New austerity measures for 2020 approved
- Ibrahim Kanaan, Chair of the Finance and Budget Committee announced that the committee had approved the 2020 budget, with modifications that included cuts in spending of up to 1000 billion LBP.
- Kanaan made the announcement in a press conference from parliament after meeting with caretaker Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh and other MPs. The draft 2020 budget was approved by cabinet on October 29, after the start of the revolution.
On day 71, Lebanese expats make their voices heard in Beirut
- Lebanese diaspora visiting Lebanon for the holidays staged a march from the Foreign Ministry to Nejmeh Square in Beirut to support the revolution. The group calling for the march have been organizing solidarity protests abroad.
- Answering the call of the “We Won’t Pay” campaign, groups of protesters across Lebanon targeted branches of the central bank, as videos circulated online of heated confrontations with bank employees. In Beirut, protesters gathered in front of the Association of Banks headquarters in Saifi to protest the capital controls it’s enforced on depositors.
- An activist was called into questioning by the cybercrime bureau for criticizing Mawared Bank’s owner Marwan Kheireddine on social media.
Storm Loulou causes more devastation on its second day
- Six people died in the 24 hours leading up to Thursday night and 19 were injured on Storm Loulou’s second day, according to the Transportation Control Room. The storm wrought havoc across the country Thursday as roads flooded due to the heavy rainfall and thunderstorms.
- In Sodeco, the floodwater destroyed a number of graves in Beirut’s only Jewish cemetery after a wall collapsed. Elsewhere landslides blocked roads in Metn, Batroun, and Bejdarfel.
REPOSTED FROM @Megaphonenews