Lebanon’s Information minister quits in first govt resignation after deadly blast

Manal Abdel Samad resigned on Sunday as Lebanon’s Information Minister, the first to quit the government after the deadly Beirut port blast that killed at least 158 people. Her statement of resignation was accompanied by an apology to the Lebanese public “for failing them.” Thousands of protesters stormed ministries on Saturday, accusing the government of gross negligence and corruption and not fit to rule. They held aloft mock gallows with nooses around the necks of cardboard cutouts of President Michel Aoun, Hizballah leader Hassan Nasralla and others.