The Beirut Bar Association elected a new head Sunday in a vote that saw major losses for opposition candidates and big wins for representatives of the country's ruling elite.

Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri on Sunday lamented that Lebanon is nowadays “standing on the brink of hell” after it once was “the paradise of the Levant and the Arabs’ forum for civilization, dialogue, culture and democracy.”

Nearly 245,000 Lebanese living abroad have signed up to vote in next year's parliamentary polls, the Foreign Ministry said Sunday, after it closed the window for registration.

President Michel Aoun is holding contacts with local and regional leaders to secure the resumption of Cabinet session and resolve the crisis with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries, Baabda Palace sources said.

A group of U.S. congressmen held meetings Saturday with Lebanon's top leaders during a fact-finding mission to a country roiled by an unprecedented economic crisis.

The delegation is to report to President Joe Biden and the Congress and propose ways to help the Lebanese. Lebanon's new government, in place since September, has struggled to kick off reforms and negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.

The Lebanese Army has stopped a boatload of 91 people including Syrian and Palestinian refugees from departing Lebanon illegally.

Hizbullah central council member Sheikh Nabil Qaouq on Saturday noted that there is a “real chance” to resolve the political dispute that led to the suspension of Cabinet sessions.

Lebanese security forces have thwarted an attempt by more than 80 people to illegally cross by sea into Europe from Lebanon.

Hizbullah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem on Friday said that his party “backs the resumption of the Lebanese government’s meetings.”

He, however, added that the government should only meet after “addressing the reasons that led to the meetings’ suspension.”

President Michel Aoun on Friday stressed that he will “continue to work for Lebanon’s rise from the multiple difficulties and tough circumstances that it is going through.”

“I hope the last year of my tenure will witness the beginning of real revival and recovery,” Aoun said.