It was a century ago on Sept. 1, 1920, that a French general, Henri Gouraud, stood on the porch of a Beirut palace surrounded by local politicians and religious leaders and declared the State of Greater Lebanon — the precursor of the modern state of Lebanon.

The current French president, Emmanuel Macron, is visiting Lebanon to mark the occasion, 100 years later. But the mood could not be more somber.

Lebanon's under-fire political leaders scrambled into action as French President Emmanuel Macron was expected Monday for a fresh visit aimed at pushing change in the crisis-hit country.

Lebanon named its envoy to Germany, Mustafa Adib, as the new premier Monday to steer the country through a deep crisis after the Beirut explosion compounded a sharp economic downturn.

The presidency made the announcement in a televised statement as Adib arrived at the palace in Baabda near Beirut to meet President Michel Aoun and parliament speaker Nabih Berri.

The ISG expressed its solidarity with the Lebanese people after the explosion that caused numerous victims and severe damages to residential and commercial infrastructures and sites of cultural and religious heritage in Beirut on 4 August and extends its most heartfelt condolences to the residents of Beirut, the Group said in a joint statement on Sunday.

Dozens of Lebanon's main opposition groups and parties on Sunday announced a common position and plan to tackle the country's multiple crises.

President Michel Aoun on Sunday called for declaring Lebanon a “civil state,” in an address to the nation marking 100 years since the declaration of Greater Lebanon.

The State of Greater Lebanon was a state declared on 1 September 1920, which became the Lebanese Republic in May 1926, and is the predecessor of modern Lebanon.

Lebanon's former ambassador to Germany Mustafa Adib was on Sunday tipped to become the country's new premier after his nomination was endorsed by ex-PMs Saad Hariri, Fouad Saniora, Najib Miqati and Tammam Salam.

The major blocs had said they would endorse the candidate chosen by Hariri and the ex-PMs.

President Michel Aoun on Sunday received a phone call from his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, on the eve of binding parliamentary consultations to pick a new PM.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday reiterated his call for the State to put an end to "the proliferation of weapons."

More than half of Lebanon's population risk facing a food crisis in the aftermath of a Beirut port blast that compounded the country's many woes, a U.N. agency said Sunday.

"More than half of the country's population is at risk of failing to access their basic food needs by the year's end," the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) said.