Lebanese information minister, Manal Abdul Samad, announced his resignation today, according to reports from Lebanese media. This is the first resignation of an executive member of Prime Minister Hassan Diab following the blast on Tuesday, which resulted in more than 159 dead and 6,000 injured and a wave of popular protests.
Lebanese police arrested 20 people in riots that broke out yesterday in Beirut during protests following Tuesday's blast that devastated entire neighborhoods of the capital. Among the agents, according to a statement quoted by the website of the newspaper L'Orient le Jour, there are 70 injured. Last night the Lebanese Red Cross had provided a total toll of 238 wounded, of which 63 were hospitalized and 175 treated on the spot.
