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Lebanon premier unveils new Cabinet with Hezbollah
Lebanon's prime minister formed a Cabinet Monday that includes the militant group Hezbollah and its allies, ending a political deadlock that left the deeply divided nation without a government for months and threatened to ignite violence.
Saad Hariri unveiled the 30-member Cabinet after more than four months of tough bargaining with his rivals in the Hezbollah-led political coalition over who would get which portfolios.
Hariri's Western-backed bloc narrowly defeated the Hezbollah-led group in June's parliamentary election, enabling it to retain a slim majority in the 128-member legislature. But Hariri's need to include his powerful rivals in a national unity government set the stage for the months of wrangling.
In the end, some commentators said the governing formula gives Hezbollah and its allies virtual veto power over government decisions.