A deal in Lebanon to change the dollar exchange rate for fuel imports will improve supply, but not enough to meet demand, a station owners’ union and a fuel importer said.
The country’s central bank governor, Riad Salameh, President Michel Aoun, caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab and other top officials met on Saturday evening and decided that petrol, diesel and cooking gas imports would be subsidised at the rate of 8,000 Lebanese pounds to the US dollar instead of the previous rate of 3,900 pounds.
They evaluated the maximum cost of the decision, which is effective until late September, to be $225 million.
As a result, fuel prices soared by 66 per cent overnight. The Energy Ministry said on Sunday that the price of the widely used 95-octane petrol would rise to 129,000 Lebanese pounds a litre and the price of diesel to 101,500 pounds a litre.
“This is bad news. People’s salaries remain the same,” said Toufic Moussa, who owns a taxi business. Fifteen of the 40 drivers at his company have quit in recent months because customers could no longer afford the fares.
Mr Moussa said petrol stations were not open on Sunday morning.
George Brax, a spokesman for the station owners’ syndicate, or union, said stocks of fuel-importing companies should be replenished within 10 days, which would improve fuel supply.
But the central bank, Banque du Liban, remains in control of the fuel they can import, and limits the quantity to two ships every month, Mr Brax said.
“The crisis will remain. This doesn’t change anything,” he said.
A BDL representative said they did not have details on the matter.
A fuel importer said their company could purchase the equivalent of one to two fuel ships a month. “It’s erratic. There are no clear rules,” they said.
Figures shared by the importer show fuel purchases from both the private and public sector, including diesel and petrol, decreased by 13 per cent between 2019 and 2020.
The decline is not enough to explain current shortages, the importer said.
Two other elements must be taken into consideration: a steep rise in demand for diesel and smuggling to neighbouring Syria, where prices are higher. Diesel powers private generators, which have run nearly 24 hours a day since the state power grid collapsed.
The figures show that fuel imports by Electricite du Liban, the state-run electricity company, decreased by 25 per cent from 2019 to 2020. An EDL representative was not immediately available for comment.
The central bank has been subsidising fuel imports since the start of the country’s worst economic crisis in 2019. Since then, the value of the local currency, officially still pegged at 1,500 Lebanese pounds to the dollar, has plummeted to 20,000 on the parallel market.
Inflation has soared as the country largely relies on imports for food and fuel. A UN report released this month said 78 per cent of the population now lives in poverty.
Despite repeated warnings, Mr Salameh caused a furore among the country’s political class when he announced on August 11 that the central bank would stop subsidising fuel imports as its reserves were drying up. Mr Diab called the move “illegal”.
Fuel shortages worsened and deadly clashes increased at petrol stations across the country, where customers must queue for hours in the blazing heat. The army was deployed to confiscate fuel from hoarders, accused of smuggling stocks to neighbouring Syria.
Tragedy struck on August 15, when a tanker that had been seized by the army exploded in north Lebanon and killed at least 30 people who had gathered in the hope of getting some fuel.
Politicians have proven unable to respond to Lebanon’s crisis. The country has been without a fully functioning government for more than a year, after a deadly explosion at Beirut port forced Mr Diab to resign.
Two prime ministers have been designated since the blast. Both failed to form a Cabinet. The latest nominee, veteran politician and billionaire Najib Mikati, has been negotiating ministerial portfolio distribution with Mr Aoun since late July.
RESULT
Valencia 3
Kevin Gameiro 21', 51'
Ferran Torres 67'
Atlanta 4
Josip Llicic 3' (P), 43' (P), 71', 82'
The%20specs
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
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What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
ELECTION%20RESULTS
%3Cp%3EMacron%E2%80%99s%20Ensemble%20group%20won%20245%20seats.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20second-largest%20group%20in%20parliament%20is%20Nupes%2C%20a%20leftist%20coalition%20led%20by%20Jean-Luc%20Melenchon%2C%20which%20gets%20131%20lawmakers.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20far-right%20National%20Rally%20fared%20much%20better%20than%20expected%20with%2089%20seats.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20centre-right%20Republicans%20and%20their%20allies%20took%2061.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Match info
Manchester United 1 (Van de Beek 80') Crystal Palace 3 (Townsend 7', Zaha pen 74' & 85')
Man of the match Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20DarDoc%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Samer%20Masri%2C%20Keswin%20Suresh%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20HealthTech%3Cbr%3ETotal%20funding%3A%20%24800%2C000%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Flat6Labs%2C%20angel%20investors%20%2B%20Incubated%20by%20Hub71%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi's%20Department%20of%20Health%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%2010%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
