Two victims of suicide amidst worsening economic crisis
- Dany Abi Haidar, a father of three, died by suicide Wednesday in the northern Beiruti suburb of Nabaa. Initial reports indicated that he had been let go of his job. His employer, Debbas, however, released a statement maintaining that Abi Haidar was still employed at the company.
- An Internal Security Forces (ISF) officer, A.T., was found dead in his hometown Sfainet el Bribe in Akkar from an apparent suicide.
On day 49, arrests, police brutality, and marches
- The Army arrested several individuals in Saadnayel early Wednesday morning while trying to violently re-open the road. In Tripoli, middle school students were violently attacked by municipality police for staging a sit-in. Other students staged a sit-in at the Ministry of Education in Beirut.
- Early evening and into the night, protesters blocked the Ring road in Beirut and lit candles for those who had fallen victim to suicide. When met with state violence, they marched toward Hamra street. Protesters also burned tired and trash cans to block the road to Verdun.
Central Bank lowers interest rates on deposits
- Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh ordered a cap on bank deposits’ interest rates applicable to all new or renewed deposits for the next six months.
- The circular, which was issued on Wednesday, lowers banks' interest rates to 5% on USD accounts and 8.5% on LBP accounts.
- Interests on deposits in the foreign currency will be paid in half in the foreign currency and half in Lebanese pounds.
Parliamentary consultations set for Monday
- The Lebanese presidency announced that parliamentary consultations will be held next Monday do designate the next prime minister.
- Earlier, former premiers Najib Mikati, Tammam Salam and Fouad Senior accused the President and Caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil of violating the prime minister’s prerogatives set by the Constitution and the Taif Agreement by negotiating roles for the next government foundation.
- The president’s office denied the violation, noting that “the Constitution does not specify a timeframe to call for the binding parliamentary consultations.”
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