The Higher Judicial Council has been meeting since 2:30pm to take decisions on dozens of topics, including the issue of Court of Appeals judge Habib Mezher, al-Jadeed TV said on Monday evening.

The flurry of lawsuits in the port blast case continued on Monday, with at least five filed by various parties.

The U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka, and Lebanon’s Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Bassam al-Mawlawi, chaired Monday the “Elections Forum” to discuss Lebanon’s preparations for the 2022 parliamentary elections and how the international community can best assist Lebanon.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati confirmed Monday that the parliamentary polls will be held before May 21st. "No one can prevent the holding of elections,” he affirmed.

He also said that the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund are “on the right track,” and that the World Bank is “fully cooperating.”

President Michel Aoun on Monday stressed Lebanon’s keenness on “establishing the best ties with the brotherly Arab countries, especially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries,” during talks with Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki.

Moreover, Aoun emphasized “the need to differentiate between the stances of the Lebanese state and what might be uttered by individuals or groups, especially if they do not hold positions of responsibility, while taking into consideration the requirements of the democratic system which the Lebanese have chosen, which guarantees the freedom of opinion and thought within the law’s regulations.”

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Monday lamented that “the government has been paralyzed in the most critical situation that requires its existence.”

“We do not rule out that the obstructors’ objective might be to undermine Lebanon’s unity, fragment the state, rebel against it, secede from it, distort facts, sever its ties with its brothers and launch false accusations against those who are still under the authority of the state and its legitimacy,” al-Rahi said.

Saudi Arabia must realize that “the approach of besiegement and pressures on Lebanon will not achieve any results,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman has said.

The spokesman, Said Khatibzadeh, added that holding a new round of Iranian-Saudi talks hinges on “Riyadh showing more seriousness.”

An Arab League delegation led by Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki arrived Monday in Beirut in a bid to resolve Lebanon's row with the Gulf countries.

An Arab League delegation led by Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki will visit Beirut Monday in a bid to resolve Lebanon's row with the Gulf countries, media reports said.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday lamented that "some judges are increasing suspicions over the judiciary by taking part in impeding, suspending or freezing the probe into the port bombing or by questioning the work of the investigative judge."