Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Monday criticized the inner circle around President Michel Aoun and said Lebanon’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund have “ended.”

“My impression is that President Aoun has not given his opinion about anything lately, and when I used to talk to him about any issue, he would ask me to ‘talk to Jebran,’” Geagea said in an interview with LBCI TV, referring to Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil, who is also Aoun’s son-in-law.

Finance Ministry Director General Alain Bifani announced Monday that he is resigning from his post "after we reached a dead end and the risk level surged to a level" that he can no longer deal with "silently."

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea held talks Monday with Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti, after which she announced that the page has been turned on a controversial ruling against her by a Lebanese judge.

A Lebanese-Australian state lawmaker said Monday that he was not a suspect in a police investigation into unnamed people advancing China's goals in Australia, days after his home and office were searched by police.

Lebanese banks sought on Monday to encourage depositors to withdraw trapped dollar savings in Lebanese pounds by increasing their exchange rate, as the national currency continued its tumble on the black market.

Lebanon recorded five new cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus on Monday, raising the total number of individuals infected with the virus to 1,745, the Health Ministry said.

In its report, the Ministry said the five cases were recorded among residents.

President Michel Aoun held talks with Central Bank governor Riad Salameh and discussions focused on the bank’s measures to address the monetary situation in the country, in light of a crippling economic crisis, the National News Agency reported on Monday.

Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin commented on the latest ruling of a Lebanese judge against the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon over her statements, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday.

A blast went off 500 meters away from ex-PM Saad Hariri’s convoy during his visit more than a week ago to the Bekaa region, Saudi-owned Al-Hadath TV reported on Sunday.

Quoting “sources in Lebanon,” Al-Hadath said the explosion rocked a mountainous area within the convoy’s route as Hariri was returning to Beirut, noting that the blast was caused by a rocket.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi lamented Sunday that the Baabda national meeting “has unfortunately worsened the domestic political rift” due to “lack of proper preparation.”

Turning to the issue of the controversy over the judicial ruling against the U.S. ambassador, al-Rahi reminded of “the freedom of expression that characterizes Lebanon in its region.”