LONDON — The British government says employers will no longer be allowed to force employees to retire at age 65.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said that the new policy will be fully effective on Oct. 1. Workers over 65 will still be subject to the same dismissal procedures as other employees if their performance is unsatisfactory.

Previously, employers could compel workers to retire at 65 regardless of performance. The government will also raise the eligibility age for state pensions from 65 to 66, effective in 2020.

The policies are intended in part to relieve pressure on pension systems as people live longer.

BEIRUT — The collapse of Lebanon's government plunged the country into deep political uncertainty today after a year of relative stability, as the president began putting a new administration together.President Michel Suleiman asked Saad Hariri to stay on as caretaker prime minister after the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah and its allies resigned Wednesday and brought down Hariri's government.The crisis was the climax of tensions that have been simmering over the U.N. tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of Hariri's father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The tribunal is widely expected to indict members of Hezbollah soon, which many fear could rekindle violence.Lebanon's 14-month-old unity government was an uneasy coalition linking bitter rivals — a Western-backed bloc led by Hariri and the Shiite Hezbollah — that was an attempt to stabilize the country.