— Lebanon"s parliament on Tuesday voted to set the date of parliamentary elections on March 27, ahead of the previous schedule in May, the Lebanese National News Agency reported. The earlier date was chosen in order to avoid clashing with the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan. "The elections will be transparent and sound," Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati vowed after the parliament session. The next parliamentary elections will be the first since the country"s popular uprising in October 2019, when hundreds of thousands of people demanded for the overhaul of the political system. Lebanon is currently suffering from its worst financial crisis amid a shortage of foreign reserves and the collapse of the local currency"s value by over 90 percent. — Agencies