The Israeli Air Force launched a series of airstrikes early Saturday targeting what it said were hundreds of heavy engineering vehicles used by Hezbollah to rebuild its military infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
Sunday, October 12, 2025
Lebanon’s Justice Minister Adel Nasser has appointed a number of judicial investigators to probe political assassinations that have taken place in the country over the decades.
Friday, October 10, 2025
Nearly a year after the end of Syria’s civil war and the fall of the Assad dictatorship, the country has embarked on a long and complex reconstruction process. The destruction is staggering: entire neighborhoods lie in rubble and basic infrastructure (roads, power grids, and water systems) has collapsed, and public institutions are dysfunctional. Millions of Syrians remain displaced inside and outside the country, schools and hospitals are incapacitated, and what remains of the economy is crippled by unemployment, inflation, and the lingering impact of sanctions (even as many have lately been eased). Ongoing sectarian violence and a deepening humanitarian disaster, with more than 14.5 million Syrians facing food insecurity, compound the crisis. As the international community re-engages in Syria, reconstruction will require many hundreds of billions of dollars in aid and investment as well as assistance to restore governance, security, and stability.
Thursday, September 25, 2025
Recently, during the session of a Lebanese parliamentary committee on a new election law, two of the country’s Shiite parliamentarians, one from Hezbollah and the second from the Amal Movement, floated an idea the government in Beirut should examine closely. The two MPs, Ali Fayyad and Ali Hassan Al Khalil, called for reform of the political system and full implementation of all the stipulations of the Taif Accord of 1989 – the agreement that ended Lebanon’s civil war and sought to update its confessional political model.
Wednesday, September 24, 2025
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says the club expects to learn the outcome of the hearing into its 115 charges of alleged Premier League financial rule breaches "in one month".
Saturday, February 8, 2025
Former Brazil and Real Madrid defender Marcelo has announced his retirement from football, bringing the curtain down on a trophy-laden career that included five UEFA Champions League triumphs.
Friday, February 7, 2025
Monday 13 October 2025 09:36:02
A hundred dollars once went a long way in Lebanon. Just a few years ago, it was enough to feed a family for a week. Today, it barely lasts a single day.
Runaway inflation and surging prices for basic goods and services have eroded the purchasing power of Lebanese households, deepening the country’s living crisis and reigniting fears about the country’s economic stability — and about how long families can continue to endure.
Amira Al-Aris, a bank employee, says she spends her entire monthly income on groceries and essentials, even after cutting expenses to the bare essentials.
“Although Lebanon might look stable from the outside, the value of money is shrinking by the day,” she told Al-Modon. “That’s why I’ve had to cut back on nearly everything.”
With a monthly salary of $1,100, Al-Aris says her income is no longer enough.
“In 2022, I would spend about $150 a month on groceries like oil, grains, and canned foods,” she said. “Now, that same amount barely lasts one or two days, and I’m not even buying all the basics.”
Several factors have driven this sharp shift in purchasing power. Over the past three years, the exchange rate of the Lebanese pound has fluctuated dramatically, directly impacting household budgets. While the current stability of the dollar exchange rate gives the illusion of price control, economists say this stability is artificial and not backed by any real economic growth or policy reform.
In other words, while the dollar exchange rate has remained fixed since late 2023 — at around 89,500 Lebanese pounds to the dollar — prices continue to climb. According to official data from Lebanon’s Central Administration of Statistics, cumulative inflation since the end of 2018 has reached roughly 6,900%, meaning prices in local currency have risen about 70-fold.
Even with much of the economy now “dollarized,” the cost of living in dollars has surged. Prices have increased by roughly 52% since the exchange rate stabilized, hitting sectors from food and housing to education and healthcare.
The squeeze is not limited to the poor. Even families with steady dollar incomes are struggling to keep up.
“We used to save part of my husband’s salary every month,” Amal Mhanna, a private-sector employee, told Al-Modon. “Now, we can barely cover our expenses.”
With a combined household income of $2,300, Mhanna and her husband once lived comfortably while saving up to $700 a month.
“Today, we live on his $1,500 salary,” she said. “We spend about $800 on tuition for one of our children abroad. Prices for food, electricity, and services have more than doubled in two years.”
By the final week of each month, she said, they switch to “survival mode,” cutting non-essential purchases.
“Even though we’re earning in dollars, it feels like our money is disappearing faster than ever.”
Economists call it the “money illusion”: when people continue to think of money in nominal terms even as its real value erodes.
“The number on the paycheck may look the same, but what $1,000 buys today is very different from what it could buy in 2022," said one economic analyst.
Two years ago, a monthly generator bill rarely exceeded $40 and was often paid in Lebanese pounds. Today, it starts at $100 and must be paid in dollars. Internet subscriptions, utilities, and household costs have all risen in parallel.
As a result, even those earning in hard currency find themselves trapped in a new cycle of financial uncertainty.
For many Lebanese, $100 no longer represents financial relief; it’s barely a stopgap. The constant sense of economic free fall has left citizens feeling that they are trapped in yet another wave of crisis, one where even dollar incomes no longer offer stability or security.
