Lebanon today: Wednesday April 17th Top news
Here are the top stories for Lebanon today:
Lebanese PM warns of catastrophe without austerity
Lebanon faces catastrophe if the government does not agree what may be the most austere budget in its history, the prime minister said on Wednesday, urging national unity and saying everyone should be ready for sacrifices if necessary.
Lebanese draft budget reduces deficit to below 9 % of GDP – finance minister
Lebanon’s draft budget for 2019 projects a deficit of less than 9 percent of GDP compared to 11.2 percent in 2018 and includes “wide reductions” in spending based on the need for “exceptional austerity measures”, the finance minister said on Wednesda
Lebanese Parliament OKs Plan to Restructure Electricity Sector
Lebanon’s parliament has passed amendments necessary to implement a plan to restructure the country’s crumbling electricity sector. The plan aims to secure an additional 1,450 megawatts of temporary power by next year so that total output will reach 3,500 megawatts – enough to provide 24-hour electricity.
Lebanon public servants strike , warn of revolution over pay cuts
Thousands of government employees rallied in front of the Lebanese parliament on Wednesday to warn the government not to cut their salaries .“It’s the first time they dare talk about cutting our salaries. If they go ahead with this, there will be a revolution,” said Michèle Ajaltouni, one of 2,000 tenured professors at Lebanese University, the country’s only public university. In a country where the government is perceived as corrupt and inefficient, a move to cut salaries would be a “red line”, demonstrators wrote on placards.