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Power Crisis Stifles the Lebanese Amid Lack of Feasible Solutions

Zouk Power Station is seen in Zouk, north of Beirut, Lebanon March 27, 2019. Picture taken March 27, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Zouk Power Station is seen in Zouk, north of Beirut, Lebanon March 27, 2019. Picture taken March 27, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Power Crisis Stifles the Lebanese Amid Lack of Feasible Solutions

Zouk Power Station is seen in Zouk, north of Beirut, Lebanon March 27, 2019. Picture taken March 27, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Zouk Power Station is seen in Zouk, north of Beirut, Lebanon March 27, 2019. Picture taken March 27, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Lebanon’s electricity crisis severely worsened over the past few days, with power outages extending to 20 hours per day even in the capital.

Many generator owners have raised the monthly tariff because of the high cost of diesel and reduced subscription hours, which drowned several areas in total darkness that was only broken by candlelight.

The electricity crisis prompted a number of stores, especially small ones, to stop buying food commodities that need a refrigerator.

Minister of Energy Raymond Ghajar said that power rationing was due to the lack of fuel, citing “judicial reasons” behind the delay of delivery by fuel ships.

In response, member of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) and electricity expert Mohammed Basbous stressed that the ministry was required to provide further information on the matter.

“It’s surprising that we currently face an electricity crisis, especially since the Algerian Sonatrach company announced that it would commit to supplying Lebanon with the amount of fuel it needs and would refrain from renewing the contract at the end of the year,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“The electricity crisis was supposed to start at the end of the year and not now, if no alternatives were found,” he emphasized.

Basbous asked about the reason why additional quantities were not brought from the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, which has a similar contract to that of Sonatrach with the Lebanese state.

The Minister of Energy had announced that Iraq intended to supply Lebanon with fuel in exchange for food, Lebanese commodities and medicine. But Basbous stressed that this was not a feasible solution, due to the scarcity of food in the country, as factories were struggling to maintain their operation amid a severe financial and economic crisis.

The PSP member underlined that the lack of fuel and its high price were due to smuggling, as there are “lines of trucks that leave daily from the refineries and go directly to the border with Syria.”

He noted that the only solution was a government decision to immediately launch the comprehensive reform process, starting from the electricity and fuel issue, in addition to controlling cross-border smuggling.

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Japan Seeks Record $55.6 bln Defense Budget, with AI Focus, Says Ministry

This photo shows an exterior view of the Defense Ministry of Japan with its sign at the main entrance in Tokyo on Sept. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)
This photo shows an exterior view of the Defense Ministry of Japan with its sign at the main entrance in Tokyo on Sept. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)
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Japan Seeks Record $55.6 bln Defense Budget, with AI Focus, Says Ministry

This photo shows an exterior view of the Defense Ministry of Japan with its sign at the main entrance in Tokyo on Sept. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)
This photo shows an exterior view of the Defense Ministry of Japan with its sign at the main entrance in Tokyo on Sept. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)

Japan's defense ministry requested a record budget of 8.9 trillion yen ($55.6 billion) on Monday as Tokyo looks to artificial intelligence to speed up decision-making in the face of a tense security environment.

But the final budget reportedly could reach 10 trillion yen as Tokyo undergoes a sweeping upgrade of its defense in order to navigate growing tension with neighbors such as China, North Korea and Russia.

Business

Turkish Economy Grows 2.3% yr-on-yr in Q2, Below Forecast

24 August 2026, Türkiye, Istanbul: Pigeons take flight at sunset as people sit along the waterfront in Istanbul. (dpa)
24 August 2026, Türkiye, Istanbul: Pigeons take flight at sunset as people sit along the waterfront in Istanbul. (dpa)
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Turkish Economy Grows 2.3% yr-on-yr in Q2, Below Forecast

24 August 2026, Türkiye, Istanbul: Pigeons take flight at sunset as people sit along the waterfront in Istanbul. (dpa)
24 August 2026, Türkiye, Istanbul: Pigeons take flight at sunset as people sit along the waterfront in Istanbul. (dpa)

Türkiye's economy expanded 2.3% year-on-year in the second quarter, official data showed on Monday, less than forecast, with growth slowing for the fourth consecutive quarter.

Second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) ‌grew 1.1% from the ‌previous quarter ‌on a ⁠seasonally and calendar-adjusted basis, ⁠Turkish Statistical Institute data showed.

In a Reuters poll, economic growth was estimated to have grown by 2.9% in the ⁠second quarter and was ‌forecast ‌to expand by 3.05% in 2026.

The ‌strongest growth by activity ‌was shown by agriculture, forestry and fishing, which expanded 13.3% , while information and communication grew 8.6%, ‌the data showed.

Growth in 2025 was revised ⁠to ⁠3.7% from 3.6%, while first quarter growth was revised to 2.6% from 2.5%, the data showed.

The government's current medium-term program projected growth of 3.8% in 2026. A new medium-term program will be announced on September 7.

Business

Crude Prices Rise on US-Iran Strikes, Equities Mixed After Warsh Remarks

Oil platforms and pumpjacks at Lake Maracaibo, in Cabimas, Venezuela, January 26, 2026. (Reuters)
Oil platforms and pumpjacks at Lake Maracaibo, in Cabimas, Venezuela, January 26, 2026. (Reuters)
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Crude Prices Rise on US-Iran Strikes, Equities Mixed After Warsh Remarks

Oil platforms and pumpjacks at Lake Maracaibo, in Cabimas, Venezuela, January 26, 2026. (Reuters)
Oil platforms and pumpjacks at Lake Maracaibo, in Cabimas, Venezuela, January 26, 2026. (Reuters)

Oil prices spiked more than two percent Monday after a fresh flare-up in the US-Iran war, while stocks were mixed as hawkish comments from Federal Reserve boss Kevin Warsh saw investors ramp up bets on a US interest rate hike.

With inflation remaining stubbornly high -- largely on the back of elevated energy costs -- the US central bank has come under pressure to act, while Warsh's refusal to provide guidance has stoked uncertainty.

But in a highly anticipated speech at the Jackson Hole symposium of central bankers and economists in Wyoming, he left traders with few doubts that he was ready to increase borrowing costs.

Warsh said: "We must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective, clearly and at sufficient speed. Otherwise, we have work to do."

He called the spike in inflation -- currently at 3.7 percent and nearly double the Fed's two-percent target -- "concerning", and said he would be "hard-pressed" to describe current financial conditions as "restrictive", a potential hint that rate hikes could be on the horizon.

However, he stopped short of saying he would support a hike, adding: "I stand here today committed to a discipline, not to a decision."

All three main indexes on Wall Street fell Friday. Yields on short-term US Treasury bonds -- which reflect monetary policy expectations -- jumped, and the dollar rallied against its peers. Gold, which benefits from lower interest rates, fell.

Asia struggled in the morning but some markets rallied as the day progressed, leaving some in positive territory and others just below Friday's close.

Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney, Taipei, Jakarta and Mumbai ended down but Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Bangkok and Wellington rose.

Paris rose but Frankfurt dipped.

London was closed for a holiday.

Focus will now turn to a string of crucial data releases over the next two weeks before the Fed makes its decision, with jobs up this week and the consumer price index next week.

"Should we get an inline payrolls print that does not give the Fed too much to work with, next week's core CPI report will become the major decider for the market's Fed belief system," wrote Chris Weston at Pepperstone.

"The volatility priced around that outcome across rates, forex and equities could therefore be significant."

Still, Invesco's David Chao added: "While Jackson Hole has increased the possibility of a rate hike, I don't think a September rate hike is in the books.

"Chair Warsh wants to reduce forward guidance and he stopped short of explicitly signaling a September move. The upcoming inflation and labor market reports will be critically important."

The Fed's battle against inflation has been hobbled by the Iran war, which has pushed oil prices higher.

And after a run lower for most of last week, they spiked again Monday, a day after the United States said it had attacked Iranian rocket launchers on a small island in the Strait of Hormuz, its first strikes on the country in a month.

The attack prompted Tehran to retaliate by firing at Jordan. Both main crude contracts rose more than two percent Monday.

The exchange came shortly after the US-Iran war hit the six-month mark, and at a time when hostilities had been subsiding.

The news revived concerns about the conflict, with attempts and peace talks appearing to be going nowhere and the strait -- through which a fifth of global crude and gas passes -- largely closed.

US officials this month vowed the "economic asphyxiation" of Iran to make it open the waterway.

"Hormuz is once again threatening to put a floor under oil just as Warsh is putting a ceiling on how much inflation patience markets should assume from the Fed," said Quintex Intel's Stephen Innes.

"For oil traders, (the) move is another reminder of how quickly the geopolitical premium can return.

"Physical flows through Hormuz have improved materially from their worst levels, which is precisely why crude had started giving back some of the fear premium, but the latest exchange shows how fragile that progress remains and how quickly the shipping story can be pushed back onto the trading desk."