Supporters of late Lebanese ex-premier Rafic Hariri voiced disappointment over the verdict of UN-backed court on his 2005 assassination issued Tuesday, despite Hariri's son hailing a triumph for truth.

Lebanon's economic crisis doubled poverty rates to more than half the population even before this month's cataclysmic explosion at Beirut's port, a United Nations agency said.

"Estimates reveal that more than 55 percent of the country's population is now trapped in poverty and struggling for bare necessities," the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) said Wednesday.

As the United Nations prepares to renew the mandate of its peacekeeping operation in southern Lebanon, Israel is working with Security Council members to push for tough changes in the way the force deals with the Hizbullah group, Israeli officials said Wednesday.

Israeli diplomatic and military officials say the force, known as UNIFIL, has been largely ineffective and see the upcoming vote on extending its mandate as an opportunity to make reforms.

A Lebanese lawyer filed a legal complaint Wednesday against the country's president and prime minister for allegedly not taking action to remove dangerous material that had been stored at the port of Beirut.

The material — 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a chemical used in fertilizers and explosives — ignited earlier this month, killing scores and wounding thousands of people.

Grand Sunni Mufti of the Republic Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan called on Wednesday for an international investigation into the colossal Beirut port blast, and a "radical" change to the country’s authority including early elections and formation of an emergency government of specialists.

Armed gunmen kidnapped in broad daylight the mayor of a neighborhood in Hermel, Khodr el-Rashini, media reports said on Wednesday.

Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin hailed ex-PM Saad Hariri and Hizbullah for showing “responsible” positions after the STL verdict in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday.

The efforts to form a new government in Lebanon are not only exerted at the local level, amid reports that France is “leading” such endeavors through its ambassador in Lebanon Bruno Foucher, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday.

The United States welcomed the conviction Tuesday of a member of the Hizbullah Shiite movement over the 2005 murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri.

Lebanese authorities on Tuesday announced a new lockdown and a nighttime curfew to rein in a spike in coronavirus infections.

The new measures will come into effect on Friday morning and last just over two weeks, the interior ministry said, adding that they would not affect the clean-up and aid effort following the devastating August 4 Beirut port blast.