Lebanese take to streets as currency drops 90% in value

Robert Besser
02 Dec 2021, 14:37 GMT+10

Protesting Lebanese took to the streets, lighting tires on fire and blocking roads throughout Lebanon to express their frustrations over the economic crisis riddling the nation
The protests occurred days after the value of the country's currency fell to never-before-seen levels
The country's economic downturn, which began two years ago, has driven over three-fourths of all Lebanese into poverty, as the value of the Lebanese pound fell more than 90 percent

BEIRUT, Lebanon: Protesting Lebanese took to the streets, lighting tires on fire and blocking roads throughout Lebanon to express their frustrations over the economic crisis riddling the nation.

The protests occurred days after the value of the country's currency fell to never-before-seen levels.

The country's economic downturn, which began two years ago, has driven over three-fourths of all Lebanese into poverty, as the value of the Lebanese pound fell more than 90 percent.

The country's currency traded at over 25,000 to the U.S. dollar during the previous week, as compared to 1,500 to the dollar recorded two years ago.

Among other places, roads were blocked in Sidon, the capital Tripoli, and central Beirut.
Little progress in stabilizing the country has occurred since the Najib Mikati government came to power in September, after a year-long political stalemate where no functioning government existed, which further aggravated the downturn of the currency.

Meanwhile, reductions in state subsidies are being imposed on medicines, fuel, and others, thereby driving costs up as basic services, including healthcare, are collapsing.

The cabinet recently met with the prime objective of renewing discussions with the IMF that is deemed necessary for securing foreign assistance. However, a consensus had yet to be reached regarding important financial commitments, considered to be a prerequisite to commence talks.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Philadelphia Herald.

More Information

80 ℉

Partly Cloudy in Philadelphia

Business

Section

Saudis buy stake in Russian energy companies, spend billions

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia: In a Twitter post published this week, Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding said it had invested in Russian ...

Asian stocks rally across the board, Nikkei 225 surges 354 points

SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stock markets across the Asia Pacific region rallied on Wednesday.In Japan, the Nikkei 225 surged 353.86 ...

Poor crane, inexperienced operator among causes of tragic deaths by girder fall

DHAKA, Bangladesh A preliminary investigation into the tragic crane accident that killed five people in Uttara on Monday has found ...

Proposed Vietnam bullet train would run north-south 960 miles

HANOI, Vietnam: The Vietnamese government is considering building a high-speed railway, with a possible cost of up to $58.7 billion, ...

U.S. stocks have mixed day, Nasdaq Composite slides 26 points

NEW YORK, New York - Stocks were decidedly mixed in the U.S. on Tuesday as investors struggled to make a ...

Billionaire Indian trader Rakesh Jhunjhunwala dead at 62

DELHI, India: Dubbed the country's Warren Buffett, India's best-known stock investor and self-made billionaire, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, died on August 14 ...