Lebanon’s parliament approves 2018 state budget after lawmakers vote

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s parliament approved on Thursday the government’s 2018 budget, which projects a previously stated deficit of $4.8 billion, slightly reduced from 2017.
Fifty lawmakers voted in favor, two against, and 11 abstained, according to a count in the parliament session.
Lebanon’s government, one of the most indebted in the world, has been under pressure to show it is willing to institute fiscal reforms before an international donor meeting in April. Last year, it passed Lebanon’s first budget since 2005, after years of wrangling between rival parties had all but halted political activity.