In Lebanon, after the failure of the joint committees to reach an agreement to secure the necessary funding for municipal and optional elections, especially following verbal disputes between Ali Hassan Khalil and Sami Gemayel, the fate of these elections hangs in the balance unless the issue is addressed before the deadline for calling voters. Consequently, attention is directed towards the decision that Minister of the Interior in the caretaker government, Bassam Mawlawi, will take on this matter before midnight on Friday-Saturday, March 31, which is two months before the expiration of the terms of these councils on May 31, 2023, after a one-year extension.
If elections are not held or if an extension is not granted, governors and local officials will assume the tasks of the municipalities, while the absence of the mayors would paralyze citizens' transactions. The situation is expected to become clearer following the return of Prime Minister Najib Mikati from Saudi Arabia, especially after he reversed his decision to retreat following a dispute over daylight saving time, although he had stopped attending sessions at the Grand Serail after the decision for daylight saving time was issued.
**Internet Disruption**
There are no indications at this time of the possibility of the Cabinet convening to discuss providing funding for salary increases and entitlements for public sector employees, while employees of the "Ogero" authority continued their strike, which halted operations at dozens of telephone exchanges, leading to internet service outages in many areas.
The Director General of Ogero, Imad Kreidieh, stated that the employees are not responsible for the current internet disruption; however, the benevolent state that has prevented Ogero from conducting necessary maintenance since 2019 has led us to this stage. The generators stop on their own either due to running out of diesel, as we do not have the funds to purchase it, or due to mechanical failures in the generators, and we do not have spare parts for replacements. Adding to all this is the employees' strike, and "the exchanges do not operate by themselves."
**Living Conditions Concerns**
The financial and living crisis remains a priority, with a protest that the public sector plans to carry out today, Thursday, in Riad Al-Solh Square in downtown Beirut, demanding the release of salaries that are supposed to start being transferred to banks at a rate of 45,000 LBP instead of 90,000 LBP, as also called for by the President of the General Labor Union, Bishara Asmar.
**Presidential Vacuum**
Politically, regarding the presidential election, Deputy Secretary-General of Hezbollah Sheikh Naim Qassem responded to the President of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil, without naming him, rejecting what was said about the party informing him that it would not nominate a candidate for the presidency who does not have his approval, during a Free Patriotic Movement conference earlier this week. Sheikh Qassem stated: "We did not promise anyone that our position would be linked to his position or his nominations or his opinions or convictions," speaking about a progression in the presidential dialogue until the Secretary-General of Hezbollah announced the name of the candidate Suleiman Frangieh.
**Arab Affairs**
Regionally, notable appointments were announced from the United Arab Emirates regarding key positions in the hierarchy of government. In Syria, Israel renewed its missile strikes on military sites near Damascus, and the official Syrian News Agency (SANA) reported that air defenses intercepted hostile targets in the skies over Damascus and its surroundings, with explosions heard in the vicinity of the city, while Syrian television announced that the city was subjected to Israeli aggression, mentioning that the strikes targeted the Al-Midan neighborhood.
On an international level, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahian announced from Moscow that a Russian-Turkish-Iranian-Syrian meeting will be held next week in the Russian capital at the level of deputy ministers. Abdullahian stated that improving his country's relations with its neighbors is part of the Islamic Republic's doctrine, pointing out that normalizing relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia is a step forward in the right direction.
In developments related to the military operation in Russia, Ukraine struck a railway station, resulting in a power outage in the Russian-controlled city of Melitopol behind the front lines on Wednesday amid increasing talk from Kyiv about a counter-offensive against Russian forces. Melitopol represents the base of the Russian administration in Zaporizhzhia, one of five Ukrainian cities that Russia has annexed.
