Lebanese protest despite virus lockdown

Several hundred people protested in Lebanon on Friday despite the country's coronavirus lockdown, marking six months since mass rallies broke out over government corruption and economic hardship.Protestors in the northern city of Tripoli threw rocks at security forces, who responded with teargas to disperse a group attempting to approach a parliamentarian's house, an AFP reporter said.Burning tyres in the central Al Nour square, a focal point of months of rallies that began on 17 October, they refused to leave when a 1600 GMT (1900) curfew came into effect.The protestors, few of whom wore protective masks against the virus, also shouted slogans against the government and the chief of the central bank.The initial rallies last year were sparked by a raft of new taxes, and quickly morphed into a street movement calling for a full overhaul of the political class.It led to prime minister Saad Hariri's resignation.As the political crisis deepened, a liquidity crunch prompted informal capital controls, further stoking protesters' anger.