Ex-PM Saad Hariri on Thursday lashed out at Hizbullah for “protecting the criminals,” after the Special Tribunal for Lebanon reversed the acquittals of Hizbullah operatives Hassan Merhi and Hussein Oneissi in the case of Rafik Hariri’s assassination.

“Ex-PM Saad Hariri renews his full confidence and complete commitment to what the Special Tribunal for Lebanon issues in the case of the assassination of martyr premier Rafik Hariri and his companions as well as in the connected cases,” his press office said in a statement.

Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun on Thursday issued travel bans against the chairmen of five Lebanese banks in connection with a financial corruption complaint, the state-run National News Agency said.

NNA identified the five chairmen as Salim Sfeir of Bank of Beirut, Samir Hanna of Bank Audi, Antoine Sehnaoui of SGBL, Saad al-Azhari of BLOM Bank and Rayya al-Hassan of BankMed.

Cabinet agreed Thursday to drop a controversial plan for setting up voting megacenters for the May 15 parliamentary polls, as it took note of the appointment of Ziad Makari of the Marada Movement as a successor to resigned information minister George Kordahi.

The conferees, however, agreed that it is necessary to implement the megacenters plan in the 2026 elections.

Hizbullah’s Loyalty to Resistance bloc on Thursday stressed the need to hold the May 15 parliamentary elections on time, while stressing that the voting megacenters plan is a “required and landmark step.”

In a statement issued after its weekly meeting, the bloc said it “categorically rejects any postponement of the parliamentary elections under any excuse.”

The Appeals Chamber of the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon on Thursday reversed the acquittals of Hizbullah operatives Hassan Merhi and Hussein Oneissi, convicting them of all charges against them and issuing arrest warrants for them.

"The chamber has unanimously decided to reverse the acquittals of Misters Merhi and Oneissi. We unanimously find Mr Merhi and Oneissi guilty," presiding judge Ivana Hrdlickova said.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati called Thursday on the United Nations to intensify the international efforts to support Lebanon.

He asked U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka to urge the U.N. Security Council to address the Lebanese crisis, in its upcoming session next week.

President Michel Aoun on Thursday stressed to U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka that Lebanon is committed to holding the parliamentary elections on time.

“Lebanon is committed to working for holding the parliamentary election on time on May 15 and to continuing the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund to approve the economic and financial recovery plan,” Aoun told Wronecka.

Thursday marked the handover of the Ministry of Public Health’s Central Drug Warehouse (CDW) in Qarantina, one year and a half after it was destroyed by the Beirut port explosions, WHO Lebanon said.

Early in 2020, WHO initiated the expansion of the CDW from 600 m3 to around 2,000 m3. However, the work was put on hold by the devastating explosions in August 2020. In response, a new plan was developed "aiming at fully reconstructing the warehouse and increasing the storage capacity to 8,000 m3, as well as modernizing the storage and distribution capacities of the warehouse."

French Transport Minister delegate Jean-Baptiste Djebbari arrived in Beirut on Thursday to donate buses to Lebanon.

Djebbari will sign with Public Works and Transport Minister Ali Hamiyeh a memorandum of understanding.

Lebanon’s central bank, known as the Banque du Liban (BDL), announced Wednesday that it has asked commercial banks to provide it with the names of the “politically exposed figures” who have failed to repatriate their bank transfers from abroad in the wake of the country’s historic financial crisis.

In a statement, BDL’s Special Investigation Commission said it had made the request following a meeting that was held on March 3, adding that the names of those who have complied should also be submitted to the central bank.