The latest tensions between al-Mustaqbal Movement and the Free Patriotic Movement started after Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s visit to Paris and his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, a media report said.

The French president expressed to Hariri “his dismay over how the state is being run, politically and financially, and the failure to make reforms, slash deficit and manage the electricity plan, which is essential for lowering the deficit,” informed sources told al-Akhbar newspaper in remarks published Wednesday.

A meeting between Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil and cadres of al-Mustaqbal Movement has been called off amid fresh tensions between the two parties.

No official explanation has been given for the cancelation of the seminar at Mustaqbal’s headquarters in Beirut’s al-Quntari area. But MP George Atallah of the FPM’s Strong Lebanon bloc said his movement has obtained information that “Mustaqbal officials had asked Prime Minister Saad Hariri to call off the seminar following tweets by Strong Lebanon bloc MP Ziad Aswad over the past few days.”

British Trade Envoy to Lebanon Lord Richard Risby has ended a two-day visit to Lebanon.

Lord Risby is the first trade envoy assigned to Lebanon by the UK Prime Minister, a role dedicated to deepening trade and investment ties between the UK and Lebanon.

The shadowy head of Iran's elite Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, has given an insight on his role in Lebanon during the 2006 Israel-Hizbullah war, in a rare interview broadcast on Iran's state television.

The 90-minute interview was presented as the first of its kind with Soleimani, top commander of the Revolutionary Guards branch that runs foreign operations.

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday described the latest protests over the economic and financial situations as “a spontaneous and honest expression of concern.”

“Taking to the streets is a message addressed to all the parties who are concerned with finding solutions and halting the collapse,” the bloc said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting.

The Free Patriotic Movement-led Strong Lebanon bloc on Tuesday accused rival parties of “exploiting” the current economic and financial woes in a bid to “undermine” President Michel Aoun’s tenure.

“There won’t be an economic collapse and what’s needed is calm,” bloc secretary MP Ibrahim Kanaan announced after a weekly meeting.

The Finance Ministry said Tuesday that rating agency Moody's has warned it could lower Lebanon's sovereign credit rating within three months if the country does not redress its economy.

Moody's already downgraded the rating from "B3" to "Caa1" at the start of the year, citing debt risks, while fellow agency Fitch followed suit in August.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Tuesday blasted what he called “campaigns” against him, hours after The New York Times reported that he “gave more than $16 million to a South African bikini model.”

It was not immediately clear whether Hariri was referring to reports and accusations related to Lebanon’s economic and financial crisis or to the NYT story.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Tuesday held a meeting at the Grand Serail with Deputy UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Philippe Lazzarini.

Lebanon's central bank is to facilitate access to dollars for importers of petroleum products, wheat and medicine, state media said Tuesday, following fears of a dollar shortage and possible currency devaluation.