Lebanon: Mikati's Gov't Presents Exceptional Social, Financial Measures

 President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Baabda Palace. (Photo: NNA)
President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Baabda Palace. (Photo: NNA)
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Lebanon: Mikati's Gov't Presents Exceptional Social, Financial Measures

 President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Baabda Palace. (Photo: NNA)
President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Baabda Palace. (Photo: NNA)

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati presented his cabinet’s ministerial statement, promising exceptional economic, social and financial measures with an emphasis on national constants and adherence to the constitution.

Lebanon’s new government won a vote of confidence on Monday for a policy program that aims to remedy the economic crisis.

Addressing the deputies, Mikati said: “Our government is present here today to gain confidence, in a circumstance that necessitates exceptional approaches amid a stifling economic, social, financial and living crisis…”

The prime minister highlighted the national constants that will govern the government’s work, citing “commitment to the provisions of the Constitution and the National Accord Document, respect for international laws and covenants and all resolutions of international legitimacy, commitment to implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701, and continued support for the United Nations forces operating in the South.”

He also emphasized Lebanon’s call on the international community to put an end to the permanent Israeli violations and threats to Lebanese sovereignty, by land, sea and air.

Mikati affirmed “absolute support of the army and all security forces in controlling security along the borders and at home.”

Regarding Hezbollah, Mikati’s government reiterated “adherence to the truce agreement, the complete liberation of the occupied Lebanese territories… and the right of Lebanese citizens to resist the Israeli occupation.”

On the issue of Palestinian and Syrian refugees, the ministerial statement underlined “the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland” and “the safe return of displaced Syrians,” while expressing rejection of any integration or resettlement plans.

The statement pointed to “strengthening Lebanon’s relations with the brotherly Arab countries…calling on the Arab brothers to stand by Lebanon.” It also stressed the importance of activating the “engagement with the international community and its European partner in a way that serves the higher interests of the country.”

The government affirmed its “commitment to holding the parliamentary elections on time.”

Regarding the economic and financial situation, the government pledged to “immediately resume negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reach an agreement on a support plan, and to adopt a short and medium-term rescue program...”

It also vowed to develop a plan to reform and restructure the banking and revitalize the economic cycle, giving priority to ensuring the rights and funds of depositors and seeking to pass a law on capital control.

On the social level, Mikati’s government stressed the need “to secure an economic-social-health safety net to restore the purchasing power, activate the relevant social institutions, put the financing card project into effect... and reactivate the loans provided by the Public Housing Corporation.”



Suspected US Strikes Overnight in Yemen Kill at Least 3 People

A Houthi security officer stands over the debris of a destroyed building reportedly hit by US airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo)
A Houthi security officer stands over the debris of a destroyed building reportedly hit by US airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo)
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Suspected US Strikes Overnight in Yemen Kill at Least 3 People

A Houthi security officer stands over the debris of a destroyed building reportedly hit by US airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo)
A Houthi security officer stands over the debris of a destroyed building reportedly hit by US airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo)

Suspected US airstrikes in Yemen overnight into Thursday killed at least three people, while the death toll in an earlier attack rose to 13 dead, the Iran-backed Houthi group said. The group meanwhile aired footage they said showed the debris left after shooting down yet another American MQ-9 Reaper drone.
The 13 killed in strikes Tuesday night around Hodeida's al-Hawak district made it one of the deadliest single incidents in the ongoing American campaign, the Houthis said. Another 15 people were wounded. The group described the majority of those killed as women and children, without providing a breakdown.
The area is home to the city's airport, which the Houthis have used in the past to target shipping in the Red Sea.
Since its start, the intense campaign of US airstrikes targeting the group over the attacks on shipping in Mideast waters — related to the Israel-Hamas war — has killed over 100 people, according to casualty figures released Wednesday by the Houthis.
Footage aired by the group’s al-Masirah satellite news channel showed chaotic scenes of people carrying wounded to waiting ambulances and rescuers searching by the light of their mobile phones. The target appeared in the footage to be a home in a residential neighborhood, likely part of a wider decapitation campaign launched by the Trump administration to kill Houthi leaders.
Early Thursday morning, the Houthis said airstrikes targeting the al-Sabeen District in the south of the Houthi-held capital, Sanaa, killed at least three people. The area is home to al-Sabeen Square and a major mosque that has been a gathering point for months for Houthi demonstrations against the war in the Gaza Strip. Other strikes hit the capital as well.
More airstrikes hit Kamaran Island in the Red Sea, the Houthis said.
The US military's Central Command, which oversees American military operations, did not acknowledge the strikes. That follows a pattern for the command, which now has authorization from the White House to conduct strikes at will in the campaign that began March 15.
The American military also hasn't been providing any information on targets hit. The White House has said over 200 strikes have been conducted so far.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking in the Oval Office on Monday during a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warned that America was “not going to relent” in its campaign targeting the Houthis.
Oil shipments targeted as US drone reportedly shot down

On Wednesday, the State Department said the US “will not tolerate any country or commercial entity providing support to foreign terrorist organizations, such as the Houthis, including offloading ships and provisioning oil at Houthi-controlled ports.” That likely will further squeeze the group, who already have had problems in their territory with bad gasoline destroying vehicle engines.
The Houthis also aired footage of the burning wreckage of what they described as an MQ-9 Reaper drone shot down in Yemen's al-Jawaf governorate. One man poked at the debris with a stick as those gathered chanted the Houthis' slogan: “God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse the Jews; victory to Islam.”
Central Command said it was aware of the report of the shoot down, but declined to answer further.
The Houthis say they shoot down the drones with locally made missiles. The Houthis have surface-to-air missiles — such as the Iranian missile known as the 358 — capable of downing aircraft.
Iran denies arming the Houthis, though Tehran-manufactured weaponry has been found on the battlefield and in sea shipments heading to Yemen for the Shiite Houthi group despite a United Nations arms embargo.