Doctors, hospitals in crisis-hit Lebanon go on 2-day strike

BEIRUT (AP) — Dozens of doctors, nurses and medical personnel have rallied outside the Central Bank in the Lebanese capital of Beirut after declaring a two-day general strike. They are protesting rapidly deteriorating economic conditions and Central Bank policies that have allowed banks to impose random capital controls and other restrictions on depositors. Lebanon’s medical sector, which up until a few years ago was among the best in the Middle East, is on the brink of collapse, barely surviving the country’s unprecedented economic and financial meltdown. A number of hospitals have been warning they will have to close because they can no longer pay for their expenses or pay their employees’ salaries.