Ministers stressed on Saturday their support to the food safety campaign waged by Health Minister Wael Abou Faour, considering it a necessity to end the chaos in the country.

“Establishing a food safety association would end such a crisis on the long term,” Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayeb said during a meeting between several ministers and the Economic Committees at the Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture in Beirut's Hamra area.

A soldier was killed and three others were injured on Saturday after their car flipped over in the Bekaa town of Hermel due to bad weather.

The state-run National News Agency reported that three soldiers were critically wounded.

Students, lawyers and activists marched on Saturday towards the Presidential Palace in Mount Lebanon's Baabda region to reject the cancellation of the country's Independence Day celebrations.

The rally was organized by the Joy of Giving Association (Farah al-Ata), Private and Public Schools, the Lebanese Bar Association and the Civil Society.

Singer turned fugitive Islamist Fadel Shaker stressed on Saturday that his ties with Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed Asir has ended after the 2013 Abra clashes.

“I will not hand my self over to the judiciary,” Shaker said in comments to al-Fajr radio station, denying that he assaulted the military during the clashes with the army in the southern town of Abra, near the city of Sidon.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam said on Saturday that the immature performance by some political leaders drove the country to a standstill, stressing that only compromises will resolve the crises gripping the country.

“The immature political performance... is preventing us from reaching solutions to end the impasse,” Salam said in an interview with Aqlam Touhawer program on Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3).

Speaker Nabih Berri blamed on Saturday the rival Maronite parties for the ongoing presidential vacuum, estimating that the elections could be staged in less than 36 hours if they agreed on a consensual candidate.

“I would retreat and hold a sit-in at the parliament until they head to the legislature,” Berri said in comments to An Nahar newspaper, saying that the sharp rift between the Christian rival parties is behind the ongoing vacuum.

Google celebrated the 71st anniversary of Independence Day of Lebanon on Saturday, with a homepage doodle featuring dancers performing the traditional folk dance called dabke.

The Lebanese government has decided to cancel Independence Day celebrations for the first time since the 1975-1990 civil war because of the country's presidential vacuum.

Prominent political figures are expected to head in the upcoming hours to Saudi Arabia to discuss with al-Msutaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri the latest local and regional developments.

According to An Nahar newspaper published on Saturday, the talks come in light of the presidential standstill and the efforts exerted to open communication channels between al-Mustaqbal and Hizbullah,

General Security Abbas Ibrahim informed on Friday the family of soldier Ali Qassem that he was killed in the August clashes in the northeastern border town of Arsal, reported al-Jadeed television.

LBCI television reported that he was killed while being kidnapped by Islamist gunmen who had overrun the town in August.

The first major storm of the season lashed Lebanon on Friday with downpours and heavy winds throughout the country.

Heavy rain caused flooding in the Shekka tunnel north of Beirut, while big hailstones broke car windows in some areas.