Crisis-hit Lebanon is "at a very dangerous moment", a visiting delegation of the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday, criticizing slow progress on reforms needed to unlock billions in loans.

Lebanon and the IMF reached a conditional agreement in April 2022 on a $3-billion-dollar loan needed to save its economy, which has been in free fall since 2019.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has called for “consensus” with Saudi Arabia over the “presidential choice,” as he reiterated that “the problem is Maronite” in the presidential file.

A Parliament Bureau meeting that was scheduled for Monday was postponed, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Thursday after meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh.

"Some laws will be referred to the parliamentary committees to be studied, and this is why the parliament Bureau meeting was rescheduled, in order to have more laws in the coming legislative session," Mikati said.

A delegation from the families of the Beirut port blast victims met Thursday with Higher Judicial Council head Suheil Abboud, and described the meeting as "positive."

The families had rallied in front of the Justice Palace to protest the obstruction of the probe.

Hezbollah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem on Thursday noted that “the region has started moving against the U.S.-Israeli direction,” adding that “the Iranian-Saudi agreement has thwarted the scheme of making Iran the enemy instead of Israel.”

Lebanon's economic meltdown, described by the World Bank as one of the worst in recent global history, has plunged most of the population into poverty according to the United Nations.

In the past two days, Lebanese rallied and blocked roads to protest deteriorating living conditions.

Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday noted that Iran and Saudi Arabia did not tackle the Lebanese file in the talks that led to their recent reconciliation agreement, stressing that the presidential file is “domestic” and that the Lebanese “must benefit from the positive atmosphere.”

On the occasion of World Water Day, the Beirut and Mount Lebanon Water Establishment (EBML) in partnership with UNICEF and the European Union inaugurated the newly rehabilitated Tallet el-Khayat station, one of the oldest water pumping stations in Beirut. 

Joint parliamentary committees convened Wednesday to discuss the financial situation and to question the government represented by Deputy Prime Minister Saadeh Shami and Minister of Finance Youssef el-Khalil.

Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab said that the dialogue was constructive and calm during the session.

Caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi on Wednesday pledged that measures will be taken to limit the threats of birds and gunfire in the vicinity of Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport.