BEIRUT: Lebanon’s political class was squabbling on Wednesday to agree on a Sunni figure to designate as the future prime minister, ahead of binding parliamentary consultations with President Michel Aoun on Thursday.

Parliamentary blocs attempted to communicate with each other but failed to agree on a name.

CAIRO: Egypt and Qatar are holding talks to expand investments in new areas and increase their volume, especially in the energy sector, said Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Nevin Gamea.

During her participation in the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, Gamea said: “During my current visit to Doha, I presented investment opportunities to the Qatari side in the field of manufacturing industries, specialized industries, textiles and leather industries as a kind of partnership between the two sides.”

JERUSALEM: Israel’s outgoing coalition government will fast-track a bill this week to dissolve parliament, setting up the country for its fifth elections in three years, a Cabinet minister said Tuesday.

The development comes after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Monday that he would disband his alliance of eight ideologically diverse parties, a year after taking office, and send the country to the polls. A series of defections from his Yemina party had stripped the coalition of its majority in parliament.

TUNIS: Tunisian President Kais Saied on Tuesday urged the International Monetary Fund to take into account the social impact of any economic reforms it may demand as part of a bailout package.
The North African country has been in preliminary discussions with the global lender for a new loan to save an economy ravaged by years of high unemployment, inflation and public debt even pre-dating its 2011 revolution.

ISTANBUL: A wildfire broke out in southwestern Turkey on Tuesday, sparking fears of a repeat of last year’s blazes that devastated tens of thousands of hectares across the country’s Mediterranean and Aegan provinces.
The fire broke out near the Aegean coastal resort of Marmaris, in the province of Mugla, in an area known as Bordubet.
State-owned Anadolu news agency said the fires had spread quickly due to windy conditions and were continuing to expand at a rapid pace. The cause for the fire is unknown, it said.