OREANDA-NEWS. Riot police deployed water cannons on Tuesday against protest activists gathered in central Beirut. Protesters are also trying to block Beirut's promenade in the area of ​​the Finitsia Hotel in order to prevent lawmakers from arriving at the parliamentary palace. Law enforcement officers have so far managed to restrain the crowd of demonstrators, police are helped by army patrols, which were introduced into the city in the early morning.

On February 6, Diab’s cabinet approved a reform program aimed at stabilizing the situation in the country's economy. The anti-crisis plan provides for a number of painful measures to prevent a financial collapse, given that Lebanon's national debt reached $ 85 billion, and the national currency - the Lebanese pound - depreciated by 33%. The cabinet is also preparing judicial reform and a series of anti-corruption measures.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun instructed Dec. 19 last year to form a new cabinet for independent politician Hassan Diab after consultations with parliamentary factions. The candidacy of Diab, who served as Minister of Education in 2011-2014, was supported by 69 out of 128 deputies. The composition of the government was approved on January 21, it included 20 technocrats.