Lebanon’s financial crisis, and the delayed IMF bailout

The time zone confusion highlighted the depth of the country’s internal turmoil.

Lebanon is facing a financial crisis that ranks among the world’s three worst since the mid-19th century, courtesy decades of corruption and political derailment. Just days ago, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the country, where three-quarters of the population lies below the poverty line, is headed for hyperinflation.

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The IMF, which recently doled out bailout packages to Sri Lanka and Ukraine, has been trying to etch a deal with Lebanon, but to little avail. Since it struck a preliminary deal last year, the Lebanese government has failed to introduce much-needed reforms on which the funding package is contingent.

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