Cement security walls were on Thursday erected at the entrances to the street leading to the Lebanese parliament in central Beirut, the site of recent clashes.

The blast walls, some painted with Lebanese flags, were installed as security forces guarded the area.

The French foreign ministry on Thursday noted that “the difficult situation that Lebanon is going through requires its new government to give the priority to taking urgent measures that can restore confidence.”

British Ambassador to Lebanon Chris Rampling met Thursday with Prime Minister Hassan Diab at the Grand Serail.

After the meeting, Rampling said: “The formation of a new government is an important step for Lebanon. The UK has been consistent in calling for the urgent formation of an effective and credible government, which reflects the aspirations of the Lebanese people.”

Lebanon’s new foreign minister Nassif Hitti on Thursday denied announcing the “death” of Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem.

“He has not used the account carrying his name for the past three and a half years and he has not created any Twitter account recently,” a statement issued by his office said.

Swiss Ambassador to Lebanon Monika Schmutz Kirgoz on Thursday held talks with Prime Minister Hassan Diab at the Grand Serail.

Commenting on reports that a number of Lebanese politicians have recently transferred billions of dollars to Swiss banks despite the de facto capital controls imposed by Lebanese banks, the ambassador said her country is willing to investigate the claims should the Lebanese government request help.

EU Ambassador to Lebanon Ralph Tarraf held talks Thursday with Prime Minister Hassan Diab at the Grand Serail and noted that the European Union’s assistance to Lebanon hinges on the implementation of economic reforms.

The meeting was held in the presence of Environment and Administrative Development Minister Demianos Qattar.

Grand Mufti of the Republic Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan condemned the massive acts of “sabotage” that were witnessed in downtown Beirut yesterday evening, the National News Agency reported on Thursday.

The Mufti utterly rejected acts of vandalism against private and public property, saying “infiltrators have smashed shops, uprooted trees and violated private and public property.”

Former Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil attended the elite annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss village Davos despite social media cries telling the forum to have him “uninvited.”

The National News Agency on Thursday said Bassil, who is also head of the Free Patriotic Movement, took part in two dialogue sessions, one on the situation in Syria and one that tackled the situation in the Middle East.

Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni on Thursday said that around 4 to 5 billion dollars will be requested from international donor countries to finance purchases of wheat, fuel and medicines in crisis-hit Lebanon, according to media reports.

Named as new minister on Tuesday, Wazni said that Lebanon is looking to secure 4-5 billion dollars in soft loans to finance the purchase of the country’s needs of wheat, fuel and medicines in light of a dollar shortage crisis.

Clashes in downtown Beirut between protesters and police on Wednesday left 86 individuals injured, according to a toll compiled by the Lebanese Red Cross.