Reuters :
Protesters burned tyres and blocked roads in Beirut on Tuesday as the Lebanese currency crashed past a new milestone. Market dealers said the Lebanese pound was trading at around 15,000 to the dollar, having lost a third of its value in the last two week to stand at barely a 10th of what it was worth in late 2019, when Lebanon’s economic and financial crisis erupted.
Banks have blocked access to dollar deposits, and poverty is spreading – but fractious politicians have yet to launch a rescue plan that could unlock foreign aid. “Let them wake up now. Please have mercy on us, we’re begging you!” said one protester, Hussein Makieh.
“Look at us, we’re starving. We’re dying. The middle class is gone. There’s 3% of the country, the thieves, living off it.” Parliamentary committees discussed an emergency loan for the state-run electricity company after the energy minister warned that, without more money, the lights would go out across Lebanon by the end of the month.
The lawmakers only managed to promise $200 million out of a requested $1 billion, and that amount now needs parliament’s approval to go through.
