Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib has described as inaccurate remarks attributed to him by Saudi newspaper Okaz, amid concerns that the leaks could worsen the current diplomatic crisis with Saudi Arabia.

Okaz meanwhile said it obtained Bou Habib’s remarks through its “private sources” and that the statements were made by Bou Habib during a meeting with a number of journalists.

British Minister for the Middle East and North Africa James Cleverly on Tuesday announced £50m UK funding for the High Impact Partnership on Climate Action (HIPCA).

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) launched HIPCA on 2 November at an event during COP26 in Glasgow.

Judge Tarek Bitar, the lead investigative judge probing the Beirut port blast, stressed to the families of the victims on Tuesday that “pressures or threats will not push him to back down,” al-Jadeed TV reported.

“I will not back down from the Beirut port file unless I’m removed through the available legal means,” al-Jadeed quoted Bitar as telling the families during a meeting on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati met Tuesday with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the climate summit in Glasgow.

The meeting was attended by Environment Minister Nasser Yassine and Lebanon’s ambassador to the United Kingdom.

Embattled Information Minister George Kordahi has announced that the diplomatic crisis with Saudi Arabia “has turned into an issue of national dignity.”

“I totally understand and feel the plight of the Lebanese abroad and their fear of any measures that might target them, but the matter has turned into an issue of national dignity,” Kordahi told ad-Diyar newspaper in remarks published Tuesday, in response to a question about possible further escalation by the Gulf countries.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati met Monday with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and the two discussed the bilateral relations between the two countries.

The Qatari leader affirmed that he will dispatch Qatar’s Foreign Minister to Beirut soon to find ways to support Lebanon and to address the Lebanon-Gulf crisis.

President Michel Aoun on Monday was continuing his consultations “to address the repercussions of the decision that has been taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and several Gulf countries which withdrew their ambassadors from Lebanon and asked the Lebanese ambassadors to leave,” the Presidency said.

“In this regard, President Aoun held consultations with Prime Minister Najib Miqati, who is taking part in the climate summit in the city of Glasgow, regarding the steps that must be taken to address these developments,” the Presidency added.

Organized by the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon, in partnership with Metropolis Cinema and in cooperation with the European Union Member States, the European Film Festival returns for its 26th edition.

Taking place exceptionally online, this new edition features a thrilling selection of films from Europe, as well as short films by emerging Lebanese filmmakers.

Information Minister George Kordahi on Sunday stressed that he will not resign despite the growing diplomatic crisis with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries.

In remarks to al-Jadeed television, Kordahi emphasized that such a move is "out of the question."

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday noted that “the crisis with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in particular and the Arab Gulf nations in general has multiple and accumulating reasons.”