The World Bank on Friday said it was canceling a loan to fund a dam in Lebanon that environmentalists claimed could destroy a valley rich in biodiversity.

The Bisri Dam was partially suspended in June after the Washington-based development lender said it raised concerns about the project's implementation, and given the government of Lebanon until September 4 to finalize key agreements related to operations and maintenance as well as the environment.

Citizens, activists, the army and the Beirut Fire Brigade held ceremonies and sit-ins at the blast-hit Beirut port on Friday to mark one month since the cataclysmic Aug. 4 blast that killed 191 people, injured 6,500 others and traumatized Lebanon.

People throughout Lebanon meanwhile observed a moment of silence in honor of the victims.

Army chief General Joseph Aoun announced Friday that the catastrophic explosion at Beirut’s port could have been avoided had authorities acted in a different way.

“From the very first moments after the port blast, the army took charge of the area’s security, seeing as that was its responsibility, even without the presence of an (official) authorization,” Aoun said in Ras Baalbek, where he unveiled a statue honoring troops and citizens who fell in a battle to rout Islamic State militants from the town’s outskirts and in suicide blasts inside the town itself.

President Michel Aoun was on Friday following up on the search and rescue operations at a Mar Mikhail building destroyed by the August 4 port explosion, the National News Agency said.

“To this end, President Aoun called Civil Defense Director General Brig. Gen. Raymond Khattar and learned about the latest developments related to the work of the rescue crews,” NNA added.

Lebanese authorities came under more fire from an anxious public after Thursday's search and rescue operation for possible survivors under rubble in Beirut, was paused for two hours.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin affirmed Friday after meeting with President Michel Aoun at Baabda Palace that the Holy See attaches great importance to Lebanon, stressing international support for the reconstruction of Beirut after the explosion.

A month after a deadly port explosion killed over 190 people and destroyed swathes of Lebanon's capital, the government's account of the blast remains pockmarked with questions. 

In a blast-damaged tailor shop in the Lebanese capital, Claudette is back at work sewing the hem of an orange skirt as rescue teams dig nearby.

Prime Minister designate Mustafa Adib continues consultations to form a “small government of experts” capable of introducing much-needed reforms as demanded by France, amid reports that President Michel Aoun requested one with more ministerial portfolios, Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Friday.

Rescuers resumed a search Friday for possible survivors under rubble in a destroyed Beirut building, buoyed by faint hopes of a miracle a month after a monster blast ripped through the city's port.

The cataclysmic August 4 explosion killed 191 people, making it Lebanon's deadliest peacetime disaster. One month on, seven people are still missing.