AP: “Lebanon’s prime minister stepped down from his job on Monday in the wake of the disastrous Beirut port explosion that triggered public fury, saying he has come to the conclusion that corruption in Lebanon is ‘bigger than the state.'”
“In a brief televised speech after three of his ministers resigned, Prime Minister Hassan Diab said that he is taking ‘a step back’ so he can stand with the people ‘and fight the battle for change alongside them.’ ‘I declare today the resignation of this government. May God protect Lebanon,’ he said, repeating the last phrase three times. The move risks opening the way to dragged-out negotiations over a new Cabinet amid urgent calls for reform. It follows a weekend of anti-government protests in the wake of the Aug. 4 explosion in Beirut’s port that decimated the facility and caused widespread destruction, killing at least 160 people and injured about 6,000 others.”