Judicial investigator into the Beirut port blast Judge Fadi Sawwan on Tuesday interrogated three port employees and issued arrest warrants for them, which raises the number of those held according to judicial warrants to 12 detainees.

The National News Agency identified the three employees as Mustafa Farshoukh, Michel Nahoul and Wajdi Qarqafi.

Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani reiterated solidarity with the Lebanese people and affirmed continued support after the devastating Beirut blast, but noted that Qatar did not vow to deposit any funds at Lebanese banks.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Tuesday that “Hizbullah poses a threat to security in Lebanon,” pointing out that the region is in need of several peace treaties.

Three weeks after a catastrophic explosion ripped through Beirut, killing nearly 200 people and rendering thousands homeless, the change many hoped for is nowhere in sight. Instead, activists said they are back to square one.

President Michel Aoun will likely call this week for binding parliamentary consultations to choose a new premier, amid same old divisions between political parties on the candidate despite the country’s multiple crises necessitating swift action.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri held talks Monday evening at the Center House with Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat.

“The meeting dealt with the latest political developments and the general situation,” Hariri’s press office said in a terse statement.

Lebanon recorded 457 new coronavirus cases and three deaths over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Monday evening.

The new cases raise the country’s overall tally to 13,155, among them 3,684 recoveries, while the fatalities raise the death toll to 126.

Italian Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini held talks Monday at the Baabda Palace with President Michel Aoun, during which he stressed that “Italy will stand by the Lebanese people in the new plight it is facing.”

The minister also demonstrated the assistance offered by Italy through its military ship San Giusto, which carried a field hospital to Lebanon in addition to a debris removal unit and experts in chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear weapons.

The Intelligence Branch of the Internal Security Forces early on Monday raided the place of residence in el-Amrieh of suspects involved in the Kaftoun crime, and arrested several others in the refugee camps in al-Kwashra, el-Bireh and Kherbet Daoud.

Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni is expected to sign a contract to hire specialists to conduct forensic audit of Lebanon’s central bank accounts to determine how massive amounts of money were spent in the nation plagued by corruption, media reports said on Monday.