Hezbollah's candidate to form Lebanese government
The candidate for prime minister backed by Iranian-allied Hezbollah won support from lawmakers Tuesday to form Lebanon's next government, a choice that set off a "day of rage" by Sunnis who burned tires and a van belonging to Al-Jazeera to protest the Shiite militant group's rising power.
Billionaire businessman and former premier Najib Mikati won a majority of parliament support in two days of voting, defeating Western-backed Prime Minister Saad Hariri as the candidate for the next prime minister. The president will now ask Mikati to try to form a new government that could be controlled by Hezbollah and its allies and give the group an unprecedented level of political power in Lebanon. (AP)
