The CityBlu and Ramco companies have stopped waste sweeping and collection operations in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, which might lead to a new garbage crisis in the country, al-Jadeed TV said.

The TV network said the suspension comes in protest at “the failure to settle the contracts” with the state-run Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR).

Hizbullah and the Amal Movement refuse to put behind their backs the reasons that led to their boycott of Cabinet sessions, sources from the two parties said.

“The exit is present in a number of solution ideas that had been proposed by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, before he reiterated them in his talks with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, who agreed to them and endorsed them,” the sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Thursday.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed Wednesday that “there can be no solution” for the political-judicial crisis “except through state institutions.”

“And there can be no solution imposed through obstruction or coercion,” Miqati added.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri Wednesday called the Parliament Bureau to convene at Ain el-Tineh on Friday afternoon.

Berri also called the Finance committee and the Justice Committee to hold a joint session on Monday at the Parliament.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati met Wednesday with President Michel Aoun at the Baabda Palace.

When leaving, Miqati only said that “the government is functioning but the Council of Ministers is not,” answering a question by a journalist.

At the High Level Steering Committee on Tuesday, British Ambassador to Lebanon Ian Collard, along with U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea and Canadian Ambassador Chantal Chastenay, met Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun to discuss the security of the Lebanese-Syrian border.

"The discussions focused on the Lebanese Armed Forces’ mission to secure the entirety of the Lebanese-Syrian border and the challenges they are facing during Lebanon’s many crises. During the meeting, Ambassador Collard announced a $1.4 million uplift to strengthen LAF’s resilience with spare parts for Land Rovers previously donated by the UK Government and for protective personal equipment for female soldiers deployed on border operations," the British embassy said in a statement.

Taxi drivers blocked roads with their vehicles Tuesday during a protest against the increasing prices of gasoline, consumer goods and the crash of the local currency.

The taxi drivers protested in front of the Interior Ministry, blocking Hamra's main street and also Martyrs Square in downtown Beirut.

The Beirut Fire Brigade pleaded Tuesday for help to extinguish a fire that has ripped through a forest in Bshamoun.

The firefighters urged those who can help to secure water for the fire engines, as the wind caused the fire to spread.

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix and UNIFIL Force Commander Maj. Gen. Stefano del Col briefed Tuesday the U.N. Security Council on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006) and the situation in Lebanon, with a focus on the latest report of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Wronecka recognized the formation of a government as "a positive development" while regretting that "it had not resulted in progress in the implementation of a reform agenda in Lebanon" since her last briefing to the Security Council in July 2021.

President Michel Aoun has said that he will leave the Baabda Palace when his presidential term ends in 2022, while noting that he would “stay” if parliament decides that he should stay.