The Court of Appeals on Friday stressed that Judge Habib Mezher has not been tasked with looking into the recusal lawsuit against Beirut port blast investigator Judge Tarek Bitar, noting that Mezher has instead been exclusively tasked with ruling on a recusal lawsuit filed against Court of Appeals judge Nassib Elia, a memo obtained by al-Jadeed TV showed.

The French Foreign Ministry affirmed Friday that it is communicating with all the parties who are concerned with “the recent row between Lebanon and the Arab countries.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian urged all parties and Lebanese officials to “promote calm and dialogue for the benefit of the Lebanese and the stability of Lebanon,” stressing that it is “crucial for the region.”

United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka on Thursday visited the areas of Zahle and the West Bekaa in eastern Lebanon. She met with local authorities and toured a development project, an educational institution and an informal tented site for Syrian refugees.

“The impact of the crisis on the people of the Bekaa, just like in other Lebanese areas, is very serious and requires immediate solutions,” the Special Coordinator said after meeting separately with local authorities in Zahle and in West Bekaa. She welcomed steps taken at the local level to address urgent needs.

Information Minister George Kordahi “will not resign” and “this stance has not changed,” sources close to him said on Thursday, shortly after Prime Minister Najib Miqati reiterated his call for the minister to step down.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati on Thursday again urged Information Minister George Kordahi to step down over an unprecedented diplomatic rift with Saudi Arabia, saying his resignation would be "a priority."

“I reiterate my call for the information minister to put national interest first,” Miqati said in a speech from the Grand Serail, shortly after he met in Baabda with President Michel Aoun.

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

Miqati said he discussed with Aoun the current “Lebanese crisis” and added that he will give a speech today in a press conference at the Gand Serail.

Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib met Wednesday with President Michel Aoun in Baabda, hours after Saudi newspaper Okaz published controversial statements attributed to the minister about the already tense relation with Saudi Arabia.

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.