Source: L'Orient Today
Security & Justice
State Action Signals Change in Tackling Longstanding Illegal Land Grabs in Jbeil District
For years, the serene villages of Jbeil's highlands have been far from peaceful. Ghabat, a Maronite village nestled between the predominantly Shiite towns of Afqa and Lassa, has become a focal point of growing tensions due to territorial disputes.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Mawlawi Ensures Strict Monitoring for Wanted Syrian Regime Figures at Beirut Airport
Caretaker Minister of Interior, Bassam Mawlawi, conducted an inspection tour of Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut to review the security arrangements and measures implemented by the Airport Security Apparatus ahead of the holiday season.
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Opinion
Lebanon After the Assads
The United States has important equities in Lebanon, including a desire for a generally friendly government’s economic and political stability; security cooperation; long-standing relations with the large Christian community in Lebanon and Lebanese diaspora in the United States; and ultimately peace between Israel and Lebanon within a broader regional settlement. Achieving these objectives will require navigating a tumultuous period in the country’s history following a war between Hezbollah and Israel that has devastated a large part of the country, exacerbating Lebanon’s already challenging economic conditions. But perhaps the most important dynamic will be how a likely Sunni-dominated state of uncertain composition in Syria will differ in its intentions toward Lebanon from the previous Alawite-led minoritarian Assad regime.
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Europe’s Syrian Dilemma
The news of the sudden and unexpected demise of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has met a mixed response in Europe. The jubilation that a murderous dictator and close ally of Russia and Iran has fallen is not just good for the Syrian people but serves as a morale booster for Eastern Europeans wondering whether Russia can be defeated
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Sports
Cristiano Ronaldo Unveils New Private Jet Worth $73 Million
Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the richest global athletes, has unveiled his upgraded private jet reportedly worth $73 million. With its top-notch design, exceptional speed and range of 7500 nautical miles, the Gulfstream G650 is among the fastest jets in the world.
Monday, December 16, 2024
Guardiola Accepts Man City May Need to Sign More Players to Cope with Schedule
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes he will need a bigger squad to handle soccer’s ever-expanding fixture schedule.
Saturday, December 14, 2024
Monday 13 March 2023 17:00:19
Thousands of Lebanese Households Unsubscribe from EDL
Following a sharp increase in the rates for electricity provided by state supplier Electricité du Liban (EDL), many subscribers are rushing to the provider's offices to cancel their contracts, a source within EDL's administration told L'Orient-Le Jour.
The public electricity sector in Lebanon has been in crisis for the past 30 years, and EDL now provides only a few hours of power per day. Subscription rates have since the end of last year been revised sharply upwards. They are now calculated at the rate of the Sayrafa platform, which has increased significantly in recent weeks.
EDL branches in Halba, Abdeh and Qobeiyat, in the Akkar governorate, on Monday witnessed a large influx of subscribers eager to cancel their contracts to escape the high tariffs, our correspondent in the north reported. Most households, in order to fill the gaps in EDL's power supply, already pay high monthly subscription fees to private power suppliers. Other consumers bridge the gaps in state supply by installing solar panels, which have become increasingly common in Lebanon since the start of the socio-economic crisis in 2019.
According to an EDL source, recently more than 2,000 households throughout the country have been unsubscribing from the public network each day, with crowds forming from 6:30 a.m. daily at EDL centers.
According to a schedule sent to L'Orient-Le Jour by the same source, a household subscribed to 15 amperes, for example, would have to pay $7.45 (at the Sayrafa rate) per month for installation and subscription fees alone, even if their actual power consumption is zero. Any power consumed would be charged in addition to the $7.45.
According to the source, the regions likely to be most affected by consumers seeking to unsubscribe from EDL are Beirut, Metn and Kesrouan. In these regions bills are paid regularly by subscribers, unlike in some other are where EDL struggles to collect its dues for various reasons, including the refusal of some subscribers to pay their bills.
Illegal connections to EDL's network are also regularly noted. The power provider on March 6 initiated, in coordination with the security services, the first stage of an operation to eliminate encroachments on its network.
On Thursday, the NGO Human Rights Watch said in a report that the electricity crisis is worsening poverty in Lebanon, accusing the government of failing to enforce the "right to electricity.”