 Hello and welcome to the International Daily Roundup by People's Dispatch, where we bring you major news developments from across the world, our headlines. Lebanese Prime Minister steps down in the wake of protests, Afghan government released 400 Taliban business, activists dismayed meager cuts in Seattle city's police budget and Keith Rowley emerges victorious in the Trinidad and Tobago general elections. Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diyab announced his resignation on Monday evening following massive protests over the past few days. The President has accepted his resignation and he will continue as a caretaker Prime Minister until the new government is formed. Massive protests had taken place due to following the chemical explosions last week. The resignation of the Hassan Diyab government was one of the key demands of the protesters. The blast killed close to 200 people and injured more than 6,000 while also causing damage to billions of dollars. This proved to be a heavy blow for an economy already facing bankruptcy. A few Ministers of Hassan Diyab's cabinet had already announced that they would resign. The protests that began on Saturday are the latest in a series of agitations that began in October last year against the worsening economic and political conditions in the country. Protesters have held government corruption and mismanagement to be responsible for the current situation. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has agreed to release a final batch of 400 Taliban prisoners. This comes after months of devastating violence perpetrated by both Afghan security forces and non-state actors including the Taliban. The decision is likely to pave the way for the beginning of intra-Afghan talks this week in Qatar. On Sunday, a resolution calling for the release of the pending prisoners was passed by thousands of local representatives who formed the Loya Jirgaag Assembly. The resolution added that the Taliban should take responsibility for the release of all civilians and military officials in its custody. The release of the pending 400 Taliban prisoners was repeatedly halted by President Ghani. On the grounds that they are accused of being involved in major crimes and murders, he said that these charges were beyond his domain to parl. Since the US-Taliban peace deal in Doha last year, in Doha in February, no direct talks have taken place between the Taliban and Afghan government. In the first half of 2020, a total of 1,213 civilians lost their lives while 1,744 were wounded in at least 880 incidents of violence in the country as per the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. We now go to the United States where the Seattle City Administration has cut the budget of the police department by close to 14 percent but activists fighting to defend the police have been dismayed. The city council voted a new budget by 7 to 1 votes on Monday with cuts of nearly 23 million overall. The only dissenting member of the council, socialist member Shama Sawant, voted against it because it bent against what council members had pledged 2 months ago. The budget cut to the police will amount to about US$3 million and is expected to take the former salary cuts for top officers and layoffs for over 100 police officers. Both Sawant and the protesters have opposed the new budget. The budget will also include heavy cuts and layoffs in other departments including social sectors. Earlier, at least 7 of the 9 council members had publicly pledged to cut the police budget in half and repurpose the funds to social services. The budget cuts will not affect the construction and opening of new detention centers including juvenile detention houses. The anti-racist protests that have been sweeping across the United States for the past 2 months had made defunding the police a key demand. Protests in Seattle began with calls to abolish an upcoming juvenile detention center. And finally, the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Keith Rowley claimed victory for his ruling people's national movement party in general elections. The elections were held on Monday. The preliminary results showed the ruling PNM won 22 of 41 seats in the House of Representatives. The opposition party of the United National Congress led by former Prime Minister Kamala Prasad Besar won 19 seats. Late in the night, Rowley addressed the citizens from a state setup outside the party's headquarters. He declared the party's victory and thanked the citizens for their support. The official results are expected to be announced by the Election and Boundaries Commission today. In total 146 candidates from 19 political parties and 4 independents took part in the election. However, since 1991, the country has been alternatively governed by the PNM and the UNC. The PNM won the 2015 elections with 23 seats and ousted the UNC that won 18 seats. Over 1.2 million citizens were eligible to vote in 2,200 polling stations for the renewal of 41 seats in the lower House of the Parliament. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the turnout at the polling stations was higher than in the 2015 elections. That's all we have time for today. We will be back tomorrow with major news developments from across the world. Until then, keep watching People's Dispatch.