Lebanese airline scraps decision to accept foreign currency only

Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines scrapped a decision to reject payments in the local currency, hours after the nation’s president warned against the move and questioned its legality. As backlash mounted Sunday, the airline 99% owned by the central bank reversed the announcement to accept payments only in foreign currency, according to its spokeswoman. The company will hold meetings to discuss solutions and mechanisms that would take into consideration the interests of the Lebanese people and the state of the firm, Al Jadeed TV reported. Lebanon is grappling with its worst economic and political crisis in decades, following months of protests that forced the previous govt to resign. The pound, pegged to the dollar since 1997, is losing value on the black market . <br/>