Five young men and women belonging to the Youth Movement for Change on Thursday stormed the headquarters of the central bank on Hamra Street in protest at the bank’s so-called financial engineering operations and other banking measures.

“They entered through the main gate and gathered in the lobby as one of them started reciting a statement, but guards forced them to leave the lobby and the statement was recited outside the bank,” the National News Agency said.

State-run National News Agency reported Thursday that the soldier who shot and killed the protester Alaa Abu Fakhr in Khalde last week has been charged by a military prosecutor with murder.

The agency said that a colonel who was on the scene with the soldier at the time of the shooting was also charged Thursday.

France could dispatch a new envoy to discuss an “initiative” to salvage Lebanon’s crumbling economy, al-Akhbar daily reported on Thursday.

Army Commander General Joseph Aoun addressed the troops on Thursday saying their “vigilance foiled attempts of some to fish in troubled waters.”

On one of Beirut's main commercial streets, store owners are cutting salaries by half or considering shutting down. Shops advertise sales, but still can't draw in customers. The only place doing a thriving business: the store that sells safes, as Lebanese increasingly stash their cash at home.

It's a sign Lebanese fear their country's financial crisis, which has been worsening for months, could tip over into disaster.

Hizbullah and AMAL Movement reportedly wish to intensify contacts to persuade caretaker PM Saad Hariri “again” to lead the new government, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Thursday.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat on Wednesday announced that the presidential tenure of President Michel Aoun and the 1989 Taef Accord have “ended,” as he revealed that he has advised caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri not to lead the new government.

Asked whether caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil will be among the new ministers, Jumblat told MTV: “I believe that some faces have expired.”

Former U.S. State Department undersecretary and ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and International Terrorism on the current situation in Lebanon in light of the unprecedented popular uprising that erupted on October 17.

Below is the full transcript of the testimony titled “What’s Next for Lebanon? Examining the Implications of Current Protests”:

Financial Prosecutor Ali Ibrahim on Wednesday filed lawsuits against former telecom ministers Nicolas Sehnaoui, Butros Harb and Jamal Jarrah, referring them to the Higher Council for the Prosecution of Presidents and Ministers, state-run National News Agency said.

Ibrahim is also suing the directors of the Alfa and touch mobile network operators and the director general of the OGERO telecom authority on charges of “wasting and embezzling public funds and illicit enrichment,” referring the file to Beirut’s first examining magistrate.

President Michel Aoun will make an address to the nation at 8:00 pm Thursday, which will be broadcast on the various Lebanese TV and radio networks, the Presidency said.

The speech marks Lebanon’s Independence Day and will tackle the current situations and latest developments, the Presidency added.