Lebanon – from highs to crashing lows

Lebanon once dubbed the ‘Switzerland of the East’ for its financial prowess and the playboy-capital Beirut as the ‘Paris of the Middle East’ for its vibrant cultural and social life is in a sorry state. A ruinous civil war, wholesale corruption at a high level, an economic crisis with currency devaluation pushing the Lebanese pound to 16,000 to the dollar from 1,500 18 months ago, and a breakdown of public services largely due to an inability to form an effective governme