Libanon

The legislative session was supposed to address proposed new laws some protesters say do not address their demands. For more than a month, rallies have been held every day in Lebanon against government corruption and financial crisis. Protesters are calling for jobs, electricity, health care and security, and for the entire political class to step down.

Lebanon's banks and schools were shut on Tuesday in a new wave of disruption as politicians struggled to agree on a new government to steer the country out of its worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 civil war. The top U.N. official in Lebanon called for the urgent formation of a cabinet made up of people known for their competence, which he said would be in a better position to appeal for international support.

For weeks, Lebanon has been rocked by anti-government protests, the largest the country has seen in more than a decade. The demonstrations have cut across sectarian lines - a rare phenomenon since the country's devastating civil war ended - and involved people from all sectors of society.

Lebanese demonstrators have begun surrounding government institutions in the capital, Beirut, and other cities, as a mass protest movement demanding an overhaul of the country's political system approaches its fourth week.

Lebanon's president has asked the cabinet to continue in a caretaker capacity, a day after PM Saad Hariri resigned in response to mass protests. On Tuesday, Mr Hariri said he had reached a "dead end" and that a "shock" was needed to resolve the crisis.

Since October 17, hundreds of thousands of protesters have mobilized across Lebanon, calling for an end to corruption, sectarianism, and the broken political and economic system. The mass demonstrations, largely branded as “al-thawra,” the Arabic word for revolution, were triggered by plans by the Lebanese government to tax WhatsApp calls.

A week of unprecedented Lebanese street protests against the political class showed few signs of abating Wednesday, with thousands again gathering across the country, braving rain and a heavy military deployment.

Lebanese Christian groups are increasingly worried that their hard-won position in the country is under threat from an influx of Syrians that could permanently alter the balance of power. With more than 1.5 million refugees draining the tiny country's resources, memories are still fresh of the 15-year civil war that was sparked in part by Lebanon's inability to absorb an influx of mostly Muslim Palestinian refugees.

Hezbollah holds three cabinet seats, and along with its allies has more power than ever in the parliament and government. It is also among the most effective armed groups in the region, extending Iran's influence to Israel's doorstep. Domestically, the group's power exceeds that of the Lebanese armed forces.