Egypt Buries Officer who Thought to Break Bar Lev Line

Maj. Gen. Baki Zaki Youssef. Asharq Al-Awsat
Maj. Gen. Baki Zaki Youssef. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Egypt Buries Officer who Thought to Break Bar Lev Line

Maj. Gen. Baki Zaki Youssef. Asharq Al-Awsat
Maj. Gen. Baki Zaki Youssef. Asharq Al-Awsat

The Egyptian army officer credited with the idea to destroy the Israeli Bar Lev line on the Suez Canal's eastern bank during the 1973 Arab Israeli war, has been laid to rest.

Baki Zaki Youssef died on Saturday at the age of 87.

His funeral took place on Sunday at Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church in the district of Heliopolis in Cairo.

Youssef has been hailed as a hero for thinking to destroy the Bar Lev line with water pumps.

In 1973, Egyptian forces launched a surprise attack across the Suez Canal, cutting through the Bar Lev line of Israeli defenses.



Syria Announces 200 Percent Public Sector Wage, Pension Increase

FILE PHOTO: Bundles of Syrian currency notes are stacked up as an employee counts money at Syrian central bank, in Damascus,Syria, January 12, 2025. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Bundles of Syrian currency notes are stacked up as an employee counts money at Syrian central bank, in Damascus,Syria, January 12, 2025. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi/File Photo
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Syria Announces 200 Percent Public Sector Wage, Pension Increase

FILE PHOTO: Bundles of Syrian currency notes are stacked up as an employee counts money at Syrian central bank, in Damascus,Syria, January 12, 2025. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Bundles of Syrian currency notes are stacked up as an employee counts money at Syrian central bank, in Damascus,Syria, January 12, 2025. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi/File Photo

Syria announced on Sunday a 200 percent hike in public sector wages and pensions, as it seeks to address a grinding economic crisis after the recent easing of international sanctions.

Over a decade of civil war has taken a heavy toll on Syria's economy, with the United Nations reporting more than 90 percent of its people live in poverty.

In a decree published by state media, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a "200 percent increase to salaries and wages... for all civilian and military workers in public ministries, departments and institutions.”

Under the decree, the minimum wage for government employees was raised to 750,000 Syrian pounds per month, or around $75, up from around $25, AFP reported.

A separate decree granted the same 200 percent increase to retirement pensions included under current social insurance legislation.

Last month, the United States and European Union announced they would lift economic sanctions in a bid to help the country's recovery.

Also in May, Syria's Finance Minister Mohammed Barnieh said Qatar would help it pay some public sector salaries.

The extendable arrangement was for $29 million a month for three months, and would cover "wages in the health, education and social affairs sectors and non-military" pensions, he had said.

Barnieh had said the grant would be managed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and covered around a fifth of current wages and salaries.

Syria has some 1.25 million public sector workers, according to official figures.