Kataeb party chief Sami Gemayel lashed out at Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and accused him of planning to exclude his party from a new cabinet lineup, An Nahar daily reported on Friday.

“Geagea does not mind to be with Hizbullah in a single government, but he does not want the participation of Kataeb,” said Gemayel.

PM-designate Saad Hariri and Speaker Nabih Berri have agreed to meet when a new government formula is complete and when Hariri has finished the final touches of lining up the new cabinet, media reports said on Friday.

“Hariri and I have agreed to meet when he is ready. I will help him out if he needs my help. When you see him at my place, you should know that white smoke has billowed,” said Berri.

The Saudi Ministry of Finance began paying billions of dollars owed to private firms and construction companies after oil revenues collapsed, including Saudi Oger, that have already carried out work for the state totaling about 100 billion Saudi riyals or about $ 26 billions.

The orders came after an announcement of the Council of Economic Affairs and Development, headed by powerful Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said the kingdom will pay the outstanding amount before the end of December.

President Michel Aoun on Thursday hoped the election of Republican candidate Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States will represent “a new chance for Lebanon and the U.S. to boost their bilateral cooperation for the sake of achieving peace in the Middle East, confronting terrorism, and putting an end to wars and violence through peaceful means.”

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri announced Thursday that he is “optimistic” the the new government will be formed soon.

An army intelligence patrol on Thursday managed to liberate five members of a Syrian family from their captors in the Bekaa border region of Masnaa, an army statement said.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat announced Thursday that the process of forming the first government under President Michel Aoun is moving “slowly but steadily.”

President Michel Aoun reiterated on Thursday that he will make sure that his oath of office is implemented for the good of Lebanon as he stressed that cooperation among all parties leads to better reforms.

“I will make sure that the oath of office is fully implemented, and as long as there is cooperation among us, it will lead to better reforms,” said Aoun addressing a delegation from the lawyers syndicate at the Baabda Palace.

The Lebanese army and an Intelligence unit discovered hashish factories and massive amounts of manufactured hashish and Captagon pills in raids in the outskirts of the northeastern town of Hermel, the state-run National News Agency reported on Thursday.

The army carried out raids in the al-Shtah area in the outskirts of Hermel and found two hashish factories, seized one ton and a load of seven trucks of manufactured hashish in addition to one and a half million Captagon narcotics pills.

The optimistic atmospheres regarding a “quick” formation of the new cabinet do not reflect the reality as difficulties arise and hamper the mission of Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, media reports said.

Unnamed sources said that things tend to tilt towards pessimism as for a close cabinet line-up as a result of preconditions set by some political parties.