Lebanese parliament endorses budget

The Lebanese Parliament on Thursday ratified the Lebanese state budget for 1998-1999, estimated at 8,364 billion Lebanese pounds. In his intervention at the conclusion of the session of the Lebanese Parliament that lasted for four days, Lebanese Prime Minister Salim al-Hoss indicated that his government had faced several challenges, especially as the general debt by the end of 1998 reached US $18 billion, representing 119% of the Gross National Product, adding that the general budget deficit reached 15% of the total GNP.