Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Thursday announced that the FPM will not take part in any techno-political government, calling for a government led by a technocrat and comprising technocrat ministers.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Thursday held talks with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh.

The National News Agency said Berri’s adviser and caretaker Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil joined the meeting after it got underway and that the talks tackled the political developments.

Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri held telephone calls with World Bank President David Malpas and Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund, Christina Georgieva, and discussed with them the economic and monetary difficulties facing Lebanon, his media office said on Thursday.

Protest movement against the political class over official mismanagement and corruption continue in Lebanon for the 57th day with protests taking different shapes from street marches, massive rallies in main squares and protests near the state’s institutions.

Transparency International published a new report on the level of corruption revealing that Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine top the countries of the Middle East and North Africa in terms of the number of citizens who have been bribed for their votes in elections.

Hundreds of private owned businesses announced a collective tax strike that they said would “lend their value to workers instead to maintain their livelihood,” as Lebanon passes through an unprecedented economic crisis that saw hundreds of employees laid off.

Outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri has cancelled a visit scheduled next week to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Thursday.

Tension rose in central Beirut when a group of young men tried to attack the epicenter of the anti-government protests, prompting security forces to fire tear gas.

Dozens of men threw stones and Molotov cocktails at anti-riot police who deployed to stop the advancing assailants.

Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Wednesday thanked France and the U.N. for the Lebanon support meeting that was held in Paris and called for expediting the formation of a “credible and harmonious” technocrat cabinet.

“I thank France and the United Nations for inviting the International Support Group for Lebanon to today’s meeting in Paris, and I also thank all of Lebanon’s friends, brothers and the representatives of the international institutions who took part in the meeting and expressed their keenness on helping Lebanon overcome the dire economic crisis it is facing,” Hariri said in a statement released by his office.

A Lebanon support meeting held Wednesday in Paris has urged the crisis-hit country to endorse a “bundle of sustainable, comprehensive and credible economic reforms.”

In a draft closing statement, the International Support Group for Lebanon (ISG) also called on Lebanese authorities to “approve a credible state budget for 2020 within weeks from the formation of the new government.”