DAILY SCOPE: Cabinet Back on Track, Syrian Army Reopens Aleppo-Raqqa Highway

Local Editor

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Lebanese newspapers on Friday said that the deal to export wastes will take effect within the three coming weeks, as the British company signs the contract with the Lebanese government in the few days to come. According to newspapers, the cabinet seems to be back on track as its resumes activity and that even ministers who did not take part in the session vowed to approve of the different draft-laws.

The Lebanese dalies also touched on the regional developments including Syria and Yemen.

AL-AKHBAR: Berri Makes Efforts, Brings Government Back on Track

On the governmental level, House Speaker Nabih Berri told al-Akhbar newspaper that the ministerial council is back on track, and is retrieving its activity following an agreement between the different parties to carry out duties within the framework of the present mechanism.

Berri told his visitors that he contacted the different officials during the night to make sure all parties would attend the session to discuss the government's agenda. He said that the ministers who abstained from taking part in the session guaranteed they would sign the draft-laws approved by the government.

According to the paper, Berri's initiative would allow the military appointments, putting the decision of appointing the two top military posts in the hands of Head of the Change and reform bloc General Michel Aoun.

The cabinet has failed to hold regular sessions since September because of the dispute on the decision-making mechanism and the dispute on the appointment of high-ranking military and security officials in absence of a president.

Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 when the term of Michel Suleiman ended without the election of a successor.

On another level, ministerial sources told al-Akhbar newspaper on Friday that the contract with the British company to export wastes will be signed in the coming few days, and that the process should begin in the coming weeks. The sources said the location of exportation will not be made public until the contract is signed.

AL-BINAA: Waste Exporting Deal Will Be Singed in Few Days

Ministerial sources assured to al-Binaa newspaper on Friday that the British company is preparing to seal the deal with the Lebanese government to start the process of exporting wastes; accordingly with the decision made by the Lebanese cabinet.

Sources assured that the Prime Minister Tammam Salam will not back up and insists that the wastes should be exported outside Lebanon. Salam stressed that the process will start in three weeks at most, and explained that the dispute between the different political parties over having several dumps and landfills forced him to take the decision of waste exportation.

The waste management crisis erupted on July 17 following the closure of the Naameh landfill south of Beirut, which had been receiving trash from the capital and Mount Lebanon since 1997. The landfill was meant to operate for only a few years until a comprehensive solution was devised. But the government has so far failed to resolve the issue.

AL-AKHBAR: Yemeni Army Repels Terrorist Attacks, Syrian Army Reopens Aleppo-Raqqa Highway

The Yemeni army and the popular committees foiled a terrorist groups' attack on the Hilan mountain; a strategic point in Maareb district that is considered as very sensitive in terms of preserving the city.

According to al-Akhbar, the army and its allies were able to repel the attacks that were also supported by the coalition aerial strikes. A military source told the Lebanese daily that the armed groups were inflicted by major losses, as dozens of the armed forces were killed and their equipment and vehicles were destroyed as well.

Yemen has been under brutal aggression by Saudi-led coalition since March 26. Thousands have been martyred and injured in the attack, with the vast majority of them are civilians.

As for the latest developments in Syria, the newspaper said that the Syrian army made major advances in the eastern outskirts of Aleppo after fierce clashes with "ISIS" extremist groups, which makes al-Bab town [one of the important hubs of "ISIS" militants] only 7 kilometers away.

Sources said that the army units reopened the road linking between Eishe village and the villages of Ein al-Bayda, al-Sreib and Nasrallah reaching to Aleppo-Raqqa highway after dismantling the mines and explosive devices planted earlier by "ISIS" members.

Source: al-Ahed News