Lebanon Withdraws Plan To Charge a Fee on WhatsApp Calls as the Country Faces Its Biggest Protests

Demonstrators and police clashed in Lebanon this week as thousands of people rallied against the government’s handling of an economic crisis, in one of the biggest protests the country has seen in years. From a report: The government-backed down from plans, announced hours earlier, to tax voice calls made through the Facebook-owned WhatsApp messaging software as people vented their anger at the political elite in the second nationwide protests in less than a month. Protesters blocked roads across Lebanon with burning tyres and security forces fired tear gas at demonstrators in central Beirut early on Friday, Lebanese media said. Dozens of people were wounded, the Red Cross said. Lebanon’s internal security forces said 60 police were wounded. “I was sitting at home and I saw the people on the move and so I came out,” said Cezar Shaaya, an accountant protesting in Beirut. “I am married, I have mortgage payments due every month and I am not working. It’s the state’s fault.”