Political figures in Lebanon reportedly took an initiative to devise a compensation plan for the owners of shops affected by the Beirut Port explosion “to avoid a wave of exodus” from the area where merchants have not received any compensation from the state until this moment, the Saudi Asharq el-Awsat reported on Wednesday.

Prime Minister-designate Saad reportedly will visit Qatar on Wednesday to hold talks with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, media reports said.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday defended President Michel in connection with the row over the formation of the new government while criticizing PM-designate Saad Hariri’s “insistence” on the putting together of an 18-seat government.

The Free Patriotic Movement-led Strong Lebanon bloc on Tuesday called on PM-designate Saad Hariri to “return to the spirit of the National Pact,” warning that “the marginalization of the President” does not serve “Lebanon’s unity.”

A broad meeting was held Tuesday at MP Talal Arslan’s residence in Khalde to discuss the affairs of the Druze community and the controversy over the Druze share in the new government.

The finance, health, labor and social affairs parliamentary committees held a joint session Tuesday to study a draft law for signing a loan treaty with the World Bank aimed at financing an emergency plan for the support of the country’s poorest and most vulnerable families.

Russia reportedly expressed willingness to provide Lebanon with donations of its Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine, MP Amal Abou Zeid told President Michel Aoun on Tuesday said the National News Agency.

Coronavirus case numbers are stabilizing in parts of the Middle East but the situation remains critical, with more than a dozen countries reporting cases of new variants, the World Health Organization said Monday.

Ahmed al-Mandhari, director of WHO's eastern Mediterranean region, which comprises most of the Middle East, said in a press briefing from Cairo that at least one of the three new coronavirus variants was reported in the 13 countries in the region. He did not name the countries.

Since Lebanon launched its inoculation campaign against Covid-19 virus on Sunday, around “535,000 individuals” have registered to get the vaccine, said Ali Romani, IT Project Manager at the Ministry of Health and programmer of the vaccination platform.

Al-Mustaqbal Movement MP Mohammed Hajjar said Tuesday that PM-designate Saad Hariri “is determined to have a government formed” in Lebanon, despite a volley of words between him and the team of the Presidency that disappointed many about a close lineup.