The country’s two main Christian blocs -- the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement -- have rejected a proposed, French-backed presidential settlement under which Suleiman Franjieh would be elected as president and Nawaf Salam would be named as premier, media reports said on Monday.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea dubbed Monday a meeting between a delegation of Arab parliamentary leaders and Syrian president Bashar al-Assad as "shameful."

"It is truly shameful to see a delegation of Arab parliamentarians taking advantage of the tragic earthquake to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad," Geagea said.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati told the ministers, in a cabinet session on Monday, that cabinet cannot extend the term of General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim and that the extension needs a law.

Local media had reported that Ibrahim's term might be extended through an administrative decision or a Cabinet resolution should parliament fail to hold a legislative session.

Banks in Switzerland are holding a substantial amount of the millions of dollars Lebanese central bank chief Riad Salameh is accused of embezzling, Swiss media reported on Sunday.

Salameh, 72, faces investigations related to suspicions of money laundering and illicit enrichment in Lebanon and abroad after he amassed a fortune in the country mired in financial crisis.

A Sunni Muslim cleric who went missing earlier this week was killed by people from his northern hometown with whom he had been at odds with for more than a decade, security officials said.

Sheikh Ahmed Rifai was last seen in the northern city of Tripoli Monday evening and his car was found days later in a village a few kilometers south of the city. His family said they lost contact with him Monday night after they tried to call him and found that his cellphone was turned off.

Intensive contacts will be held over the next two weeks in a bid to reach a presidential settlement within weeks or a few months at the latest, a media report said.

A Lebanese and Belgian citizen considered a key financier of Hezbollah has been arrested in Bucharest, Romania's capital, U.S. federal authorities said.

Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi, 58, who was labeled a "global terrorist" by the United States in 2018 when $10 million was offered for information about his whereabouts, has funneled millions of dollars to Hezbollah over the years, authorities said.

The Association of Banks in Lebanon on Friday announced the temporary suspension of the banking sector strike for a period of one week.

Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun on Friday thanked the Higher Judicial Council and all its members for issuing a statement that called on caretaker PM Najib Mikati and caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi to reverse two controversial decisions.

The world’s leading maritime organizations and companies have released an open letter calling on United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to urgently prioritize the evacuation of 331 seafarers -- including Lebanese seafarers -- and 62 ships that remain trapped in Ukrainian ports.

The 34 signatories, including the International Chamber of Shipping, NKY Line, the Union of Greek Shipowners, Danish Shipping, and seafarer charities, called the situation an ‘unacceptable risk to life.’