Power cuts and plummeting exchange rates hit Lebanon

Power cuts and plummeting exchange rates hit Lebanon

BEIRUT: Power cuts, plummeting exchange rates and soaring unemployment have hit Lebanon, even as the country's president on Monday urged people to "stick to hope“ and to not "surrender to obstacles and difficulties.“

President Michel Aoun made the remarks after Sunday night's Baalbek International Festival - "The Sound of Resilience“ - that was held without an audience and broadcast live on local TV channels in addition to Arab and international outlets. It was also live-streamed on the festival's social media accounts and other digital platforms.

Aoun said that the musical evening was "the most expressive manifestation of the spirit of challenge and confrontation that drives the will of the Lebanese in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, on the one hand, and the economic and the unprecedented financial crisis in the history of our homeland.“

However the respite from the turbulence was brief and the Lebanese awoke to more grim news. There was a rise in the exchange rate of the dollar on the black market, with the purchase price ranging between LBP8,900 and LBP9,000 for $1. The selling price ranged between LBP9,000 and LBP9,200. The exchange rate of the dollar had fallen to LBP7,000 at the weekend.

The Lebanese