Lebanese Presidency: US to Help Lebanon with Electricity

A passenger plane flies over Beirut, Lebanon, a capital in darkness because of a power outage, March 29, 2021.(AP)
A passenger plane flies over Beirut, Lebanon, a capital in darkness because of a power outage, March 29, 2021.(AP)
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Lebanese Presidency: US to Help Lebanon with Electricity

A passenger plane flies over Beirut, Lebanon, a capital in darkness because of a power outage, March 29, 2021.(AP)
A passenger plane flies over Beirut, Lebanon, a capital in darkness because of a power outage, March 29, 2021.(AP)

The Lebanese presidency said on Thursday that the United States has decided to assist Lebanon with electricity provision as the country struggles with crippling fuel shortages.

It said the US ambassador informed President Michel Aoun of the decision through a phone call on Thursday. There was no immediate comment from the US Embassy in Lebanon.

The plan would provide Egyptian natural gas to Jordan for generation into additional electricity that can be transmitted to Lebanon via Syria, as well as facilitate the transfer of natural gas to Lebanon.

Negotiations are continuing with the World Bank to finance the cost of the gas, the presidency statement said.



Palestinian President Abbas Appoints New Deputy in Major Step in Naming Successor

Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, gestures during an interview with The Associate Press at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 13, 2022. (AP)
Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, gestures during an interview with The Associate Press at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 13, 2022. (AP)
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Palestinian President Abbas Appoints New Deputy in Major Step in Naming Successor

Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, gestures during an interview with The Associate Press at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 13, 2022. (AP)
Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, gestures during an interview with The Associate Press at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 13, 2022. (AP)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday named a veteran aide and confidant as his new vice president. It’s a major step by the aging leader to designate a successor.

The appointment of Hussein al-Sheikh as vice president of the Palestine Liberation Organization does not guarantee he will be the next Palestinian president. But it makes him the front-runner among longtime politicians in the dominant Fatah party who hope to succeed the 89-year-old Abbas.

Abbas hopes to play a major role in postwar Gaza. He has been under pressure from Western and Arab allies to rehabilitate the Palestinian Authority, which has limited autonomy in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.  

The PLO is the internationally recognized representative of the Palestinian people and oversees the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. Abbas has led both entities for two decades.