The 5-nation group on Lebanon -- which comprises the U.S., France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt-- supports a dialogue proposed by Speaker Nabih Berri to end the presidential impasse, Annahar newspaper said.

Berri had called on the Lebanese parties to engage in seven days of dialogue in parliament followed by open-ended electoral sessions to choose a new president.

French Special Presidential Envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian resumed Wednesday his meetings with Lebanese key players as France seeks to end a political crisis that has left the country without a president for over a year.

Le Drian met Wednesday with former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat and incumbent leader MP Taymour Jumblat in Clemenceau, after an earlier meeting with Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement and its Islamist rival Hamas have voiced support for the fledgling ceasefire in the Ain el-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp in Sidon, a statement said Wednesday, as Palestine Liberation Organization official Azzam al-Ahmad accused "foreign parties" of stoking the camp's violence.

Clashes have rocked Ain el-Helweh since last Thursday, pitting members of Fatah, which controls most of the camp, against hardline Islamist militants. Hamas has stayed out of the fighting.

The British Embassy Beirut on Wednesday announced that applications for the UK Government’s flagship Chevening Scholarships program are now open. Applicants should apply online via chevening.org/apply by November 7, 2023.

The scholarship, which is now in its 40th year, offers full financial support for scholars to study for any eligible master’s degree at over 150 UK universities whilst also gaining access to a wide range of exclusive academic, professional, and cultural experiences.

The caretaker Cabinet on Tuesday approved the 2024 state budget and submitted it to parliament, with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati calling the move an “achievement.”

“This is the first state budget to be approved within the constitutional timeframe since 2002 and this is a major achievement and heroism,” Mikati said at a press conference.

Hezbollah on Tuesday denied as “false accusations” a media report alleging that party officials are smuggling arms through Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport.

“We strongly condemn these cheap fabrications and false accusations and we also deplore the collusion of domestic Lebanese sides who worked on promoting these lies and turning them into judicial complaints against Hezbollah,” the party said in a statement, referring to a report aired by the Saudi-owned al-Hadath TV.

More than 65 military personnel from the British Army’s Second Battalion The Parachute Regiment (2 PARA) will conduct Tuesday a fully integrated combined military exercise ‘Pegasus Cedar’ with their Lebanese counterparts, the Air Assault Regiment, and supported by the Lebanese Air Force. 

The exercise will run for ten days, the British embassy in Beirut said in a statement.

French Special Presidential Envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian has arrived in Beirut "to resume his mission" as France seeks a new push to end a political crisis that has left the country without a president for over a year.

Le Drian started Tuesday his talks in Lebanon by meeting with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Grand Serail.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has denied reports claiming that he had suspended his presidential dialogue initiative.

“I have not suspended my initiative. To the contrary, it is ongoing, continuous and in harmony with the French initiative. The two initiatives complement each other and their essence is the same: dialogue and consensus for the election of a president,” Berri said in an interview with al-Liwaa newspaper published Monday.

The Lebanese Forces has informed French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian that it will not attend any dialogue conference prior to the election of a new president, LF lawmaker Ghada Ayoub said.

“The Strong Republic bloc’s specifications for the president and his missions are clear and in line with the Doha meeting’s closing statement,” Ayoub said in an interview on Radio Free Lebanon.