Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has lamented that a “problem” happens whenever he wants to visit a certain region, warning that the FPM may boycott the May 15 parliamentary elections if authorities do not protect freedom of movement for him and the other FPM candidates.

Unrest erupted Saturday in Akkar over a visit to the northern region by Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday announced that Lebanon’s upcoming parliamentary elections will not prevent his group from responding to any Israeli hostile act.

“I tell the Zionists that their planned exercises do not scare us but we will be prepared,” Nasrallah said in a speech marking Quds Day, referring to Israeli military exercises that will begin in early May.

President Michel Aoun on Friday presided over a meeting for the Higher Defense Council at the Baabda Palace that was dedicated to discussing the preparations for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

“The heads of the security agencies stressed at the Baabda meeting full readiness for imposing security during the May 15 elections as the army commander said that the army enjoys full preparedness,” MTV reported.

A ministerial committee on Syrian refugees said Friday that Lebanon cannot "bear this burden" anymore.

The ministers convened at the grand Serail in a session chaired by Prime Minister Najib Miqati.

President Michel Aoun on Friday stressed the need for an indictment to be issued in the Beirut port blast case, adding that the Judicial Council would then “acquit the innocents” and “condemn those responsible.”

Tehran is willing to provide Lebanon with fuel and wheat and to improve its comprehensive relations with the country, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has said.

Abdollahian has held a phone call with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib, during which he welcomed the return of the Gulf ambassadors to Lebanon and he hoped for the success of the upcoming Parliamentary elections that will be held in May 15.

The Office of the U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL) is organizing digital consultations with Lebanese youth on Thursday, May 5 at 5:00 pm Beirut Time.

The Lebanese Army on Friday said it has detained five people in the northern city of Tripoli as they prepared to smuggle 85 migrants by boat to Europe.

The army said the smugglers were detained late Thursday as they were preparing to send 85 people on a boat after collecting a total of $400,000 from them. The boat was confiscated in a sea resort in the country's north, it added, and the detainees are being questioned.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati and U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon Najat Rochdi signed Thursday the “United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework” (UNSDCF).

The framework is meant to strengthen the existing and ongoing cooperation between both parties on promoting the principles of sustainable development, and build the foundations for a prosperous and inclusive Lebanese society, where no one is left behind, the U.N. said in statement.