The World - News from Sept. 23, 1987

Muslim and Christian businesses in Beirut closed and about 400 demonstrators marched to the Parliament building to protest the lifting of a state subsidy on gasoline that increased fuel prices by 126%, from about 22 cents a gallon to almost 50 cents. The strike was called by the 60-member Confederation of Trade Unions, which labeled the decision to lift the subsidy “oppressive” and demanded that the government find a better solution to the country’s economic crisis. The Lebanese pound has lost 80% of its value against the U.S. dollar in the last three years.