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Lebanon Tensions High as Protesters Prevent Legislative Session

Heather Murdock

   BEIRUT - Lebanese soldiers lined the razor wire barricades surrounding
   central downtown Beirut on Tuesday afternoon, quietly watching as
   protesters sang, chanted and shouted "All of them means all of them!"

   Behind the barricades were government offices, including Lebanon's
   Parliament building. Earlier in the day, a planned legislative session
   was aborted, after demonstrators surrounded the area, preventing some
   lawmakers from entering.

   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.

   Shots were heard Tuesday morning, as an MP's security guard reportedly
   fired into the air to try to disperse the crowd. By afternoon, people
   were celebrating.

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