Lebanon

31 Oct 2019; MEMO: Lebanese President Michel Aoun asked on Wednesday resigning Prime Minister Saad Hariri to continue managing the government until a new one is formed.

This came the day after Prime Minister Hariri submitted his resignation to Baabda Presidential Palace, after two weeks of the protests’ outbreak in Lebanon, demanding the departure of the entire political class.

30 Oct 2019; MEMO: Lebanese soldiers and security officials urged protesters to open blocked roads on Wednesday so life could return to normal after 13 days demonstrations paralysed the country and forced the prime minister to resign, reports Reuters.

Troops cleared one major route north of Beirut after briefly scuffling with demonstrators in the morning. A group of soldiers tried to pick up a vehicle blocking the highway before it drove off, al-Jadeed television footage showed.

Beirut, Oct 30; AFP/GANASHAKTI: Lebanon's prime minister submitted his government's resignation on Tuesday, bowing to nearly two weeks of unprecedented nationwide protests against corruption and sectarianism.

Saad Hariri's sombre televised address was met by cheers from crowds of protesters who have remained mobilised since October 17, crippling the country to press their demands.

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s prime minister resigned Tuesday, bowing to one of the central demands of anti-government demonstrators shortly after baton-wielding Hezbollah supporters rampaged through the main protest camp in Beirut, torching tents, smashing plastic chairs and chasing away protesters.

The demonstrators later returned to the camp in time to hear the news that Prime Minister Saad Hariri said he was stepping down after hitting a “dead end” in trying to resolve the crisis, which has paralyzed the country for nearly two weeks. The protesters erupted in cheers at the news.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The bodies of three men and three women were found at the scene of an attack targeting Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, whose body was taken away by attacking U.S. forces, a commander with a jihadist group in the area said.

The commander said a second body, believed to be that Baghdadi’s deputy, was also removed by the attacking forces in the northwestern Idlib region of Syria.

(This story corrects to show commander saying purported body of Baghdadi not found with others but believed to be taken away by attacking forces)

26 Oct 2019; MEMO: A Saudi newspaper revealed on Friday that the government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who is allegedly affiliated with the kingdom, will resign within the next 48 hours.

Okaz reported unnamed sources claiming that Hariri will form a new 14-minister mini-government, which will not include any of the ministers of the current government.

BEIRUT, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- A European Union official announced on Friday that the EU supports Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri's economic reforms, the National News Agency reported.

"The EU has been a partner for Lebanon since a long time and it has been following up on the latest developments in the country," EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said.

"The EU support Lebanon's stability and Hariri's reform measures," she added.

BEIRUT, Oct 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Lebanon’s president offered to meet the protesters whose week-old mobilisation to demand a complete overhaul of the political system has brought the country to a standstill.

But Michel Aoun’s first speech since the start of the unprecedented protest movement was met with disdain by demonstrators who see him and the entire political class as part of the problem, not the solution.

BEIRUT (AP) — Turkish forces and their allies attacked Syrian government troops in northeastern Syria on Thursday, killing some of them, and they also clashed with Kurdish-led fighters, the state news agency in Damascus and a war monitoring group said.

The fighting underscored the risks of violence as multiple and often opposing armed forces jostle for new positions in the tight quarters of the northeastern border zone.

BEIRUT, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- The British embassy in Lebanon called on Lebanese officials on Thursday to meet the protesters' demands by implementing quick and necessary reforms.

"Necessary reform measures must be implemented quickly. This is an important moment for Lebanon and the Lebanese who have legitimately expressed their anger," the embassy said in a statement quoted by local news agency Lebanon 24.