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