Al-Mustaqabl Movement slammed accusations fired by Hizbullah MP Nawaf Mousawi that blamed the Movement and Saudi Arabia for obstructing the election of a head of state, As-Sharq daily reported on Tuesday.

Mustaqbal official circles said: “Hizbullah is throwing the ball and responsibility in our court in order to drive the attention away from its obstruction of the election of a president.

The cabinet convened in a special session on Monday to tackle the worsening financial and economic situation in the country in light of an absent state budget since 2005, reports said.

Monday's meeting discussed Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil's report on the state's finances which was presented during last week's session in a move to find a solution for Lebanon's economic crisis.

Prime Minster Tammam Salam “broke the silence” with regard to the latest agreement between the Free Patriotic Movement and the AMAL party on the oil excavation file, and expressed his annoyance over the “unideal manner” that the agreement was struck between the two, As Safir daily reported on Monday.

Media reports said over the weekend that the agreement between the two parties did not meet the approval of the PM and that Salam was disappointed that he was not briefed beforehand.

The Lebanese army staged raids in Tripoli’s neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen over celebratory gunfire after an attempted coup in Turkey, the Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) reported Saturday.

Deputy Speaker Farid Makari stated that staging the presidential elections before the parliamentary polls will automatically solve many pending issues in the country, As Safir daily reported on Saturday.

“Staging the presidential elections will inevitably lead to a set of solutions for many current crises. But many complications will arise if we stage the parliamentary polls in the absence of a president,” Makari told the daily in an interview.

Even though anticipations were high that the file of Lebanon’s oil and gas wealth might witness a push-start following the Eid al-Fitr holiday, reports said that the progress seems to be staggering, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam wants to make some contacts before he convenes the ministerial committee tasked with studying the file and later put the issue on the cabinet’s agenda in order to pass the needed decrees, said the daily.

Environment Minister Mohammed al-Mashnouq announced that the World Bank has approved a $55 million loan to fight pollution in the Qaraoun Lake in Western Bekaa Valley and the Litani River in south Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency reported on Friday.

Mashnouq added that the loan will also cover the completion of the sewage networks in Zahle and the surrounding villages, Anjar and al-Marj, NNA added.

Interior Minister Nouhad Mashnouq warned on Friday the law enforcement agents against abusing Syrian refugees after pictures showing some being mistreated by municipal police were posted online.

Mashnouq said in a letter to heads of municipalities that officers would face "disciplinary measures" if they abuse their power when dealing with citizens and Syrian refugees.

Nizar Zakka, a US permanent resident from Lebanon who has done work for the US government, was on Monday indicted on unknown charges in Iran along with three dual nationals.

The four were held by Iran's authorities amid a series of detentions that followed last year's nuclear deal with world powers.

Hizbullah announced overnight that it has managed to kill the Islamic State military commander for the al-Qaa border region, where eight suicide bombings killed five people and wounded 28 others earlier this week.