Lebanon’s Govt Reverses Decision to Delay Daylight’s Savings

The landmark clock tower in front of the parliament building in Beirut's downtown district indicates the time on March 26, 2023, after Lebanon's government announced a decision to delay daylight savings. (AFP)
The landmark clock tower in front of the parliament building in Beirut's downtown district indicates the time on March 26, 2023, after Lebanon's government announced a decision to delay daylight savings. (AFP)
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Lebanon’s Govt Reverses Decision to Delay Daylight’s Savings

The landmark clock tower in front of the parliament building in Beirut's downtown district indicates the time on March 26, 2023, after Lebanon's government announced a decision to delay daylight savings. (AFP)
The landmark clock tower in front of the parliament building in Beirut's downtown district indicates the time on March 26, 2023, after Lebanon's government announced a decision to delay daylight savings. (AFP)

Lebanon's caretaker premier said the cabinet had voted to move clocks one hour ahead on Wednesday night, reversing his decision to postpone the move to daylight savings time by a month that had sparked uproar across the country.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Monday the decision had been taken after a "calm discussion" and that the state needed 48 hours to re-adjust their operations.

Mikati angered many Lebanese when he decided last Thursday not to start daylight savings time over the last weekend of March but instead to roll clocks forward an hour on April 20.

That decision came after a meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in which Berri asked him to postpone the time switch, according to footage of the meeting seen by Reuters.

It was seen as an attempt to score points among Muslims who are fasting until sunset during the holy month of Ramadan. Moving clocks forward means Muslims would have to fast an additional hour as sunset would be at a later time on the clock.

But the move was defied by Lebanon's top Christian authority as well as some schools, media outlets and businesses, which rolled their clocks forward on Saturday night.

Mikati even faced objections from within cabinet, including the justice minister who said Lebanon had more important challenges to focus on.

The country has been without a president for five months and a protracted financial crisis has brought most public institutions to a standstill.

Mikati referred to the crises in his comments on Monday.

"Let us be clear. The problem is not winter or summer time... Rather, the problem is the vacuum in the top post in the republic," he said.



Syria Unable to Import Wheat or Fuel Due to US Sanctions, Trade Minister Says

Syrian Trade Minister Maher Khalil al-Hasan speaks during an interview with Reuters in Damascus, Syria, January 6 2025. (Reuters)
Syrian Trade Minister Maher Khalil al-Hasan speaks during an interview with Reuters in Damascus, Syria, January 6 2025. (Reuters)
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Syria Unable to Import Wheat or Fuel Due to US Sanctions, Trade Minister Says

Syrian Trade Minister Maher Khalil al-Hasan speaks during an interview with Reuters in Damascus, Syria, January 6 2025. (Reuters)
Syrian Trade Minister Maher Khalil al-Hasan speaks during an interview with Reuters in Damascus, Syria, January 6 2025. (Reuters)

Syria is unable to make deals to import fuel, wheat or other key goods due to strict US sanctions and despite many countries wanting to do so, Syria's new trade minister said.

In an interview with Reuters at his office in Damascus, Maher Khalil al-Hasan said Syria's new ruling administration had managed to scrape together enough wheat and fuel for a few months but the country faces a "catastrophe" if sanctions are not frozen or lifted soon.

Hasan is a member of the new caretaker government set up by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group after it launched a lightning offensive that toppled autocratic President Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8 after 13 years of civil war.

The sanctions were imposed during Assad's rule, targeting his government and also state institutions such as the central bank.

Russia and Iran, both major backers of the Assad government, previously provided most of Syria's wheat and oil products but both stopped doing so after the opposition factions triumphed and Assad fled to Moscow.

The US is set to announce an easing of restrictions on providing humanitarian aid and other basic services such as electricity to Syria while maintaining its strict sanctions regime, people briefed on the matter told Reuters on Monday.

The exact impact of the expected measures remains to be seen.

The decision by the outgoing Biden administration aims to send a signal of goodwill to Syria's people and its new rulers, and pave the way for improving basic services and living conditions in the war-ravaged country.

Washington wants to see Damascus embark on an inclusive political transition and to cooperate on counterterrorism and other matters.

Hasan told Reuters he was aware of reports that some sanctions may soon be eased or frozen.