Protesters clash with police in Beirut

BEIRUT: Dozens of demonstrators clashed with soldiers and riot policemen deployed on the road leading to the presidential palace in Beirut on Saturday.

Protesters called on the three top leaders in the country to step down amid Lebanon's worst economic and financial crisis in decades.

Tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs and the local currency has lost 90% of its value against the dollar.

That's led to inflation and shortages of food products and medicines.

According to the World Bank, more than half the population is now living under the poverty line.

Demonstrations broke out in Lebanon in mid-October 2019 against the country's political class that many Lebanese blame for corruption that brought the tiny nation to the verge of bankruptcy.

The economic crisis has been worsened by lockdowns due to the coronavirus and a massive deadly blast in Beirut in August that damaged entire neighbourhoods in the capital.