Lebanon's Mikati says he hopes to form government in near future

He spoke to reporters after meeting President Michel Aoun. Diab's government has stayed on in a caretaker capacity since then, but Lebanon's currency has collapsed, jobs have vanished and banks have frozen accounts in the country's worst crisis since the 1975-90 civil war. (Reporting Leila Bassam, writing by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati said on Wednesday that he hoped to form a government in the "near future".

Mikati, a businessman, is the third person to be nominated since Hassan Diab's government resigned after an explosion in Beirut's port area on Aug. 4 last year that killed more than 200 people and flattened large areas of the city. He spoke to reporters after meeting President Michel Aoun.

Diab's government has stayed on in a caretaker capacity since then, but Lebanon's currency has collapsed, jobs have vanished and banks have frozen accounts in the country's worst crisis since the 1975-90 civil war. (Reporting Leila Bassam, writing by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Kevin Liffey)