Lebanon unveils new govt headed by Hassan Diab amid mass protests

On Wednesday, Lebanon finally got a new government after being in the midst of political turmoil for the past several months. This new development was announced by the country's presidency. A Qatar based news agency reported that the presidency announced the formation of the new government after Hezbollah and its allies addressed the issue of what they called "the country's worst economic crisis in decades." Hezbollah managed to crack a deal with the cabinet to tackle this. 

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The new government will be headed by Prime Minister Hassan Diab, a 60-year old professor at the American University of Beirut. His ministry would consist of 20 ministers-technocrats. Diab said this government represented the will of the people who had taken to streets asking for a change in the political pool. He stressed that "it will strive to meet their demands for an independent judiciary, for the recovery of embezzled funds, for the fight against illegal gains."

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Revolution against the political elite

The country has been hit by protests since October last year against the ruling political class. The protesters have rallied against the country's political elite who have ruled Lebanon since the end of the 1975-90 civil war. The protesters blame politicians for widespread corruption and mismanagement in a country that has accumulated one of the largest debt ratios in the world.

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(With inputs from agencies)