On October 20, thousands of protestors took over the streets of Lebanon to demonstrate against government corruption and austerity measures, BBC reported.

The Lebanese government had, on October 17, proposed to tax WhatsApp calls and the use of other mobile applications to raise revenue, but withdrew the plans after massive protests broke out in the country, Al Jazeera reported. Protests, however, continued in the country, turning the focus to the economic crisis and government corruption.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s coalition partners have agreed to reduce the salaries of civil servants by 50%, and privatise the telecommunications sector, among other measures being planned to ease the economic crisis in the country, the report added.

According to the BBC report, the country’s debt is expected to soar to more than 150% of its GDP in case the leaders are unable to implement economic reforms at the earliest.