Lebanon's Hariri ready to be PM again, but with conditions

Saad al-Hariri is ready to return as prime minister of a new government, a senior official familiar with his thinking said, on condition it includes technocrats able to quickly implement reforms needed to stave off economic collapse.

Hariri resigned on Tuesday after nearly two weeks of massive protests against the political elite, accused by demonstrators of overseeing rampant state corruption.

The cabinet should be devoid of a group of top-tier politicians who were in the outgoing government, said the official, who declined to be identified.