Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese took to the streets to condemn political stasis and corruption Sunday, the largest in four days of demonstrations that have crippled the country and threatened the coalition government. While the government quickly dropped the plan, the leaderless protests morphed into demands for a sweeping overhaul of the political system, with grievances ranging from austerity measures to poor infrastructure. Beleaguered Prime Minister Saad Hariri has urged government members from different blocs to support him but four ministers from a Christian political party quit Saturday. Deadline under fireLebanon's political system was set up to balance power between the country's religious sects, including Christians, Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims and Druze. Scuppering Hariri's unity call, Samir Geagea, head of the Christian Lebanese Forces party announced late Saturday that his four ministers were quitting the government.

Source: Mint October 20, 2019 15:22 UTC