Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly held talks Friday with President Michel Aoun at the Baabda Palace.

Progressive Socialist Party leader ex-MP Walid Jumblat said Thursday that Hizbullah "will realize one day that only the state can protect them."

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday hit out at Druze leader Walid Jumblat without naming him, saying his remarks on the identity of the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms are "worthless."

The Cabinet on Thursday agreed to revoke customs and registration exemptions for cars owned by MPs and ministers and to slap fees on special number plates as part of austerity measures related to the 2019 state budget.

MPs from the Development and Liberation bloc of Speaker Nabih Berri and the al-Mustaqbal bloc of PM Saad Hariri held talks Thursday at the Center House.

Research teams from the Lebanese Army, Civil Defense and the Environment Ministry collected samples on Thursday from the oil leak spotted a day earlier offshore the Jiyeh coastal area, LBCI TV station.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri held talks on Thursday with visiting Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly at the Grand Serail and discussed the latest developments, the situation in Lebanon and the Arab region and the bilateral relations between Lebanon and Egypt, the Premier’s media office said.

Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh assured during talks with the President on Thursday that the Lebanese Lira is stable, noting that the Bank will subsidize loans for the housing and productive sectors, the National News Agency said.

The relation between the Progressive Socialist Party and Hizbullah has “never” experienced a “break-like stalemate” and a “unilateral” decision taken by Hizbullah without prior “warning,” Asharq al-Awsat said on Thursday.

When the meeting of the Council of Ministers ended at the Grand Serail Wednesday, the Minister of Information Jamal Jarrah said the Cabinet plans to finalize discussions of the state budget this week.