Jerusalem

BEIRUT – The English-language daily Daily Star published on Thursday blank pages containing only short sentences highlighting the worsening political and economic situation, the second such event in a newspaper in the country.

The Daily Star newspaper, close to Prime Minister Saad Hariri, has only one black page with the word "Lebanon", then 10 white pages with different words, including "government paralysis", "growing sectarian rhetoric" and "garbage accumulated in Streets," "unemployment", "illegal weapon" and "public debt".

On the last page, I wrote the words "Wake up too late".

"We wanted to send a message to politicians and politicians to tell him that the situation had reached a dangerous level," told AFP the editor of the newspaper, Joseph Habbouch.

Last October, al-Nahar newspaper, the most prestigious newspaper in Lebanon, published eight white pages protesting the deterioration of the political situation while the parties failed to form the government of the time.

After eight months of consultations, Hariri formed the government in January, but this did not protect Lebanon from crises.

More than a month ago, Hariri was unable to hold a cabinet meeting due to an internal crisis that resulted in the death of two accomplices of a Lebanese minister. , allied with the Free Patriotism Movement (FPM) of President Michel Aoun, during a shootout at the end of July.

Speaking about political tensions after the incident, the US Embbady in Beirut warned on Wednesday that "any attempt to exploit this tragic event (…) to promote political goals ".

Lebanon, a country with limited resources, lacks basic services and its infrastructures are falling. Since 2015, there is a waste crisis that has long accumulated garbage on the streets of the capital, without the government finding a lasting solution.

The current public debt is estimated at more than 86 billion dollars, or more than 150% of GDP. The unemployment rate is above 20%.

The press sector in Lebanon is also experiencing a protracted crisis, mainly related to the end of domestic and Arab political funding of the media, the rise of the digital press and the decline in advertising revenues.

Lebanon does not have a fully independent media, but is often loyal to a particular political party, or at least a political line.

Several organizations have dismissed workers and well-established newspapers have ceased publication.

A Daily Star newspaper source said the employees had not received their salaries for June and July.

The employees of Future TV, affiliated with the Future Movement led by Hariri, have been on strike for a week.

Over the past two years, Mr. Hariri's financial deterioration has worsened, which has had a negative impact on the institutions he owns in Lebanon, including television and Al Mustaqbal, which only publishes only electronically since the beginning of the year.