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Finance minister signs July bonus decree for military personnel, retirees and martyrs' families
Finance minister signs July bonus decree for military personnel, retirees and martyrs' families

L'Orient-Le Jour

timea day ago

  • Business
  • L'Orient-Le Jour

Finance minister signs July bonus decree for military personnel, retirees and martyrs' families

BEIRUT — Finance Minister Yassine Jaber on Wednesday signed a decree granting a July financial bonus to active-duty military personnel, retirees and the families of fallen soldiers, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported. He then referred it to the Cabinet in line with the applicable legal procedures, NNA added. The aid, set at LL4 million (around $45) per month for active-duty soldiers and LL12 million (around $134) per month for retirees starting July 1, 2025, is to be funded by a fuel tax approved by the Cabinet but challenged by unions, political parties and civil society groups. That fuel tax has been suspended by the State Shura Council — the high court responsible for ruling on administrative matters — on July 16, without affecting the aid distribution. Since the onset of Lebanon's financial crisis in 2019, public sector salaries, including pensions, have collapsed due to the sharp depreciation of the Lebanese Lira. Retired Lebanese military personnel regularly hold protests demanding for increase in their wages, denouncing what they see as systemic injustice, claiming that military retirees have been disproportionately affected compared to other public sector employees who have received salary increases.

Israeli forces question Lebanese and Syrians after south Lebanon incursion
Israeli forces question Lebanese and Syrians after south Lebanon incursion

Nahar Net

timea day ago

  • Nahar Net

Israeli forces question Lebanese and Syrians after south Lebanon incursion

by Naharnet Newsdesk 23 July 2025, 16:13 A 20-strong Israeli infantry force made an incursion at dawn into the Rayhanat Berri area in the al-Mari plain in south Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency said. The Israeli troops searched some inhabited and deserted homes, interrogating a number of Lebanese residents and Syrian workers before leaving while abducting two Syrian workers who were later released near the border, NNA added.

Violence in Sweida: Druze Sheik Akl receives support from Rai
Violence in Sweida: Druze Sheik Akl receives support from Rai

L'Orient-Le Jour

time3 days ago

  • Politics
  • L'Orient-Le Jour

Violence in Sweida: Druze Sheik Akl receives support from Rai

Druze Sheik Akl, Sami Abi al-Mona, received a call Monday from Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai, during which the latter "expressed his support for the Druze community and its members," at a time when violent clashes last week pitted Druze against Sunni Bedouins in Sweida, Syria. A cease-fire that took effect Sunday brought an end to the violence, which left more than 1,000 people dead in one week. The two religious leaders also discussed the possibility of holding a "spiritual summit to discuss the current situation and work toward civil peace and national unity," according to a statement relayed by the state-run National News Agency (NNA). The sheikh also received calls and messages of support from Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar, Bishop Boulos Matar, the president of the Bar Elias municipality, Rida Mays, and the Islamic-Christian Dialogue Committee member Mohammad Yassine. He also received at his home in Shanay several figures who came to offer their support. 'Distance Lebanon from conflicts' In a statement Monday, President Joseph Aoun praised "the rational stances of the mufti of the republic, Abdellatif Deriane, and Druze Sheik Akl, Mona, former minister Walid Joumblatt, and former prime ministers Najib Mikati, Fouad Siniora and Tammam Salam, who helped ease tensions and distance Lebanon from the conflicts surrounding it." He also criticized those who "raised the tone in response to the unfortunate events that recently occurred in Syria." Aoun on Monday called on Lebanese "to unite their efforts and act in an objective and responsible manner" in order to distance the country from conflicts in the region. He said his aim is to "ensure the country's security and prevent the outbreak of a war that no one will be able to withstand." "This is an opportunity to protect Lebanon, as we did during the conflict between Israel and Iran, during which we made every effort to keep Lebanon out of the war," he said. The events in Sweida have raised fears of spillover and sectarian tensions in Lebanon. It is in this context that Sheikhs Deriane and Mona on Friday, during a phone call, called to "avoid falling into the trap of sedition." The head of state, chaired a meeting Friday on the "security situation" in the country, while Druze leader and former head of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) Joumblatt on Sunday called for the opening of a dialogue among all parties in Syria under the authorities' leadership. In contrast to these calls for calm, former Druze minister Wi'am Wahab, for his part, called for armed struggle in Sweida.

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