Lebanon PM agrees reform package in bid to resolve economic crisis

Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri has agreed a package of reforms with government partners to ease an economic crisis that has sparked nationwide protests, official sources told Reuters, with a cabinet meeting expected on Monday to approve them.

The decisions call for a 50% reduction in the salaries of current and former officials and $3.3 billion in contributions from banks to achieve a "near zero deficit" for the 2020 budget.

It also includes a plan to privatise its telecommunications sector and an overhaul to its crippled electricity sector, a crucial demand among potential foreign donors and investors needed to unlock some $11 billion in funds to Lebanon.

The agreement came as protesters in Lebanon flooded the streets on Sunday (October 20), keeping pressure on Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri as a self-imposed deadline to deliver a package of badly needed reforms for the country's crumbling economy drew near.