Hezbollah ally resigns from new Lebanon govt

Lebanese Druze MP and Hezbollah ally Talal Arslan said on Monday he was resigning from Lebanon's new government shortly after its formation, pointing to differences with the prime minister. "I announce my resignation from the government of the so-called (premier) Najib Mikati," Arslan told a news conference shortly after Mikati announced his government line-up. "It is no honour for me to sit by his side in this government, after Mikati spent five months lying," he charged. Arslan had been appointed state minister in the new 30-member cabinet in which Hezbollah and its allies hold the lion's share. He said he was angered by the way Mikati had chosen to distribute key portfolios and accused him of depriving Lebanon's minority Druze of top ministries in the government. Lebanon's prime minister-designate Najib Mikati on Monday announced the formation of a new 30-member cabinet in which the powerful militant group Hezbollah and its allies hold the majority. The billionnaire Sunni businessman announced his government line-up following nearly five months of arduous negotiations over key portfolios including the interior, justice and telecommunication ministries. Mikati vowed that his cabinet would be one that represents all Lebanese. His predecessor, the Western-backed Saad Hariri, was forced to resign in January after Hezbollah and its allies pulled their ministers from the national unity government. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad congratulated Lebanon Monday on the formation of a new cabinet led by a Syrian-backed alliance after nearly five months of wrangling, the Lebanese president's office said. In a telephone call, the embattled Syrian leader congratulated Lebanese President Michel Sleiman on the government's formation, Sleiman's office said in a statement