The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Representative and Regional Director for West Asia, Sami Dimassi, together with the President of Nusaned, Ghaida Nawam, have signed an agreement to mark the start of their collaboration in implementing a series of pilot projects.

The agreement falls within the SwitchMed II initiative, funded by the European Union, aiming to provide support mechanisms to countries on the southern shores of the Mediterranean to switch to sustainable consumption and production patterns.

MP Sajih Atiyeh has announced that he is still running for the deputy parliament speaker post and that he will meet Monday with Speaker Nabih Berri along with his Akkar Development bloc.

President Michel Aoun on Friday signed a decree forming the "National Council for Pricing Policy", which is being formed for the first time since a decision was taken to form it in 1974, the Presidency said.

The Council is “a national par excellence council that comprises all the relevant parties from the official administrations and the associations of the General Confederation of Lebanese Workers that represent the various segments of the Lebanese society,” the Presidency added.

Hizbullah’s media relations department has lashed out at the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya satellite television for “fabricating lies and false accusations” that link the Iran-backed group to the “manufacturing and sale of narcotics.”

“This is aimed at insulting Hizbullah and tarnishing the image of resistance movements in the eyes of the public opinion,” the department said in a statement.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday scheduled a Tuesday parliamentary session for the election of a new speaker, deputy speaker and the members of the Parliament Bureau, the National News Agency said.

The session will be held at 11am at parliament’s building in Beirut’s Nejmeh Square, NNA added.

The Internal Security Forces on Thursday announced foiling an attempt to smuggle a large number of people by sea to Italy.

It said the bid was thwarted after the ISF obtained information that a ring of individuals was equipping and renovating a boat in the Dbaye area.

President Michel Aoun on Thursday pledged that he will continue to “fight corruption and oversee the completion of the forensic audit into the financial accounts of the central bank and the other official administrations and institutions.”

He added that his objective is to “identify the real reasons that led to the deterioration of the financial and economic situations in the country.”

The members of the U.N. Security Council have welcomed the holding of legislative elections in Lebanon as scheduled on May 15, despite what they called the "challenging circumstances."

"These elections were key to enabling the Lebanese people to exercise their civil and political rights. The members of the Security Council commended the technical support provided by the United Nations, the European Union, the International Organization of La Francophonie, the Arab League and other international and local observers throughout the election process and in close coordination with the government of Lebanon. They took note of the findings and recommendations made by observer missions," a U.N. statement said.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday cautioned rivals anew that their top concern should be the country’s economic and financial collapse, not his group’s controversial arsenal of weapons.

President Michel Aoun on Wednesday marked 22 years since Israel’s withdrawal from the South by urging “unity” among the Lebanese.