Lebanon's newly formed coalition government of Prime Minister Tammam Salam easily won a vote of confidence in parliament Thursday, after two days of often heated exchanges between lawmakers over Hezbollah's arsenal and its role in Syria.

Officials said 96 MPs of the 128-member chamber backed the Cabinet after a lengthy debate over its proposed policy statement. The voting session was attended by 101 MPs, four voted no-confidence while a fifth abstained. Several lawmakers missed the two-day debate either on security grounds or due to travel outside Lebanon.  “We will not promise anything the government will not be able to fulfill. No one should expect miracles,” Salam told parliament just before the vote. “We will do all we can to deal with the urgent priorities in the time available for us." [Link]