Lebanon launches cash subsidy cards for families

FILE PHOTO: People wait in cars to get fuel at a gas station in Zalka, Lebanon, August 20, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

BEIRUT (Reuters) -Lebanon's caretaker minister of social affairs on Thursday announced the launch of cash cards for over 500,000 families, a planned step to further curb a $6 billion subsidy programme that has heavily depleted foreign reserves.

Lebanon's financial crisis has been described by the World Bank as one of the deepest depressions of modern history.