Progressive Socialist Party leader ex-MP Walid Jumblat on Monday said that compulsory military service must be restored in Lebanon and called for new government measures compelling contractors to employ more Lebanese workers to fight unemployment.

Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh said on Monday that the bank will secure foreign currency for some imports in a move that is expected to ease the demand for hard currency.

Salameh said after meeting President Michel Aoun at Baabda that the central bank will secure foreign currency needs of the private and public sectors, according to official prices.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri left Beirut for Paris to represent Lebanon on Monday at the farewell ceremony honoring former French President Jacques Chirac, Hariri’s media office said.

Iran has released a "never before seen" photo of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei alongside Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Hundreds of Lebanese protested Sunday in the country's capital and other areas over an economic crisis that worsened over the past two weeks, with worries over dollar-reliant Lebanon's local currency losing value for the first time in more than two decades.

Lebanon is facing a deep-running fiscal crisis as it staggers under one of the highest debt ratios in the world, at $86 billion or more than 150% of the country's gross domestic product.

President Michel Aoun on Saturday made several contacts with monetary policymakers to follow on the latest developments aggravating in Lebanon over the dollar “shortage” crisis.

LBCI station said “contacts from Baabda Presidential Palace included talks with Minister of Economy Ali Hassan Khalil and Central Bank (BDL) governor Riad Salameh.”

Social Affairs Minister Richard Kouyoumjian on Saturday said there is not following a “systematic policy to tighten measures against displaced Syrians, but we are working on a plan to ensure their repatriation,” the National News Agency reported.

Speaker Nabih Berri said the situation in Lebanon is “critical” requiring "drastic" solutions, but he pinned hope on the regional developments which he said could “positively” affect the situation in the country, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

Lebanon is to hold a day of mourning Monday following the death of former French president Jacques Chirac, the country's leader announced.

President Michel Aoun on Friday said some of the external pressures exerted on Lebanon especially on the economic level “were not new at all,” and highlighted the need for patience with regard to the recent fears over shortage in dollar reserves.