Diplomat Mustapha Adib named as Lebanon’s new PM

Lebanese leaders named diplomat Mustapha Adib as the new prime minister on Monday under pressure from French President Emmanuel Macron who will visit Beirut to press for reforms aimed at dragging the West Asian nation out of a financial abyss.

With its economy devastated by a financial crisis, a swathe of Beirut in tatters following a huge port explosion on August 4 and sectarian tensions rising, Lebanon is facing the biggest threat to its stability since the 1975-90 civil war.

Adib, the former ambassador to Germany, was named hours before Macron was due in Beirut for his second visit in less than a month. Macron will push politicians to enact reforms that donors have demanded before they will release financial support.