A group of protesters stormed on Friday the Ministry of Energy and Water in Corniche el-Nahr.

An activist was meanwhile seen on TV smashing then tearing up a picture of President Michel Aoun that was hung on a wall in the ministry.

Raja Salameh's lawyer has said that the LBP 500 billion bail that Investigative Judge Nicolas Mansour had ordered for the release of Salameh is an "unprecedented" order in the history of the Lebanese Justice Palace.

"The amount is unreasonable and illogical," lawyer Marwan al-Khoury said, after having filed an appeal demanding that the bail amount be slashed.

International Monetary Fund spokesman Gerry Rice has affirmed that the negotiations with Lebanon are making progress.

He said in a statement that the IMF delegation is working with the Lebanese authorities to prepare a reform plan that will help Lebanon and the Lebanese.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea slammed Hizbullah Thursday in remarks from Maarab.

Geagea criticized Hizbullah's electoral campaign slogan "we'll keep protecting and building," saying that no one has asked them to protect and that they are rather "putting the Lebanese in danger every given moment."

President Michel Aoun denied Thursday that he has sought a presidential system during his tenure, as he pledged to “expose every corrupt” before leaving office.

“When I tried to implement the constitution, they accused me of implementing a presidential system, whereas they are working on bankrupting Lebanon instead of fixing its situation and reviving its economy,” Aoun said in a meeting with a delegation from the Maronite League.

Investigative Judge Nicolas Mansour on Thursday ordered the release of Raja Salameh on a bail of LBP 500 billion, but Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun appealed against the decision and demanded that he be kept in custody.

Salameh for his part filed an appeal demanding that the bail amount be slashed.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the General Directorate of General Security (GDGS) and the Embassy of Japan in Lebanon held Thursday an inauguration ceremony in Damour, to celebrate the opening of the General Security Academy for Training and Education and Cybersecurity, which was built by IOM with funding from Japan.

Judge Nicolas Mansour adjourned on Thursday the interrogation session of Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh's to June.

Salameh's lawyer filed in a session today, that was held in Salameh's absence, preliminary defenses before Mansour.

As part of Britain’s “continuing support and partnership with the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), through the UK’s Conflict and Stability Fund (CSSF),” British Ambassador to Lebanon Ian Collard has announced the gifting of Land Rover spares worth £1m to “support the LAF in its mission to defend the security and stability of Lebanon,” a British embassy statement said.

In a handover ceremony organized at the Lebanese Army Logistical base in Kfarshima, Ambassador Collard oversaw the gifting of the Land Rover spare parts by the British Government. In attendance were Brig. Gen. Pilot Ziad Haykal representing LAF chief General Joseph Aoun, Logistics Brigade commander Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Abboud, British Defense Attaché Colonel Lee Saunders and Head of Security Program Sarah Kronfol.

Cabinet on Wednesday approved the capital control draft law after introducing amendments to it based on the observations of some ministers.

The ministers of Hizbullah and Amal meanwhile objected to the final format of the draft law in terms of the powers of the committee that will look into withdrawal requests, NBN television said.