Prime Minister Saad Hariri said that the government is committed to fight corruption and squander, and is determined to carry out the necessary reforms for the benefit of the Lebanese citizen and public finance. He added that banks and the Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh would be ready to help.

Amnesty International on Wednesday urged Lebanon to end what it described as an "inherently abusive" migration sponsorship system governing the lives of tens of thousands of foreigners working in private homes.

Defense Minister Elias Bou Saab said the Lebanese army is not responsible for the budget deficit but “successive economic policies and waste of public funds are.”

Lebanon’s Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh assured on Tuesday that Lebanon is not on the verge of bankruptcy, as the government prepares to impose austerity measures to combat the bulging fiscal deficit, LBCI TV station reported.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s media office slammed “fabricated” reports published in Hizbullah's al-Akhbar daily on Tuesday alleging the PM has suggested hikes in taxes and fuel prices as part of austerity measures planned by the government.

The office said in a statement that “al-Akhbar newspaper is specialized in circulating daily abuses of everything related to PM Saad Hariri. This newspaper said today that an economic and financial paper was allegedly prepared by Hariri and includes procedures in the form of daily fabrications of that newspaper.”

Prime Minister Saad Hariri received Monday evening at the Center House Advisor to the Saudi Royal Court Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Rabeeah, who emphasized Saudi Arabia’s “strong ties with Lebanon,” Hariri’s media office said.

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah denied remarks attributed to him and published in Kuwaiti al-Rai newspaper that Israel plans to wage war against Lebanon in the summer, and announced that his party is willing to assist in resolving the current economic crisis in the country.

The United States on Monday offered a $10 million reward for information that would disrupt the finances of Lebanon's Shiite militant movement Hizbullah.

Religious leaders in Lebanon denounced the bomb blasts that ripped through churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka leaving at least 290 people dead, the National News Agency said on Monday.

“Islam prohibits abuse of human life, what happened in Sri Lanka bears the hallmarks of terrorist and criminal aggression against the divine religions which call for respect in dealing with others," Grand Mufti of the Republic Sheikh Abdul Latif Deryan said.

After reported claims that Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has warned of an Israeli war on Lebanon in the summer, fearing he could be killed, US sources said “Israel will not be the one to fire the first bullet but is ready to fight back in defense,” the Kuwaiti al-Rai newspaper reported on Monday.