The Central Bank and the Ministry of Energy have informed oil importing companies that gasoline subsidization will be lowered by another 15% as of the beginning of this week, LBCI TV reported on Monday.

According to the new scheme, the importing companies will now get 45% of their dollars through the Sayrafa platform and 55% from the black market. Under the previous scheme, they used to get 70% of their dollars via Sayrafa and 30% from the black market.

The Entrepreneurship in the MENA survey, conducted recently by Bayt.com, a leading job site in the Gulf and Middle East, and market research agency YouGov, has found that nearly three-quarters (73%) of Lebanon respondents would like to be self-employed or have their own business if given the choice.

The survey found that even among those who are employed, 65% are currently thinking of starting their own business. 17% of respondents have tried to start their own business in the past, while 8% never thought of establishing a new company. Be my own boss (48%), freedom to choose work-life balance (42%), personal fulfilment (40%) and build a business my children can inherit (36%) emerge as the top reasons for preferring to be self-employed.

Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati will not replace Energy Minister Walid Fayyad in a new cabinet line-up reshuffle, Asharq al-Awsat newspaper said.

A political source told the daily, in remarks published Monday, that Mikati would only replace the economy minister and the minister of the displaced, and would study President Michel Aoun's suggestion to add six "acceptable" state ministers to the line-up.

In celebration of its fifth anniversary, the Global Health Institute (GHI) at the American University of Beirut (AUB) has organized the Global Health Change Makers” pitch competition. The event brought together students from universities of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to present their project ideas related to Global Health and the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through a 5-minute pitch for a chance to win seed funding.

Seven competitors coming from different countries in MENA including Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and others were shortlisted to the final stage and participated in the competition that was held at AUB, the university said in a statement.

A submarine arrived Monday at Tripoli's port to retrieve a boat that had capsized last April near the port and dozens of bodies still missing at sea.

The Lebanese Army later announced that high sea waves have forced the postponement of the submarine's mission until further notice.

Israel on Monday warned Hezbollah that any attack on its gas assets could spark war, after the Iran-backed Lebanese group threatened to "sever" Israel's hands if it taps a disputed offshore field.

The warning from Defense Minister Benny Gantz comes amid lengthy negotiations between Lebanon and Israel to settle a dispute over their maritime border.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday demanded the election of a president who would "not only demarcate the state's border with the countries surrounding Lebanon, but also with Lebanese forces acting as if there are no inviolability, borders nor dignity for the state, legitimacy and the army."

MP Mohammed Raad, the head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, has warned that presidential vacuum would “weaken the national stance in the face of the external threats.”

Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday threatened anew that there would be an “escalation” if Lebanon does not get what it wants in the sea border negotiations with Israel.

“If the Lebanese state is not given what it wants, we will be heading to an escalation, even if the nuclear agreement gets signed,” Nasrallah said in a televised address during a Hezbollah ceremony, referring to the possibility of a new nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers.

The 13 MPs of the “change” bloc on Friday announced that they will launch a “comprehensive initiative” regarding the presidential election in early September.

“This initiative will include the political stances and the constitutional and values-related approach that would establish a political and popular incubator that would push for the election of a president who would contribute to launching a salvation course for the country,” they said in a statement.