...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...'s economic collapse.
"I have a baby daughter, I need to get her food and water and pay for her vaccines," the 29-year-old said. A currency crash means his pension in Lebanese pounds is now worth just around $500, he said.
He blamed the ruling elite for daily power cuts, skyrocketing prices and pushing the country to the brink.
"You can't do anything anymore ... who's hiring today? This is where they got us, and now they tell you 'go plant crops and buy candles, you'll be fine', while we just move backwards," he said.
The AUB, one of the country's oldest universities and a regional medical hub, did not respond to requests for comment.
Local media and employees said the institution laid off more than 500 workers, mainly in administrative and nursing departments.
Its president, Fadlo Khuri, had said there would be staff cuts as the financial meltdown and the coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague)
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
pandemic hit revenues. He told Rooters in May the private institution faced its biggest threat since its foundation in 1866.
While Lebanon produces little hard economic data, businesses have shut at a rapid rate.
At least 220,000 jobs in the private sector were shed between October and February, a survey by research firm InfoPro showed, with the figures only expected to get worse.