Lebanese chief Samir Geagea urged Monday for the dismissal of Judge Fadi Akiki as he described him as a traitor and accused Lebanese authorities of evading responsibility.

"What he did was indecent and those behind him are bigger traitors," Geagea said, urging the Lebanese not to believe a word of what was said about the reasons behind Archbishop Moussa al-Hajj's detention. "They are liars," he assumed.

The American University of Beirut’s most prestigious recognition, the University Medal, was conferred on Professor Samir Tabet in recognition of his extraordinary contributions and achievements, AUB said Monday in a statement.

The statement said that Tabet, AUB vice-president emeritus, former acting president, accomplished academic, and artist had received the University Medal during a ceremony held on July 7 at AUB’s Marquand House.

A state security service is expanding the investigations over Archbishop Moussa al-Hajj to include an audit of the bishop’s properties, al-Akhbar newspaper reported Monday.

The daily said that informed sources had suggested a possibility of a material benefit in exchange for the transfer of funds from Israel to Lebanon.

The countdown to reach an agreement on the border demarcation between Lebanon and Israel has begun, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported Monday.

The daily said that General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim is carrying on with the negotiations with U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein, who is expected to visit Lebanon soon with a final response to Lebanon's demands.

All contacts between President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati regarding the government formation have been halted, al-Joumhouria newspaper said.

The daily said Monday, based on high-level sources, that even mediations have stopped between Baabda and the Grand Serail, and that all the attention now is on the upcoming Presidential election.

Head of Hezbollah Executive Council Sayyed Hashem Safieddine said Monday that Hezbollah is close today to defeating Israel by land and sea.

"We are close to defeating the Israelis by land and by sea if we want to, and we will decide when to do it," Safieddine said, adding that the Israelis are not the ones who impose their equation in this matter.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday slammed those who "fabricate cases," in reference to the measures that have been taken against Archbishop Moussa al-Hajj.

U.S. sea border demarcation mediator Amos Hochstein is preparing to return to Lebanon soon, specifically before the end of this month, senior diplomatic sources told al-Manar TV.

“The indications coming from U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea point to U.S. desire to reach an agreement over demarcation,” the sources added.

Ninety percent of the file of sea border demarcation between Lebanon and Israel has become finalized, al-Joumhouria newspaper quoted informed high-ranking sources as saying in remarks published Saturday.

A veteran diplomat meanwhile told the daily that “no war is expected to erupt in south Lebanon nor on other fronts in the region, because it would spiral out of everyone’s control, especially should it erupt on the southern front and spread to other fronts.”

President Michel Aoun is eagerly waiting to leave the Baabda Palace when his term ends and "then we will return to our nature away from the palace’s limitations," Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil said on Friday.