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| Lebanon rubbish crisis: Activists occupy environment ministry | |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| Activists in Lebanon have occupied the environment ministry, in the latest "You Stink" protest over rotting rubbish in the capital, Beirut. | |
| A video posted on social media showed rows of people sitting on the floor and demanding the resignation of Environment Minister Mohammed Machnouk. | |
| It follows weeks of protests over the government's failure to remove growing piles of waste on the streets. | |
| The activists have also been demanding snap parliamentary elections. | |
| On Tuesday, the demonstrators broke into the ministry to stage a sit-in protest. | |
| They said they would remain in the building until Mr Machnouk resigned. | |
| It comes after the "You Stink" movement issued a 72-hour ultimatum on Saturday for the minister to step down. | |
| Rubbish has been piling up on the streets of Beirut since the country's largest landfill shut down in July with no ready alternative. | |
| This led to the creation of "You Stink", which blames political paralysis and corruption for the failure to resolve the crisis. | |
| Last week, the cabinet failed to reach agreement on a way forward, saying the fees quoted by private waste management companies were too great. | |
| Lebanon has been without a president for more than a year, while members of parliament have extended their own terms until 2017 after failing to agree on a law on fresh elections. | |
| The conflict in neighbouring Syria has also exacerbated political and sectarian divisions, and resulted in the arrival of 1.1 million refugees, putting a strain on the economy and public services. |