NATIONWIDE protests have paralysed Lebanon as demonstrators blocked major roads in a second day of rallies against the government’s management of a severe economic crisis and proposed new taxes.
The protests were the largest since 2015, and could further destabilise a country with one of the highest debt loads in the world.
The protests could plunge Lebanon into a political crisis with unpredictable repercussions for the economy, which has been in steady decline.
Some of the protesters said they would stay in the streets until the government resigns.
Schools, banks and businesses shut down as the protests escalated and widened to reach almost every city and province.
Hundreds of people burned tyres in suburbs of the capital Beirut sending up clouds of black smoke.
MEANWHILE, an Italian “ultra” fan has been arrested and accused of killing a rival supporter who died after violence in Milan before a top-flight match last December.
Fabio Manduca, a 39-year-old Napoli fan, is accused of driving the SUV that fatally struck Daniele Belardinelli, a 35-year-old Inter supporter who died in clashes outside the San Siro stadium on December 26.
Manduca, who has a long criminal record, has been charged with voluntary manslaughter.
Prosecutors believe Manduca, who refused to answer questions by authorities in the 10-month investigation, has ties to the Naples-area Camorra crime syndicate.
ELSEWHERE, the US ambassador to the EU has said President Donald Trump (below) instructed him and other envoys to work with his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, on Ukraine policy.
Gordon Sondland told impeachment investigators he was “disappointed” by the directive.
Some leaving the closed-door deposition said there were gaps in his testimony, and said Sondland responded “I don’t know” and “I don’t recall” many times.
But they said it was enlightening and damning as the political appointee and Trump donor described Giuliani’s role in US policy toward Ukraine.
READ MORE: Judge strikes blow to Donald Trump in New York tax returns case
FINALLY, organisers of a Dutch beach party to bid farewell to the UK as it leaves the European Union say the festivities will go ahead on the scheduled date – whether Britain leaves or not.
The party started as a joke that went viral on Facebook about gathering on the beach to wave goodbye to the Brits on October 31.
Now thousands of people are expected to attend what has morphed into a festival on the North Sea beach at the small town of Wijk aan Zee, near Amsterdam.
At 2pm on October 31, partygoers will wave across the North Sea.
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