Soaring gas price weighing on people's lives in Lebanon

STORY: Soaring gas price weighing on people's lives in Lebanon DATELINE: March 23, 2023 LENGTH: 0:03:45 LOCATION: Beirut CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of Lebanon 2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): JIHAD BOU KHZAM, Lebanese 3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): IMAD RIMAN, Lebanese 4. SOUNDBITE 3 (Arabic): FADI ABOU CHAKRA, Fuel distributor representative 5. SOUNDBITE 4 (Arabic): FADI ABOU CHAKRA, Fuel distributor representative 6. SOUNDBITE 5 (Arabic): SAYYED AHMAD, Gas station owner STORYLINE: With a quick collapse of the Lebanese pound to the U.S. dollar, Lebanon saw a sharp rise in the prices of food and fuel, which weighed heavily on people's lives. The increase in fuel prices forced people to reduce their movement by car to save money for other necessities such as food. Since 2019, Lebanon has been facing a steep financial crisis, which plunged more than 80 percent of the Lebanese population into poverty. The country has so far failed to implement necessary reforms to unlock aid from the International Monetary F

Lebanese watch World Cup in coffee shops as national TV fails to broadcast games

STORY: Lebanese watch World Cup in coffee shops as national TV fails to broadcast games DATELINE: Nov. 28, 2022 LENGTH: 0:01:52 LOCATION: Beirut CATEGORY: SPORTS SHOTLIST: 1. various of Lebanese watching the World Cup in a coffee shop 2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Lebanese): KARIM BOU KHZAM, Coffee shop owner 3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Lebanese): MAJED KHADDAJ, Football fan 4. various of Lebanese watching the World Cup in a coffee shop STORYLINE: Thousands of Lebanese visited coffee shops over the past few days to watch the World Cup as the games are not broadcasted on Lebanon's public television station. Coffee shop owners pay around 90 U.S. dollars to subscribe channels broadcasting the games. They offer relatively low-cost services to football lovers who gather at their shops to watch the games and cheer for their favorite teams. SOUNDBITE 1 (Lebanese): KARIM BOU KHZAM, Coffee shop owner "Most of people do not have access to electricity amid the current economic situation. People living in mountainous areas have no access to

Fair brings life back to Beirut's famous shopping street

STORY: Fair brings life back to Beirut's famous shopping street DATELINE: May 31, 2022 LENGTH: 00:03:12 LOCATION: Beirut CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of people walking into Gemmayze street 2. various of the fair 3. various of Gemmayze street from the outside 4. various of booths in Gemmayze street 5. various of people walking 6. various of handmade products 7. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): BASSEL ABOU KHZAM, Lebanese 8. various of people walking 9. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): MIRIAM ASHKAR, Lebanese 10. SOUNDBITE 3 (Arabic): JANO LAHOUD, Lebanese 11. various of people walking at the fair STORYLINE: Thousands of Lebanese and foreign visitors flocked to Beirut's famous Gemmayze Street on Sunday to attend a fair aimed at bringing back life to the city's beating heart that has been mired in a steep financial crisis for years. People visited around 300 booths participating at the fair to explore a wide range of products including food items, jewels, books, clothes, hats, paintings, and more. The busy street of G