Al-Mustaqbal Movement emphasized that efforts to lineup the Cabinet are in progress as they repudiated Hizbullah allegations of a Saudi intervention in the formation process, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday.

“There is no direct or indirect Saudi intervention in the process of forming the new government,” stressed Mustaqbal sources in remarks they made to the daily replying to remarks made by a senior Hizbullah official.

Calls of caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil to freeze the renewal of residency permits for the staff of the United Nations refugee agency were criticized on Saturday as a “threat to Lebanon’s ties with international bodies.”

“The Foreign Minister is acting as if the State is declaring a war of abolition against international organizations,” said caretaker Minister Marwan Hamadeh.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri reportedly received caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Friday, who stressed “the need to include all political components to reflect their parliamentary representation,” al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri is expected to meet with President Michel Aoun over the weekend to assess the developments as per the formation of the new government after completing consultations, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

Two weeks after his designation, “Hariri is set to present the first government format, a Cabinet comprised of 30 ministers distributed on various political parties very much similar to the current caretaker Cabinet,” unnamed sources told the daily.

Caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Friday ordered a freeze on the renewal of residency permits for the staff of the United Nations refugee agency, saying it is not encouraging Syrian refugees to return home.

The Interior Ministry on Thursday published a highly controversial decree granting Lebanese nationality to dozens of people, after politicians and ordinary citizens alike fumed over the secrecy that shrouded the edict over the past few days.

“After the naturalization decree numbered 2942 (May 11, 2018) turned into a public opinion issue, and in line with the transparency principle, the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities announces that it published the decree this afternoon on its website: www.interior.gov.lb,” the ministry said in a statement.

Caretaker Economy Minister Raed Khoury assured on Thursday that banning the entry of some Turkish products into the Lebanese market aims at safeguarding the economy, as he assured that Lebanon’s ties with Turkey are “very good.”

Head of the Constitutional Council Issam Suleiman announced on Thursday that 17 appeals have be filed to the Council contesting the results of the parliamentary elections.

Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat reportedly will lead a delegation to Saudi Arabia later this week, the pan-Arab al-Hayat daily reported on Thursday.

In spite of “optimistic atmospheres” of Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri that he is putting “maximum effort” to line-up the government, the formation path “has not witnessed any announced contacts” since his return from Riyadh, amid indecisiveness on whether it should include 32, 30 or 26 portfolios, al-Joumjouria daily reported on Thursday.