On Friday evening, Lebanon's prime minister gave himself and the country's cabinet 72 hours to introduce economic reforms to meet the demands of disgruntled protesters.
After ongoing demonstrations, which began on Thursday, the cabinet finally met on Monday at the presidential palace in Baabda to discuss PM Saad Hariri's new economic plan. A document revealing the country's economic blueprint for the draft 2020 state budget was shared with the public hours before. It highlighted several changes such as the privatization of the telecommunication sector, the slashing of ministers' wages by half, the retraction of the proposed tax plans for 2020, among other things. Hariri addressed the reforms, which were approved by the cabinet, during a speech following Monday's meeting.
Protesters have been going strong for five days — both online and offline. And in pure Lebanese style, humor managed to keep the conversation going. From a >72-hour countdown website to a Gebran Bassil song, >website, and >remix, the jokes were just as powerful as the chants, the people, and their persistence.
"Hela Hela Hela Hela Ho" dominated the protests ... and Twitter
"Song of the Year"
"When calling Gebran Bassil"
The song will never be forgotten
Video memes won the internet
And The Voice?
The new Lebanese National Anthem?
Other songs (Wrecking Ball) made their way into live performances
Hariri's "72-hours" was poster worthy
New Year's countdown who?
"Who am I kissing on the 72 hours of Hariri countdown?"
"Your TV channels have really strange logos"
A meme depicting Wadih El Cheikh's encounter with a local reporter
Countless memes came pouring in after an MTV Lebanon reporter asked singer Wadih el Cheikh who he is upon approaching the mic.