Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has reassured that the parliamentary elections will take place on time but only in Lebanon, in defiance to sixty-five MPs from the parliamentary majority who want to amend the electoral law to include voting from outside Lebanon.

Hezbollah and Amal argue that they do not enjoy the same campaigning freedom that other parties enjoy abroad and are objecting the amendment of the current law, which only allows expats to vote for six newly-introduced seats in parliament.

President Joseph Aoun announced Thursday that he is “entrusted with this country.”

“I am ready to do anything that contributes to its welfare, fends off war and secures the liberation of the South and reconstruction,” Aoun added, in a Baabda meeting with a delegation from the Lebanese Communist Party.

Nine Tannourine Mineral Water samples sent to the state-run Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute have tested free of bacteria and authorities are awaiting results from the state-run Industrial Research Institute and the American University of Beirut in order to take the appropriate decision, Agriculture Minister Nizar Hani said on Thursday.

The Health Ministry had on Monday suspended Tannourine and ordered its products pulled from shelves after samples tested positive for the pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Thursday, as he visited the southern port city of Saida, that the government is keen on reconstructing the war-hit areas but its capabilities are limited.

"I am confident that we will succeed in holding two international conferences to drum up aid for developmental and reconstruction," Salam said, adding that his project is "to restore the state, and the trust of the (Lebanese) people".

The UK Defense Senior Advisor to the Middle East and North Africa (DSAME), Vice Admiral Edward Ahlgren, concluded Wednesday a two-day visit to Lebanon. He met with Lebanese leaders, UNIFIL Commander and visited a newly constructed Protected Border Observation Post (PBOP) on Lebanon’s eastern border with Syria.

The visit underscores the UK’s ongoing commitment to support the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in enhancing its ability to secure Lebanon’s borders and respond swiftly to threats, including smuggling and illegal cross-border activity, the British Embassy said. The new Protected Border Observation Post is part of a broader UK Integrated Security Fund program to strengthen Lebanon’s border infrastructure and reinforce the LAF’s operational capability including in border areas.

An Israeli drone has targeted a Renault Rapid car on the Siddiqin-Kafra road in the South, causing casualties

The Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday that it has submitted to the government an urgent draft law for the abolition of Articles 112 and 122 of the electoral law, which limit the representation of expats to six newly-introduced seats.

The new U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa who is readying to assume his mission in the near future has said that “Lebanon’s future belongs to all those who believe in its recovery and its independence and its unity.”

An Israeli drone strike overnight targeted a motorcycle on the Wadi Jilou road in the southern Tyre district, the National News Agency said.

The attack critically wounded one person, NNA added.

Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine said Wednesday that the Tannourine Mineral Water company has been suspended for “purely technical” reasons, lamenting the politicization of the file.

In remarks to LBCI television, Nassereddine clarified that the Ministry’s Epidemiological Surveillance team had received a complaint alleging the presence of contamination in Tannourine’s bottled water.