Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Wednesday stressed that Lebanon “must not remain to be a missile launchpad” nor “an enemy of its neighborhood.”

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has lashed out at what he called the “subversive” U.S. influence in Lebanon, while questioning the Lebanese identity of political parties which he said are “receiving orders from embassies.”

President Michel Aoun has stirred controversy by avoiding to consult with Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Miqati regarding a letter that he sent to the U.N. about the sea border demarcation with Israel, media reports said.

The letter was delivered by Lebanese Ambassador to U.N. Amal Mudallali at the Presidency’s demand and following a request from Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, Kuwait’s al-Anbaa newspaper reported.

Acting information minister Abbas Halabi said Tuesday that a ministerial committee has been formed to study the fate of Beirut's Blast-hit silos facing the threat of collapse.

The ministerial committee will prepare a report by the end of February, Halabi said.

U.S. Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs Amos Hochstein arrived in Lebanon Tuesday carrying a new proposal regarding the maritime borders demarcation between Lebanon and Israel.

Amos' visit comes after Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz had said that "Israel is ready to resume the maritime border talks with Lebanon."

Cabinet convened Tuesday at the Grand Serail to discuss 76 items on its agenda, amid reports about a possibility of raising a controversial matter, the Article 16.

Al-Jadeed TV said Cabinet discussed the article and did not approve it, after earlier reports negated that the article will be studied in today's session.

Environmental pollution will cost Lebanon more than 3% of its GDP, the World Bank said, urging a green post-Covid-19 recovery for the region. 

Air pollution costs the Middle East and North Africa $141 billion per year, or around 2% of GDP on average, it said in a report.

Zakaria al-Adl was presumed to have attempted a sea escape to Europe after he had gone missing over the summer, but then the young Lebanese man turned up dead in Iraq.

A native of the northern city of Tripoli, the 22-year-old is one of at least eight men who have been reported killed in Iraq since December 2021, as a suspected jihadist militant.

The U.S. has started to explore Hizbullah's position on the demarcation file between Lebanon and Israel, al-Akhbar newspaper said.

The newspaper said it has learned that the Americans are examining Hizbullah's stance on the maritime borders demarcation, specifically regarding the common fields between Lebanon and Israel.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati will take his decision regarding participation in the parliamentary elections independently from any other factor, including ex-PM Saad Hariri’s decision to withdraw from political life, sources close to the PM said.