legally protected personal data.”
In addition, the Deputy Director of the Media Office of UNIFIL, Candice Ardell, announced that the peacekeepers working to maintain security and stability in southern Lebanon were attacked last night by unknown assailants, as their United Nations vehicles were sabotaged and official things were stolen from them. “Contrary to the misinformation being disseminated, the peacekeepers were not taking pictures and were not on private property, but were on their way to meet with colleagues in the Lebanese Armed Forces for a routine patrol,” she said in a statement. She added, “UNIFIL condemns the attacks on men and women who serve the cause of peace, which are considered violations of Lebanese and international law.” It also condemns the actors who manipulate the residents of the region to serve their purposes,” calling on “the Lebanese authorities to conduct a prompt and comprehensive investigation and to prosecute all those responsible for these crimes.”
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