President Michel Aoun on Wednesday stressed that Lebanon is “clinging to its rights to its waters and natural resources.”

“It has made major progress in the negotiations to demarcate the southern maritime border, which will continue in order to reach an agreement under the sponsorship of the U.N. and with the mediation of the United States,” Aoun said.

The Finance and Budget Parliamentary Committee on Wednesday approved amendments to the law related to the $150 World Bank loan aimed at buying wheat, the National News Agency said.

The approval of two articles was however postponed until Thursday’s session, NNA added.

President Michel Aoun, caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, caretaker Social Affairs Minister Hector Hajjar, and Maj. General Abbas Ibrahim met Wednesday in Baabda to discuss the Syrian Refugees repatriation.

Also on Wednesday, Kuwaiti newspaper al-Anbaa reported that Syria is dissatisfied with a statement by Bou Habib that accused the Syrian regime of not wanting to return the refugees to their homeland.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat will meet with Hezbollah coordination official Wafiq Safa by the end of the week, MTV said Wednesday.

It quoted a source close to the PSP as saying that "Jumblat has read the situation well and has chosen to be with the winning team."

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has lashed out at President Michel Aoun’s presidential term, describing his tenure as “failed,” “spiteful” and “disastrous.”

Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday warned Israel against “making a mistake towards the resistance in Lebanon” or over “the issue of oil and gas and the issue of the maritime border.”

Shiite Lebanese marked Tuesday the holy day of Ashoura, one of the most emotional occasions in their religious calendar, commemorating the 7th century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussein.

With power split in Lebanon among the country's religious sects, Ashoura presents an opportunity for Lebanon's Shiites to show force.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani has received a letter from President Michel Aoun related to “bilateral ties between the two brotherly countries and means to develop them,” Qatar’s official news agency said.

MPs Najat Aoun Saliba and Melhem Khalaf on Monday held a press conference in parliament to tackle the issue of the long-running blaze at the blast-hit grain silos of Beirut’s port, which has been burning for around a month.

President Michel Aoun is holding back on signing the amended banking secrecy law pending answers from the Lebanese team that is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund, al-Jadeed TV reported on Monday.