The man, designated by his initials MHS, aged in his fifties, who set himself on fire 2 days ago in the town of Baalbeck in protest against the deterioration of social and economic conditions died on Thursday 16 December, indicates a dispatch from the National News Agency.
Suffering from severe 3rd degree burns, the man had been transferred alive to Rayal hospital to receive first aid, the rapid intervention of civil defense units succeeded in extinguishing the flames.
This information comes as the Lebanese pound hit its historic low against the dollar on Monday, crossing the symbolic threshold of 28,000 LL / USD. Thus, the minimum wage is now approaching 20 USD. More than 82% of the population would now be living below the poverty line and more than 40% in a state of extreme poverty, the Lebanese economic crisis being described as one of the 3 worst economic crises since the mid-19th century. according to the authors of a World Bank report.
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For the time being, while the former Diab cabinet conditioned the lifting of subsidies from the Banque du Liban to the establishment of an assistance program for the most vulnerable people, the Mikati III government has left the governor of the Banque du Liban, Riad Salamé, to stop subsidy programs at the beginning of September, leading to increases in the prices of raw materials and basic necessities to levels hitherto unknown, plunging a little more a large part of the population in misery.
Despite the economic crisis, for the time being, negotiations with the IMF to unblock international aid are currently blocked, the Mikati III government being paralyzed by the boycott movement of the two Shiite parties, Hezbollah and the movement. Amal who demand the departure of judge Tarek Bitar in charge of the investigation into the explosion of the Port of Beirut after the latter published an arrest warrant against the former minister of finance and arms -right of the speaker of parliament, Nabih Berri.
