Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea met Tuesday with Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari in Maarab.

Bukhari had met on Monday with Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat.

French President Emmanuel Macron will meet with Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

Mikati had on Monday took part in the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in London before leaving for the United States where he will lead Lebanon’s delegation to the works of the U.N. General Assembly.

Caretaker Prime Minister and PM-designate Najib Mikati on Monday took part in the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in London.

Mikati was accompanied by his wife.

President Michel Aoun announced Monday that “the negotiations to demarcate the southern maritime border have become in their final stages, in a manner that guarantees Lebanon’s rights to gas and oil exploration in the specified fields in its Exclusive Economic Zone.”

Aoun voiced his remarks in a meeting in Baabda with U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka.

Demonstrators on Monday tried to storm the Justice Palace in Beirut in protest at the continued detention of two activists who had taken part in the “heist” that targeted BLOM Bank on Wednesday.

The protesters reportedly managed to remove the metallic gate of the Palace as they also blocked roads in the area and set fire to trash bins.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday called for the formation of “a capable new government.”

He also called for “the election of a president before the end of the (incumbent) president’s term on October 31.”

Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday announced that his group is giving a chance to the negotiations aimed at finding a sea border deal between Lebanon and Israel but warned that gas extraction by Israel from the Karish field would be a “red line” that would necessitate a response.

“Lebanon is before a golden chance that might not be repeated,” said Nasrallah about the offshore gas resources, in a televised address marking Arba'een, an annual Shiite religious observance that marks 40 days after the death of Imam al-Hussein in the Battle of Karbala (680 CE).

On Thursday 15 September, a memorial service to celebrate the life and service of late British Queen Elizabeth II was held at the All Saints Anglican Episcopal Church, Beirut, led by Reverend Imad Zoorob. 

The British Ambassador to Lebanon, Hamish Cowell, together with the Ambassadors of Australia Andrew Barnes and Canada Stefanie McCollum attended the service alongside Embassy staff, diplomats, MP Edgard Trabulsi, members of the British community and friends.

Caretaker Interior Minister Bassam al-Mawlawi on Friday suggested that certain “sides” are inciting depositors to storm banks, shortly after the country witnessed a record five bank “heists” in one day.

“Our meeting’s aim is not to protect the banks but rather the country,” Mawlawi said after an emergency meeting for the Central Internal Security Council, telling depositors that their money “cannot be recovered through a method that is punishable by law.”

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Friday adjourned a legislative session on the 2022 state budget to September 26 after the meeting lost its quorum due to a walkout by the opposition MPs.

The legislature had earlier approved a three-fold hike in the salaries of public sector employees, pensioners and the armed forces.