Escalating cost-of-living crisis hits Lebanese hard just days after parliamentary elections

A woman leaves a bakery with a bag of bread as people wait for their turn, in the neighborhood of Nabaa in the Lebanese capital Beirut's southern suburbs. (AFP/File)
Short Url
Updated 19 May 2022
Follow

Escalating cost-of-living crisis hits Lebanese hard just days after parliamentary elections

  • As the financial noose continues to tighten for citizens, the country’s elected MPs remain preoccupied with power games

BEIRUT: The cost-of-living crisis in Lebanon has escalated, less than 48 hours after the results of parliamentary elections held on May 15 were announced. The value of the local currency has fallen to 30,000 Lebanese pounds to the dollar for the first time in the five months since the Central Bank intervened to regulate the market.

Some shops were forced close to avoid losing money while goods were repriced to reflect the shifting black market exchange rate. Queues for gas returned, even though the price of a 20-liter canister is almost equivalent to the minimum wage.

People are also once again queuing for bread, with some stores selling a bread bundle for 30,000 Lebanese pounds on the black market as bakeries run out of flour.

Doctors and health workers have again warned of medicine shortages amid a lack of subsidies, with cancer medication particularly badly affected.

Meanwhile, power company Electricite du Liban announced further rationing “to avoid falling into total darkness,” pending the arrival of a shipment of fuel on Friday. It blamed the decision on “the rapid consumption of fuel stocks during the days leading up to and following the parliamentary elections.”

It emerged that the main reason for the failure to deliver fuel was a delay by the Central Bank in providing dollar credit amid the likelihood that subsidies on fuel, and possibly wheat, could be lifted. As a result, importers stopped delivering fuel pending the transfer of dollars at the Central Bank’s Sayrafa exchange rate of 23,700 Lebanese pounds to the dollar.

The crisis affected domestic gas-distribution companies, which waited for the Ministry of Energy’s new price list on Thursday and then began selling gas cylinders for 400,000 Lebanese pounds each.

The Ministry of Economy has set the price of a large bundle of bread at 16,000 Lebanese pounds — though, as noted, some stores are charging much more — justifying the decision by highlighting “the significant rise in fuel prices, which directly affects the cost of flour production, bread production and transportation, in addition to the rise in the wheat prices worldwide amid the Ukrainian crisis.”

Some predict that Lebanon will be hit by a wheat crisis in the coming weeks amid the lack of funds.

In response to the various crises, public transport drivers took to the streets and blocked roads leading to the ministries of interior and transport with waste containers in protest against the high price of gasoline and the worsening dollar exchange rate.

Hussein Wehbi Mogharbel, head of the Federation of Employees and Workers Union in Nabatiyeh Governorate in southern Lebanon, criticized authorities for their failure to listen to the cries of the poor.

“They manipulate the exchange rate and no one dares to stop them,” he said. “Employees cannot attend their workplaces because their salaries are equal to two gasoline canisters.”

Citizens’ concerns “are increasing and the officials are idly watching,” Mogharbel added.

As the financial noose continues tighten for citizens, elected MPs remain preoccupied by their political power games. Each faction is convening to discuss the election of a new parliamentary speaker, deputy speaker, cabinet and heads of committees.

The term of the current parliament ends on May 21 and the mandate of the newly elected authority is due to begin the following day. The current government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s government will transition to caretaker mode as of May 22.

Samir Geagea, the head of the Lebanese Forces party, which is the largest Christian bloc in parliament following the election, said on Thursday: “The result of the elections was resounding, with Hezbollah and its ally the Free Patriotic Movement losing their parliament majority.”

He said that the current speaker of the parliament, Nabih Berri, who leads the Amal Movement, “does not meet the requirements we seek in the new speaker.”

Geagea added: “This position requires a serious candidate who pledges to implement the parliament’s bylaws literally and adopts electronic voting; someone who would not paralyze parliament and would work on giving the strategic decision back to the government. This is why we will not vote for Berri.”

Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, admitted on Wednesday evening that “no party has a majority in parliament.”

He added: “The many economic and living crises in the country cannot be handled by one team, even if it obtains the majority. When no one has the majority, everyone is responsible and no one is allowed to abandon their responsibilities.

“The current composition of the parliament may delay electing a speaker and designating a prime minister to form the government.”


More than 15,000 Syrian refugees return home from Jordan in May

Updated 6 sec ago
Follow

More than 15,000 Syrian refugees return home from Jordan in May

  • UNHCR reported that the figure represents a 45 percent increase compared to April
  • Jordan has received about 628,000 Syrian refugees, according to UNHCR figures as of December 2024

LONDON: More than 15,000 Syrian refugees registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees have returned to their home country from Jordan since May.

The UNHCR reported that the figure represents a 45 percent increase compared to April, when nearly 10,500 Syrian refugees entered the country through Jordan’s Jaber border crossing.

Since the collapse of the Assad regime in December, 75,000 Syrian refugees have returned home from Jordan alone, which is more than one percent of the estimated six million Syrians who fled the country during the civil war that began in 2011.

As of March, the UN estimated that nearly 1.2 million Syrian refugees and internally displaced people have returned home following the change in power in Damascus.

The UNHCR announced the transfer of thousands of refugees from Jordanian communities and refugee camps to Syria in May, marking a significant increase from April, according to the SANA news agency.

Jordan has received about 628,000 Syrian refugees, according to UNHCR figures as of December 2024.


UAE and Jordan condemn terror attack on Pakistani military convoy that killed 13 soldiers

Updated 30 June 2025
Follow

UAE and Jordan condemn terror attack on Pakistani military convoy that killed 13 soldiers

  • A further 24 people were injured, 14 of them civilians, when a car bomb exploded near a bomb-disposal vehicle in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday
  • Emirati Foreign Ministry sends condolences to families of the victims and the people of Pakistan following the ‘cowardly attack’

LONDON: Authorities in the UAE and Jordan have strongly condemned a terrorist attack on a military convoy in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan in which 13 soldiers were killed and at least 24 people were injured.

The Emirati Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent its condolences to the families of the victims, and all the people of Pakistan, following the “heinous and cowardly attack,” along its best wishes for a speedy recovery of those who were injured.

It added that the UAE firmly rejects all forms of terrorism and violence that undermine security and stability.

Jordan’s Foreign Ministry similarly condemned the attack and expressed its solidarity with Pakistan during this terrible time.

A suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into the military convoy on Saturday and it detonated near a bomb disposal vehicle. Of the 24 people who were injured, 14 are civilians.

Armed group Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack. It was one of the deadliest, single-day incidents in recent months targeting security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.


Qatari emir, Spanish king meet on sidelines of UN investment conference in Seville

Updated 30 June 2025
Follow

Qatari emir, Spanish king meet on sidelines of UN investment conference in Seville

  • King Felipe expressed his desire to strengthen relations and support joint investments with Qatar
  • He reiterated Spain’s solidarity with Qatar and condemned the Iranian attack on Al-Udeid Air Base last week

LONDON: Qatari emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, met King Felipe VI of Spain in Seville on the sidelines of a UN-organized international investment conference.

The 4th International Conference on Financing for Development began on Monday and will continue until July 3, bringing together global leaders to discuss urgent reforms necessary for financing sustainable development.

King Felipe expressed his desire to strengthen relations and support joint investments through small and medium-sized enterprises following the recent economic agreements between Qatar and Spain.

He also reiterated Spain’s solidarity with Qatar and condemned the Iranian attack on Al-Udeid Air Base last week, praising Doha’s role in facilitating a ceasefire agreement between Iran and Israel.

Sheikh Tamim emphasized Qatar’s commitment to enhancing cooperation with Spain across cultural, educational and security fields to serve the common interests of both countries, the Qatar News Agency reported.


Israeli settlers hold wedding ceremony inside Al-Aqsa Mosque under police protection

Updated 30 June 2025
Follow

Israeli settlers hold wedding ceremony inside Al-Aqsa Mosque under police protection

  • The Jerusalem Governorate deemed the move ‘provocative and humiliating’

LONDON: Israeli authorities permitted a wedding engagement ceremony for Jewish settlers within the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied Old City of East Jerusalem on Monday.

The Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem Governorate deemed the move “provocative and humiliating,” describing it as a transformation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque into what resembles a public hall for celebrations by extremist settlers.

“(This is) a flagrant violation of the sanctity of the mosque, a serious provocation of the feelings of Muslims, and a deliberate attempt to impose a new reality that erases the Islamic identity of the site and paves the way for its division temporally and spatially,” the Jerusalem Governorate said.

On Monday, settlers, accompanied by Israeli police, toured the Al-Aqsa compound. Police prevented Palestinians from approaching the settlers to disrupt the ceremony, according to the Wafa news agency.

The Jerusalem Governorate said that Israeli policies aim to impose sovereignty on Al-Aqsa Mosque, stressing that these repeated provocations contradict international law and the 2016 UNESCO resolution, which recognized Al-Aqsa Mosque as an Islamic heritage site and called for its preservation.

Since 1967, the Jerusalem Endowments Council, which operates under Jordan’s Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, has been the legal authority responsible for managing and regulating the affairs of Al-Aqsa.

However, this status quo has been challenged in recent years by extremist settlers who regularly tour the site under the protection of Israeli police and are often accompanied by government officials and far-right ministers and activists.


UK MPs demand Ukraine-style visa route for Gazans

Updated 30 June 2025
Follow

UK MPs demand Ukraine-style visa route for Gazans

  • Letter to PM: ‘The same generosity should be extended to Palestinian families’
  • Death toll ‘likely to be exponentially higher’ than official figure due to collapse of local govt, health systems

LONDON: MPs in the UK are calling on the government to launch a visa system for Palestinians in Gaza with family already living in Britain.

Sixty-seven politicians have written to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper asking for a Gaza Family Scheme mirroring the Ukraine Family Scheme established in 2022 to help refugees escape the war with Russia. It allowed Ukrainians to live and work in the UK for up to three years.

“We believe that the same generosity should be extended to Palestinian families,” said the letter, seen by Sky News.

Signatories include 35 Labour MPs and members of the House of Lords, as well as several people currently suspended from the governing party, including its former leader Jeremy Corbyn and former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell. 

All four sitting members of the Green Party have also signed, alongside former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron and the Bishop of Chelmsford Dr. Guli Francis-Dehquani.

The letter accuses Israel of “shattering the temporary ceasefire agreement” with Hamas in Gaza, and of conducting a “campaign of bombardment and military assaults, and targeting of people accessing humanitarian aid.”

MP Marsha de Cordova, who helped organize the letter alongside the Gaza Families Reunited campaign, told Sky News that the Ukraine visa scheme “was the right response to a brutal war,” and that establishing one for Gazans “would be an extension of those same principles, showing that this government is steadfast in its commitment to helping families experiencing the worst horrors of war.

“It is time for the government to act now to help British Palestinians get their loved ones to safety, enabling them to rebuild their lives.”

The letter said the proposed scheme would let Palestinians reunite with “people they may never see again unless urgent action is taken,” and many Gazans trying to reach the UK “struggled to navigate the immigration system.”

It added that efforts to secure visas have been made “impossible due to the destruction of the visa application centre in Gaza and blockade of the Rafah crossing.”

The letter said the death toll in Gaza, reported by Palestinian authorities as numbering at least 53,000 people, “is likely to be exponentially higher” due to the collapse of local government and health systems in the enclave.

Ghassan Ghaben, spokesperson for Gaza Families Reunited, told Sky News: “Family unity is an undeniable human right.”

He urged more MPs, including Conservatives, to add their names to efforts to help get Palestinians to the UK, saying: “We are still waiting for the new government to do the right thing. We, as Palestinians in the UK, simply want the opportunity to bring our loved ones from Gaza to safety, until it is safe to return.”

A government spokesperson told Sky News: “The death and destruction in Gaza is intolerable. Since day one, we have been clear that we need to see an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages cruelly detained by Hamas, better protection of civilians, significantly more aid consistently entering Gaza, and a path to long-term peace and stability.

“There are a range of routes available for Palestinians who wish to join family members in the UK.”