Mitri: Hariri heads to Syria in April

Lebanon’s Information Minister Tarek Mitri told reporters following Wednesday’s cabinet session the following :

Judicial appointments

The ministers agreed to appoint Judges Elias Bou Nassif and Nadim Abdel Malek to the Judicial Council, while Judge George Karam was selected as an alternate.

According to Mitri, the appointed members will keep their current positions as judges.

“Some ministers expressed reservation regarding the appointments, however nobody rejected them,” he added.

Hariri travel plans

Prime Minister Saad Hariri informed the cabinet that he is planning to travel to Damascus next month. The PM is studying the current Lebanese-Syrian agreements and may be proposing new ones.

Hariri also said that he would travel to Germany by the end of this week.

Crime rate:

Interior Minister Ziad Baroud told the cabinet that the Internal Security Forces’ (ISF) cooperation with the Lebanese army helped lower the crime rate.

Subsidies

The ministers agreed to use the $9-million previously allocated for subsidizing fuel oil for the following energy saving measures : The fund will be used to buy and distribute energy saving light-bulbs to low-income households, subsidize the price of solar water heaters, and to install new control systems for public lighting.

Energy Ministry Gebran Bassil will discuss the implementation of the plan in coordination with the environment ministry and other concerned ones, Mitri said.