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Lebanon scraps WhatsApp tax as protests rage | Lebanon scraps WhatsApp tax as protests rage |
(about 5 hours later) | |
Protests raged for a second day in Lebanon despite the government backtracking on plans to tax WhatsApp calls. | |
The government had announced a $0.20 (£0.16) daily charge on voice calls made through WhatsApp and other apps. | |
But it scrapped the plans hours later amid clashes between security forces and protesters. | But it scrapped the plans hours later amid clashes between security forces and protesters. |
Thousands have protested, calling on the government to step down over its handling of an economic crisis. | |
Dozens were reported injured on Thursday as protesters burned tyres and security forces fired tear gas. The demonstrations were the biggest seen in Lebanon for years. | |
Why are people protesting in Lebanon? | Why are people protesting in Lebanon? |
Thousands of Lebanese people have taken to the streets amid an economic crisis that many blame on the government. | |
"I was sitting at home and I saw the people on the move and so I came out," Cezar Shaaya, an accountant protesting in Beirut, told Reuters news agency. "I am married, I have mortgage payments due every month and I am not working. It's the state's fault." | |
Chants of "the people want to topple the regime" echoed around Beirut's Riad al-Solh square on Thursday. Many also expressed anger over perceived inaction by authorities to tackle the country's worst wildfires in decades. | |
What about the WhatsApp tax? | What about the WhatsApp tax? |
On Thursday, the government announced a new daily tax for calls made via voice-over-internet-protocol (Voip), which is used by apps including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Apple's FaceTime. | On Thursday, the government announced a new daily tax for calls made via voice-over-internet-protocol (Voip), which is used by apps including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Apple's FaceTime. |
The government backtracked hours later, but the protests continued. | |
"We are not here over the WhatsApp, we are here over everything: over fuel, food, bread, over everything," said Abdullah, a protester in Beirut. | "We are not here over the WhatsApp, we are here over everything: over fuel, food, bread, over everything," said Abdullah, a protester in Beirut. |
The prime minister was expected to deliver a speech on the crisis later on Friday. |