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Fresh Protests Blast Lebanon's New Government

Dale Gavlak

   AMMAN - Protesters again took to Lebanon's streets Wednesday, saying a
   newly-formed cabinet announced late Tuesday failed to match their calls
   for an administration headed by technocrats, as a deepening economic
   crisis engulfs the tiny Mediterranean country.

   Lebanon's prime minister, Hassan Diab, formed his government after the
   Shi'ite militia group Hezbollah and its allies agreed on a cabinet that
   must urgently address the heavily indebted state. Diab, a 60-year-old
   professor at the American University of Beirut, now heads a slimmed
   down cabinet of 20 members, mostly specialists backed by political
   parties, but without the participation of major Lebanese political
   parties that enjoy Western support.

   Mohanad Hage Ali of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut
   downplayed a close connection between Hezbollah and Diab, saying the
   new government faces an immediate challenge of tackling a liquidity
   crunch that has hit the local lira currency, driving banks to impose
   capital controls and fueling inflation.

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