Nineteen more COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Lebanon on Tuesday, which raises the overall tally to 1,622.

Twelve of the cases were recorded among residents and seven among expats repatriated from Ivory Coast, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Nigeria and the Central African Republic, the Health Ministry said.

Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh and former president Amin Gemayel on Tuesday announced their boycott of Thursday’s national dialogue meeting in Baabda.

“We will not take part in the Baabda meeting on Thursday, while wishing the attendees success in their endeavor to rescue the economic, security and social situation and find the aspired solutions,” Franjieh tweeted.

The public prosecutor’s office in Mount Lebanon on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against anti-Hizbullah Shiite cleric Sayyed Ali al-Amin for “meeting Israeli officials in Bahrain” and a host of other charges, the National News Agency said.

The prosecution’s move is based on a lawsuit filed by the lawyer Ghassan al-Mawla on behalf of Nabih Awada, Khalil Nasrallah, Shawqi Awada and Hussein al-Dirani.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid el-Mouallem said during a press conference on Tuesday, that Syria is willing to cooperate with Lebanon to face the new US sanctions "if Lebanon shows the same willingness."

One of the Arab world's oldest and most prestigious universities, which endured civil war, kidnappings and various economic crises, is preparing for what may be the biggest challenge in its 154-year history.

The American University of Beirut is confronting a global pandemic, a severe recession and the collapse of Lebanon's currency — all at the same time — and is planning a series of sweeping layoffs and salary cuts in response.

A lawyer filed a complaint with the Financial Prosecution against Hizbullah accusing the party of tax evasion, media reports said on Tuesday.

Lawyer Majd Harb, filed the complaint against Hizbullah, in a first against the party, on charges of "tax evasion, customs evasion and money laundering, thus depriving the Lebanese state of hundreds of millions of dollars."

Justice Minister Marie-Claude Najm said she plans to submit her resignation if the Parliament fails to approve the law on the independence of the judiciary, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Tuesday.

Former Prime Ministers Saad Hariri, Najib Mikati, Fouad Siniora, and Tammam Salam decided to boycott the Baabda meeting scheduled on Thursday at the Presidential Palace.

Lebanon on Monday recorded 16 more COVID-19 cases, which raises the country’s tally to 1,603, the Health Ministry said.

Eleven of the cases were recorded among residents and five among expats repatriated from Nigeria, Qatar, Ivory Coast and Belarus, the Ministry said in its daily statement.

The main al-Qaida-linked group in Syria on Monday detained one of its own former commanders who had defected and set up his own hard-line outfit earlier this year after coming out against a cease-fire, opposition activists said.

The activists said a big force from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, raided the house of Jamal Zeina, better known as Abu Malek al-Talli, on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Idlib and detained him.