Scores of Lebanese rallied Thursday outside Judge Fadi Sawwan's house in Beirut after he paused the probe into the Beirut port explosion for ten days.

The protesters urged Sawwan to keep up his investigation.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri on Thursday wished French President Emmanuel Macron a speedy recovery after the latter tested positive for Covid-19.

The Government of Sweden on Thursday decided to amend and extend the regional development cooperation strategy for the Syria Crisis for 2021-2023.

Former justice minister and ex-Internal Security Forces head Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi said Thursday that he has testified before Judge Fadi Sawwan that Iran had sent the ammonium nitrate shipment that eventually caused the August 4 catastrophic explosion at Beirut’s port.

President Michel Aoun on Thursday reiterated his call for the adoption of “unified standards” regarding the line-up of the new government.

The lead investigator into the Beirut port blast, Judge Fadi Sawwan, paused for ten days the investigation into the case following requests by the defendants to transfer the file to a different judge.

French President Emmanuel Macron cancelled a scheduled trip to Lebanon this month after contracting coronavirus.

After television reports that around "600" containers at Beirut’s port have been abandoned for years risking a replication of the August 4 explosion, the Lebanese army and port officials began on Thursday an inspection operation to address the issue.

Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki visited Beirut on Thursday for meetings with senior officials, amid a government impasse in the crisis-gripped country.

“The Lebanese people are suffering from enormous pressure and the aim of my visit to get acquainted and evaluate the situation in whole,” said Zaki from Baabda where he met with President Michel Aoun.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri held talks Wednesday in Bkirki with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi.