MENA Now Morning Briefing, February 22, 2021

*This daily morning briefing covers news as presented by the media, and does not present the views of MENA Now.

* All sources were drawn from publicly available online news sources

Lebanon Today

Bassil blasts Hariri, calls for raising Cabinet members; http://bit.ly/3qS782I

Bassil blasts Hariri, calls for raising Cabinet members; http://bit.ly/3buZNQd

Report: Foreign Calls to Speed Formation Blocked by Local Hurdles; https://bit.ly/2ONKKt7

Relatives of Port Explosion Rally Again Demanding Justice; http://bit.ly/3aIfJiS

Breaking: Judge Tarek Bitar Was Just Appointed As The Lead Investigator In Beirut Blast Investigation; http://bit.ly/3qZLJEE

Lebanon appoints new lead investigator in port blast probe; http://bit.ly/3qOCIhV

Lebanon to start phase two of easing lockdown; http://bit.ly/2Nz1TGD

LF to Hand U.N. Petition Demanding Int'l Probe in Port Blast; https://bit.ly/3dAXAFm

Al-Rahi Again Clarifies His Call for Int'l Conference on Lebanon; http://bit.ly/37EXrgD

Lebanon receives second Pfizer vaccine shipment; http://bit.ly/3us8naY

Regional Overview

Israel buys vaccines for Syria in prisoner deal, says report; http://bit.ly/2ZJVmeM

As Palestinians plan vote, Jerusalem looms as possible obstacle — or pretext; http://bit.ly/3ujJSg6

US Seeks Fallback Saudi Bases to Protect Troops Amid Iran Tensions; http://bit.ly/3shABDB

Yemen risks worst famine on planet in 'decades', say UN officials; http://bit.ly/3keQoQG