Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Jebran Bassil on Monday said his bloc will grant its confidence to Najib Miqati’s government because he respected “constitutional partnership” with President Michel Aoun.

“We will give confidence because the line-up came according to the norms. The prime minister respected constitutional partnership with the President and balance in portfolios and sectarian distribution, albeit with some flaws,” Bassil said during a parliamentary session to debate the government’s policy statement.

Iranian fuel has entered Lebanon without state authorization and despite U.S. sanctions following arrangements by Hizbullah, consecrating the party's status as the main powerhouse in the crisis-hit country.

"This latest event gives yet another confirmation that Hizbullah has considerably increased its sway over the Lebanese state," said political scientist Karim Emile Bitar.

The "Karama - Beirut Human Rights Film Festival" fifth edition kicks off on 23 September 2021, at 7 PM at Sunflower Theater, in Tayyouneh, Beirut.

The festival, organized by NGO “Art Factory 961” under the theme “Occupy the Void,” is held this year in cooperation with the United Nations Information Centre in Beirut (UNIC Beirut), with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Lebanon, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Foundation and “Taawon” NGO.

A plenary session to discuss the ministerial policy statement will be held today, Monday, at the UNESCO Palace, followed by another session in the evening.

During the morning session, one or two deputies from each bloc will speak briefly.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday called on the new government to “work as a unified national team that reflects the state’s unity.”

He added that the government must “halt the deterioration and confront the incessant attempts to undermine the state and harm its democratic system.”

Lebanese Ambassador to the U.N. Amal Mudallali has filed a memo to U.N. chief Antonio Guterres and Security Council President Geraldine Byrne Nason over the reports that Israel has granted the Halliburton company contracts to drill gas and oil wells in a disputed offshore area.

In the memo, filed at the instructions of Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, Lebanon asks the Security Council to “verify that the drilling works do not lie in an area disputed by Lebanon and Israel, in order to avoid any infringement on the rights and sovereignty of Lebanon.”

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Ahmed Al Mandhari have issued a joint statement on their visit to Lebanon this week.

“We have just concluded a two-day visit to Beirut, Lebanon to reiterate our commitment to the people of Lebanon and express our solidarity and continued support,” the statement said.

The Lebanese company that owns the ammonium nitrate quantity that has been seized in the Bekaa has said that the fertilizer was intended for agricultural use.

"One of our employees informed the relevant authorities that we have ammonium nitrate, so they raided the warehouses on Friday," one of the company heads told French news agency AFP on condition of anonymity.

Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi on Saturday inspected a truck carrying 20 tons of ammonium nitrate in the Bidnayel Plain in the Bekaa after it had been seized in Baalbek, the National News Agency said.

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka has held separate meetings with Prime Minister Najib Miqati, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Jordanian Ambassador to Lebanon Walid al-Hadid.