BEIRUT – Lebanon’s cabinet is expected to approve reforms including halving the ministers’ wages in a bid to ease an economic crisis and defuse protests.
The reform plan includes a 50 percent cut in salaries of current and former presidents, ministers and lawmakers, and reductions in benefits for state institutions and officials.
Protesters have blocked roads for a fifth day of demonstrations fueled by the crippling economic conditions and anger at perceived corruption of the political elite.
Officials on Sunday said Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri had agreed a package of reforms with his government partners to tackle the crisis.
Hariri, who leads a coalition cabinet mired in sectarian and political rivalries, gave the government a 72-hour deadline on Friday to agree reforms to ward off crisis. The deadline expires on Monday.(Reuters)
