Beirut (AFP) - Lebanese protesters slowed rush hour traffic on several highways leading towards Beirut on Monday after authorities said they would reopen a landfill to ease an eight-month rubbish crisis.

One activist braved rain and laid down on the highway leading north from the capital, an activist from the "You Stink" movement told AFP, adding that she was then detained.

The AFP journalist saw dozens of activists on a highway southeast of Beirut, standing in the middle of the thoroughfare to block traffic for several minutes before being pushed back by security forces.

"Today we are sending a message to the government, these were symbolic actions," said activist Assad Thebian.

By  Samya Kullab

On Feb. 19, Saudi Arabia announced it was canceling $4 billion in aid earmarked for Lebanon since 2013 and imposed a travel ban for Saudi citizens to the Mediterranean country. The moves represented an unequivocal shift in Saudi foreign policy toward Lebanon, where for years the kingdom has competed with Iran for influence by backing the Sunni-led March 14 coalition, headed by the Future Movement of Saad Hariri, against Hezbollah and the rival March 8 coalition that it leads.

Saudi allies swiftly followed suit: Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates called on their citizens to leave Lebanon. Less than two weeks later, the Saudi-led six-member Gulf Cooperation Council formally branded Hezbollah a terrorist organization, blacklisting companies with any ties to the Shiite group, which is both Lebanon’s strongest political party and militia. The GCC cited security concerns that cells of Hezbollah were operating in their countries.

BBC, Bahrain has deported several Lebanese residents for allegedly belonging to the Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah, the interior ministry says.

The ministry did not give any further details, but the move came days after the Arab League declared Hezbollah a terrorist organisation.Sunni-ruled Bahrain has previously accused Hezbollah and its ally Iran of aiding Shia militants in the country.

Iran and Hezbollah have denied the allegations. It is not known how many Lebanese were deported, although last week Lebanese media said 10 families had been ordered to leave, AFP news agency reported.

BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese government announced Saturday a temporary solution for the country's eight-month trash crisis by opening three landfills as thousands protested in downtown Beirut.

Information Minister Ramzi Jreij said after an eight-hour Cabinet meeting that the temporary solution will last four years and by then a permanent solution will be in place.

In Beirut more than 2,000 protesters rejected the option of temporary landfills and demanded a more long-term waste-disposal plan.

The trash crisis began in July, when the country's main landfill in the town of Naameh just south of Beirut was scheduled to close, with no real alternative landfills available. Naameh area residents said the dump was over capacity and began blocking the roads to prevent garbage trucks from reaching it.