Lebanon to start paying cash aid to poor families next month

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s government says it will start paying cash assistance next month to hundreds of thousands of poor families in U.S. dollars as the small nation sinks deeper in its economic crisis. Minister of social affairs said Thursday that some 500,000 families will start receiving $20 a month for every family member up to a maximum of six persons. The move comes at a time when the government is planning to end subsidies on vital products such as fuel and some medicines that is widely expected to increase prices of most products. The Lebanese pound has been on a freefall for nearly two years.