Lebanon is mired in its worst economic and financial crisis since the end of its 1975-1990 civil war, exacerbated by the eruption in October 2019 of angry popular protests.

President Michel Aoun on Thursday invited the heads of parliamentary blocs to a “national meeting” in Baabda on Wednesday to discuss “the government's reform program,” the Presidency said.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat on Thursday warned against attacks on the army, following violent confrontations between protesters and the military in recent days.

Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri lashed out Thursday at Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil and distanced himself from the latest violent protests, as he said that he supports the “ugly ouster” of the government “if it fails” to rescue the economy.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri held talks Thursday afternoon at the Center House with former premiers Najib Miqati, Fouad Saniora and Tammam Salam and discussions tackled the latest political developments, Hariri's office said.

Prime Minister Hassan Diab said on Thursday that his government will go ahead and seek financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund based on an economic and financial reform plan approved earlier in the day.

In an address to the nation, Diab described the plan adopted unanimously by the Cabinet as a comprehensive "roadmap" for dealing with the country's spiraling financial crisis, the worst since the 1975-90 civil war.

Prime Minister Hassab Diab on Thursday voiced skepticism over Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh's latest remarks about the lira exchange rate.

Head of the Budget and Finance Parliamentary Committee, MP Ibrahim Kanaan said a long-awaited Illicit Enrichment Law has been approved by the committee on Thursday.

The Lebanese government on Thursday approved a long-awaited plan to rescue the debt-saddled economy from its worst crisis in decades, following a fresh wave of angry streets protests.

President Michel Aoun on Thursday considered the government’s endorsement of its financial and monetary plan as a “historic” move for Lebanon, as the country grapples with an unprecedented economic crisis since October 2019.

“Today is a historic day for Lebanon, because for the first time it endorses an economic-financial plan, after lack of planning and the lack of prospects for the future that almost brought the country to ruin,” said Aoun at the beginning of a Cabinet meeting at Baabda Palace.