Billionaire tycoon named as Lebanese PM as economic crisis bites

Protesters wanted someone from outside the elite, but parliament went for Najib Miqati, who has led the country twice before

After a year-long standoff, Lebanon has named a new prime minister who its feuding factions hope can ward off a total economic collapse and save an estimated 2 million people from the brink of poverty.

Protesters had demanded the selection of a figure removed from the political elite, but the Lebanese parliament instead named a billionaire tycoon, Najib Miqati, who had led the country twice before, with little success, and was accused by a state prosecutor in 2019 of embezzlement - a charge he denies and has described as politically motivated.