Public employees’ band-aid assistance, bakeries’ syndicate resignation, basketball success: Everything you need to know to start your Thursday

President Michel Aoun signed a decree to give temporary social assistance to all public sector employees and pensioned retirees. However, a member of the League of Civil Servant Employees told L’Orient Today that the move will not dissuade public sector workers from continuing their strike. Ibrahim Nahal, a member of the administrative board of the League of Civil Servant Employees, accused the government of “giving the civil servants the crumbs after looting billions of dollars.” The caretaker government had said on Monday that public sector workers would be given a new social assistance payment equivalent to a full month’s salary. Additionally, the daily transport allowance for each in-office workday would now be set at LL95,000, up from the latest LL65,000 rate. The decree states that the Finance Ministry’s treasury will be paid in advance to allow this assistance to be paid out. Nahal, however, insisted that the league is opposed to a simple assistance payout and instead demands a raise in salaries. Nahal told L’Orient Today that public sector workers will continue their open-ended strike, which began on June 13, until their salaries are raised.

Meanwhile, all Banque du Liban employees across the country, except for bank security guards, began a three-day strike yesterday morning. The union announced the strike after Judge Ghada Aoun entered BDL’s headquarters in Hamra on Tuesday morning along with members of State Security in an attempt to locate BDL Governor Riad Salameh, who she had subpoenaed in February after he did not show up for questioning as part of an investigation into alleged misconduct and corruption. During the strike, BDL will be closed, which means that operations requiring validation of its services will be suspended for the remainder of the working week. This includes: transfers abroad, check clearing and exchange operations at BDL’s Sayrafa platform rate.

The head of the Bakery Owners’ Syndicate in Mount Lebanon and Beirut, Ali Ibrahim, yesterday announced his resignation. Ibrahim’s parting words included that he “cannot do anything anymore to protect the noble bakery owners.” In a statement, Ibrahim said that “after the exacerbation of the recurring crises in the bread-making industry and bearing the responsibility on the bakery owners … I could not be a false witness to all what is happening in this sector.” Long queues have been forming in front of bakeries in recent weeks as the country suffers from a severe bread shortage. The war in Ukraine has disrupted international wheat supply chains, leading to wheat shortages and increased panic buying in Lebanon, which is already reeling from a debilitating economic crisis. Last Thursday, parliamentary committees approved a World Bank loan of $150 million to Lebanon to finance wheat imports. The loan, which was approved by the World Bank on May 6, was made to “finance immediate wheat imports to avoid the disruption in supply over the short-term and help secure affordable bread for poor and vulnerable households,” a World Bank spokesperson told L’Orient Today. However, Economy Minister Amin Salam accused bakeries and some merchants of taking advantage of the subsidized wheat by hoarding it. On June 8, Salam said that security sources claimed the smuggling of wheat out of the country has reached a rate of 40 percent of the wheat entering Lebanon, adding that “bread bundles are being smuggled [to Syria] on mules.”

The Lebanese national basketball team reached the semi-finals of the Asia Cup by beating China with a three-point difference. After winning 72-69 yesterday, Lebanon will play Jordan next, on Saturday in Jakarta, Indonesia. Lebanon is favored to win the title, after being ranked first in the group stage ahead of Australia — which played as the defending champion and ranked second. The Asia Cup doubles as a qualifier for the 2023 men's FIBA World Cup. The close victory sparked celebrations on social media platforms in Lebanon, prompting even Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati to tweet, “This victory is an unprecedented great achievement in the history of Lebanese sports, because the Chinese team is known globally as the number one in the Asian continent,” adding that “this victory also gives [Lebanon] hope because of the determination and will of the Lebanese youth to achieve success.” China has taken home the Asia Cup trophy 16 times.

The head of the American Task Force for Lebanon yesterday cautioned that the “window of opportunity” to settle the maritime border dispute between Lebanon and Israel would close. Edward Gabriel’s remarks come after tensions were exacerbated in June in the Lebanese-Israeli maritime border dispute after Israel deployed a floating unit to the disputed Karish gas field. During a meeting with caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, Gabriel indicated that the maritime border dispute with Israel is “a sovereign decision for Lebanon” but cautioned when the window of opportunity closes, there will be “no more opportunities to settle affairs between the two countries for several centuries.” Meanwhile, Lebanese daily al-Akhbar, which has close ties to Hezbollah, reported that the party’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said Tuesday that war with Israel is “not inevitable,” following the most recent exchange of threats of war between Hezbollah and Israel. “The resistance has a historic opportunity to save Lebanon,” Nasrallah said, according to the paper, adding, “There will be no extraction of hydrocarbons from Israel’s part if Lebanon does not get its rights to it.”

In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “Lights, nature, bass: AFAC concert marks 15 years supporting the arts.”