On 29 July 2022, as from 7:00pm, friends of Father Paolo Dall'Oglio will host a vigil at the Jesuit church St. Joseph in Ashrafieh, Beirut. The vigil will be followed by a private screening of the documentary film "Ayouni" (2021) by Yasmin Fedda.

Dall'Oglio was kidnapped by the Islamic State group in Raqqa, Syria, while negotiating the release of hostages from captivity. For 9 years, family and friends of Paolo Dall'Oglio have been waiting for answers about his whereabouts, pressing public authorities in Italy and Syria to release information.

Lebanon plans to build two new grain silos to fight its its worsening food security crisis, the country's caretaker economy minister told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Amin Salam said that several countries and international organizations have expressed an interest in funding and bidding for the new silos, which will cost a total of $100 million.

Caretaker Economy Minister Amin Salam announced Wednesday that “49,000 tons of wheat will enter the country at the end of this week.”

“We should not see queues (outside bread bakeries) after that and we will prosecute whoever wants to fabricate a crisis,” Salam said in a TV interview.

Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri stressed Wednesday that he “will not interfere in any political juncture or project,” denying recent media reports.

“Some news websites have been coming up with non-innocent reports and analyses related to ex-PM Saad Hariri’s intentions for the coming period,” Hariri’s press office said in a statement.

Grain silos at Beirut's blast-hit port are at risk of collapsing after a fire this month, caretaker Prime Minister and PM-designate Najib Mikati said Wednesday, a week before the explosion's second anniversary.

"The northern group of silos are now in danger of falling," Mikati announced in a statement that said the silos still contained thousands of tons of wheat and corn.

President Michel Aoun on Wednesday stressed that “Lebanon is committed to carrying out the necessary reforms in order to continue the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund as part of the economic recovery plan.”

Aoun voiced his remarks in a meeting in Baabda with the new World Bank regional director Jean-Christophe Carret and the outgoing director Saroj Kumar Jha.

A Ministerial Committee approved Wednesday a financial aid for public sector employees.

Employees would be given an aid that is worth a full salary, and a daily transport allowance of LBP 95,000.

Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea called the Lebanese government on Wednesday to accept an Iranian fuel offer after Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said he is willing to secure free fuel from Iran for Lebanon’s power plants.

Geagea said that the reason of his demand is not that he believes that "this will happen" but rather to avoid "leaving the Lebanese exposed to false rumors."

Public sector employees have been on an open strike for weeks now to demand an adjustment of their salaries, amid dire living conditions in Lebanon.

The strike has paralyzed all public administrations, frustrating the Lebanese citizens who need to get an identity card, a diploma for university or a driving license.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea urged Lebanon Wednesday to hold presidential elections on time and not to lose time in carrying out reforms that would satisfy the World Bank.

Shea said that the reforms requested by the International Monetary Fund are also for Lebanon's interest.