Many banks and schools in Lebanon were closed due to protests against the government that lasted nearly a month.

Dozens of people this morning gathered near the courthouse headquarters in the capital Beirut to prevent judges and lawyers from working, demanding an independent judiciary. In the town of Aley east of Beirut, the city of Tire and the town of Baalbek, protesters surrounded or sat inside the offices of the national telecommunications service provider.

Many schools and universities were closed, while banks were in similar situations after employees were accused of mistreatment by customers. Banks have restricted access to the US dollar since the protests erupted, raising concerns about a devaluation of the local currency and angering account holders.

However, the central bank of Lebanon yesterday emphasized that the Lebanese pound will keep the exchange rate with the USD, and said it had asked banks to lift the withdrawal restriction.

Unprecedented protests have been taking place across Lebanon since October 17 in an attempt to overthrow politicians whom protesters say are corrupt and work ineffectively. Originating from the opposition to the proposed taxation of free phone calls, the protests later evolved into a powerful wave of issues such as corruption and widespread power outages.

Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri announced his resignation on October 29, but his administration is still in charge of running the country when there is no sign of a new machine.

Protesters are demanding a new cabinet made up of independent experts unrelated to traditional political parties. However, parliamentary consultations on this issue are not clear when, while the formation of a government in Lebanon usually takes months.

The World Bank says about one-third of Lebanese live in poverty and warns that the country's economic situation could get worse if the new cabinet is not set up quickly.