DAILY SCOPE: ’Google Cash’ Talk Attempts to Hide Facts, Municipal Elections Soon on the Run

Local Editor

NEWSPAPERS' HEADLINES:

AS-SAFIR:

Beirut is Ready...Sidon Preparing...Tripoli Waiting and Zahle Mobilized... Jounieh Sways

"Municipalities" Raging: Testing Sizes, and Alliances

AN-NAHAR:

"Google Cash" File Conversed to Hide Truth?

AL-AKHBAR:

Berri-Aoun: The impossible Love

AL-LIWAA:

Hariri Calls for Weighty Elections on 8 May; Salam Seeks Help from Foreign Experts on "Illegal Internet"

AL-BINAA:

UN Security Council Rejects "Israeli" Claim of Golan Ownership; Egypt Seeks Negotiations with Iran

Lebanese newspapers on Wednesday discussed several topics including the coming municipal elections, the ongoing internet scandal and some attempts to hide facts related to it, the paralysis in the government and the ongoing presidential void that has seen no successful attempt to fill the post so far.

The newspapers also followed up on the different regional and international files.

AN-NAHAR: "Google Cash" Talk Attempts to Hide Facts

Well-informed sources at the telecoms ministry told An-Nahar newspaper that the discussions on "google cash" aims at blacking out facts related to the illegal internet scandal and by that divert attention to another place.

The Lebanese government has been busy investigating illegal internet companies for the past couple of weeks. The scandal includes illegal large communication devices and towers installed in several areas across Lebanon and a 40GB per second bandwith bought from Turkey and Cyprus and equivalent to 1/3 of the bandwith set by the Telecom ministry.

Also, the "internet scandal" includes a huge number of minor and major companies that have overpassed laws and regulations and justified taking internet provided by Cyprus and Turkey, saying that the demand for internet services has been increasing in light of scarcity of state services.

Earlier this month, Head of the Parliamentary Media Committee MP Hassan Fadalallah stated that the illegal internet network file is growing like a snowball, but assured that the committee's efforts will continue until the perpetrators behind this scandal are revealed.

AL-JOMHOURIA: Berri to Open Extraordinary Session Once Progress is Made on Electoral Law

Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri told his visitors that during a rare press conference on Monday that the atmosphere was positive, reported al-Jomhouria newspaper.

He was quoted by his visitors as saying that he has asked the parliament's employees to print the 17 draft-laws to hand them over to the joint committees for discussion, but added that he was mulling whether to chair the meetings or task his deputy MP Farid Makari.

According to Berri, "All the draft-laws will be discussed at the joint committees so that they are narrowed down before being raised to the General Assembly for approval."

The speaker said that he would ask the cabinet to open an extraordinary parliamentary session if the joint committees made progress in the discussions on the electoral draft-law, yet noted that the work of the joint committees will not finish by the end of May, when parliament's first ordinary session ends.

"If the atmosphere is positive, the government would be asked to open an extraordinary round of legislation or else we will wait till October for the second ordinary session," Berri said.

Berri's decision came after a ten-member committee, which includes MPs from both, the March 8 and March 14 camps as well as independents has failed to reach an agreement on a unified electoral law, and after Christian parties warned that they would boycott any session which does not have the electoral draft-law as the first item on the agenda.

AL-LIWAA: Municipal Elections Divert Attention from Bloody Events in Country

Political sources told al-Liwaa newspaper that the municipal elections that are to take place will add some liveliness to the internal scene in Lebanon, and probably divert attention from the repercussions of the bloody regional events whether in Syria where the Aleppo battle has restarted or Iraq where the parliament seems more complicated on the backdrop of the political crisis between the Abadi government and the Sadr party.

The four-stage municipal elections will start in Beirut and Bekaa-al-Hermal districts on May 8, while the elections in Mount Lebanon will be held on May 15.

Media sources said that Beirut's 24-seat municipal council is split equally between Muslims and Christians. Elections in south Lebanon and Nabatieh are set for May 22 and north Lebanon and Akkar for May 29.

Source: al-Ahed News