BREAKING NEWS

Lebanon's parliament passes 2024 budget, shunning major reforms

Lebanon's parliament passed an amended budget for 2024 that experts said neglected to include crucial reforms that would help the country emerge from a financial meltdown that has gutted the public sector for nearly five years.

The draft was passed late on Friday after three days of drawn-out disputes, including several heated exchanges in parliament's chamber with caretaker premier Najib Mikati, highlighting the deep divisions that have paralyzed Lebanese politics and prolonged a more than year-long vacuum at the presidency.

Since Lebanon's economy began to unravel in 2019, its currency has lost around 95% of its value, banks have locked most depositors out of their savings and more than 80% of the population has sunk below the poverty line.