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By Issam Abdallah BEIRUT (Reuters) - Taxi drivers blocked roads in Beirut on Thursday in protest at spiralling petrol prices that are compounding misery for Lebanese already suffering the effects of a devastating economic collapse. Gasoline today is about 10 times more expensive at the pump than it was just a few months ago, shooting higher as the central bank has stopped providing dollars at heavily subsidised exchange rates for fuel imports. Several dozen taxi drivers parked their cars in Martyrs Square in the middle of Beirut and blocked a nearby main road in protest at the latest hike - a 25% increase announced on Wednesday. How are we supposed to live? We drive around and can t find passengers on the road, said Hanna Ibrahim, a taxi driver. When passengers can be found, arguments often breakout over the fare, she said. They make us cry and we make them cry. The Lebanese pound has lost around 90% of its value in the last two years, and three quarters of Lebanese are now in poverty. ....
Taxi drivers blocked roads in Beirut on Thursday in protest at spiralling petrol prices that are compounding misery for Lebanese already suffering the effects of a devastating economic collapse. ....