Lebanese parliament approves laws on World Bank loans to help poor
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Lebanon’s parliament on Friday approved a $246 million loan from the World Bank that will provide direct cash assistance for more than 160,000 vulnerable families, at a time when 50 per cent of the country's population have been plunged into poverty.
The approval came as the local currency hit a new record low on the black market, trading 11,150 Lebanese pounds to the dollar. The new crash triggered immediate protests, mostly in the country's north.
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On Friday, Parliament also passed another law on a $5.5 million World Bank loan for small and medium-sized enterprises in Lebanon, Xinhua news agency reported.
Lebanon has been suffering its worst economic and financial crisis amid a shortage in US dollars, the collapse of the Lebanese pound, as well as high unemployment and inflation rates.
As a result, the Central Bank of Lebanon also recently tightened regulations against the country's banks, which compelled some of them to close branches and lay off employees to stay afloat.
The national currency has slipped to a new low of 10,000 Lebanese pounds per $1.
