Iran Ready to Supply Wheat to Lebanon, Lebanese President Cites Iranian FM

President Aoun holds talks with Amirabdollahian at the Baabda presidential palace. (Dalati & Nohra)
President Aoun holds talks with Amirabdollahian at the Baabda presidential palace. (Dalati & Nohra)
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Iran Ready to Supply Wheat to Lebanon, Lebanese President Cites Iranian FM

President Aoun holds talks with Amirabdollahian at the Baabda presidential palace. (Dalati & Nohra)
President Aoun holds talks with Amirabdollahian at the Baabda presidential palace. (Dalati & Nohra)

Lebanese President Michel Aoun tweeted on Friday that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian assured him after their meeting in Beirut that Iran was ready to support Lebanon in all fields, "most notably in the provision of wheat".

Lebanon bought the bulk of its wheat from Ukraine until Russia's invasion, and the World Bank has warned it is one of a number of developing countries that face near-term supply shortages as a result.

Seeking to diversify its supplies, Lebanon's economy minister told Reuters this week Beirut is planning a tender to import 50,000 tons of wheat from India, but the timing depends on the central bank opening the necessary credit line.

Iran itself needs to import around 8 million tons of wheat after its crop last summer was damaged by the worst drought in 50 years, Reuters reported in October.

But Western sanctions continue to make payment difficult, although food shipments are still possible, traders said.



UK to Use Police Stations as Prisons under Emergency Measure

Police officers are seen in London, Britain, November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police officers are seen in London, Britain, November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
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UK to Use Police Stations as Prisons under Emergency Measure

Police officers are seen in London, Britain, November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police officers are seen in London, Britain, November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy

Police cells will temporarily be used to hold prisoners in a stop-gap measure to cope with overcrowding in jails, the British government said on Tuesday.

The emergency action, dubbed "Operation Safeguard", allows inmates to be held in police cells when prisons are full, and was previously used from February 2023 to October last year, Reuters said.

The prison population in England and Wales has doubled in the last 30 years, according to official data, leading to overcrowding as new places have failed to keep pace with demand. Justice systems in Scotland and Northern Ireland are run separately.

In a statement to parliament, Shabana Mahmood said the prison system was operating at more than 99% occupancy.

January saw the highest average monthly prison population growth in almost two years, as part of a rising trend in the last three months that "has only just begun to slow", she added.

"Given the recent increase in demand, it is necessary, and prudent, for me to temporarily reactivate Operation Safeguard to better manage the flow of offenders into the prison estate," Mahmood said.

According to the World Prison Brief database, imprisonment rates in England and Wales are higher than in other major European countries, with 141 detainees per 100,000 population, against 120 in France, 117 in Spain, 105 in Italy and 68 in Germany.