Lebanon announces government after months of deadlock Thursday Jan 31,2019

Lebanon announced the formation of a government on Thursday Jan 31,2019 ending over eight months of wrangling amid heightened fears of a major economic collapse.

The Western-backed Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri now faces a big challenge in delivering the reforms needed to address dire public finances and unlock billions of dollars in pledged aid and loans to boost growth.

Saad Hariri, who will head a 30-member cabinet, said bold moves were needed without delay to address chronic problems facing the heavily indebted state.

The new government will include most of Lebanon's rival factions, who have been negotiating over the makeup of the cabinet since the May 6 election that saw allies of the Iran-backed Hezbollah
 group gain ground.

The new cabinet line-up will see four women take office, including the interior and energy ministries.

Since the election, Hariri's last government, appointed in late 2016, has continued in a caretaker capacity.

Hariri lost more than a third of his MPs in the May election but kept his status as the leading Sunni Muslim and so returns as prime minister, a position reserved for his sect.