Minister of Finance Ali Hassan Khalil stressed on Friday that Lebanon is capable of endurance and is not bankrupt as alleged in reports, noting that the new State budget is a milestone for reform.

“Many possibilities exist to manage the financial and monetary situation in cooperation between the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance,” said Khalil in an interview with Alaraby TV station on Friday.

Technicians and employees at Beirut’s airport Directorate-General of Civil Aviation staged a brief protest between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on Friday against a monthlong delay in the payment of working hours, the National News Agency reported.

The former Lebanese Ambassador to Washington Riad Tabbara said the new round of US sanctions on Hizbullah are unlikely to have serious consequences on Lebanon, pointing out that a US-Persian war is “unlikely,” al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday.

Lebanese actor Patrick Moubarak has been questioned by the Central Criminal Investigations Department over a lawsuit accusing him of insulting religion as well as President Michel Aoun and Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Acting State Prosecutor Imad Qabalan had initially ordered that Moubarak be remanded in custody for further investigations before deciding to release him over health concerns.

Lebanese Democratic Party leader MP Talal Arslan has reiterated his insistence on referring the deadly Qabrshmoun incident to the Judicial Council, as Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat has slammed what he called a "juvenile jumping to conclusions.”

“Our stance is clear: the Judicial Council is the key point,” Arslan tweeted.

Parliament speaker Nabih Berri deplored on Wednesday the fresh US sanctions targeting two Hizbullah lawmakers saying "they are an aggression against the whole country."

Minister of State for Refugee Affairs Saleh al-Gharib on Wednesday relayed after meeting with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi the latter's denunciation of Qabrshmoun incident, stressing commitment to the Christian-Druze reconciliation and coexistence in the Mountain region, the National News Agency reported on Wednesday.

General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim met on Wednesday with Grand Sunni Mufti of the Republic Sheikh Abdulatif Deryan in Dar al-Fatwa where talks reportedly tackled the repercussions of the Qabrshmoun incident.

France and the United States have reportedly expressed regret over the freezing of US-mediated negotiations between Lebanon and Israel over the demarcation of land and maritime border that would have an impact on offshore oil and gas exploration, al-Joumhouria daily said on Wednesday.

The ambassadors of European Union countries reportedly discussed in their monthly meeting the latest developments in Lebanon, and reached a result that the deadly Qabrshmoun incident has “external dimensions,” and that their countries must act to prevent the aggravation of the situation in Lebanon, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday.