Lebanese information minister, Tariq Mitri has said the cabinet has approved a draft 2010 budget, the first budget to be endorsed in five years by a government, Bloomberg has reported. The budget calls for a 15.5% increase in expenditures and forecasts a deficit of $4bn, or 10.7% of gross domestic product, compared with 8.6% last year. The budget must now be sent to parliament for discussion, and if approved, it would become the first budget ratified since 2005.