Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Wednesday that it has authorized 20 private companies to import Covid-19 vaccines into the country.

In a phone call with LBCI TV, a Ministry official said the local companies “have so far faced rejection from the companies that manufacture the vaccines.”

President Michel Aoun has been following up on the reports about the oil spill that has affected Israel’s entire coastline before reaching Lebanon’s shores, the National News Agency said.

Deputy Speaker Elie Ferzli stressed Wednesday that the controversial vaccination on Tuesday of a number of MPs and parliament officials was “not a crime,” as he launched a vehement attack on World Bank regional director Saroj Kumar Jha.

An Istanbul court on Wednesday sentenced three Turks to four years and two months in prison for helping smuggle former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn in a musical instrument case to Lebanon from Japan.

The court convicted two pilots and an employee of a small private airline, who moved the tycoon while he was out on bail facing financial misconduct charges in December 2019.

A delegation of the Lebanese Forces, Strong Republic parliamentary bloc met with Maronite Patriarch Beshara el-Rahi in Bkirki on Wednesday in a stand of solidarity with his calls to “internationalize” the problematic Lebanese file.

Adviser to the President for Health Affairs Walid Khoury stated on Wednesday that due to the President’s “exposure to a large number of people,” that makes it necessary for him to get the Covid-19 vaccine.

Israeli troops opened gunfire in the outskirts of the southern town of Blida in Marjayoun, firing close above the head of a farmer who happened to be in the area, the National News Agency said on Wednesday.

Baabda Palace circles reportedly preferred not to make any reaction after the controversial calls of Maronite Patriarch Beshara el-Rahi for an international conference on the Lebanese file, al-Joumhouria daily reported Wednesday.

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari and the US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea reportedly discussed the Lebanese file during a meeting at the Saudi Ambassador’s residence in Yarze, media reports said Wednesday.

The Presidency on Tuesday confirmed that President Michel Aoun, First Lady Nadia Aoun and ten of the president’s close associates have been vaccinated against Covid-19, amid controversy over the vaccination of 16 MPs who were accused of bypassing the country’s official inoculation platform that is aimed at ensuring a fair rollout of the vaccine.

The Presidency’s statement came shortly after al-Jadeed TV reported that “a medical team headed to the presidential palace on Friday, where they vaccinated the president, his wife and 16 members of his team.”