Prime Minister Tammam Salam has said that he received French assurances that Paris is continuing to exert efforts to end Lebanon’s presidential deadlock.

He told As Safir daily on Wednesday that he held around 14 meetings with Arab and Western officials in Germany last week “to prove Lebanon's presence on the international scene and shed light on the problems that it is suffering from.”

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq has called for a major step to protect the decisions reached by Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal officials and prove that the dialogue between them is credible.

“There is an urgent need for a huge step that proves the credibility of dialogue with foes and protects the achievements made so far,” al-Mashnouq told As Safir daily in remarks published on Wednesday.

Negotiations over the ongoing hostage crisis have reportedly reached a dead end despite recent optimism expressed by the families of the so-called Arsal captives.

Ad Diyar newspaper reported on Wednesday that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has placed tough conditions, prompting the negotiations to reach a standstill.

Ambassador Ali Awadh Asiri stressed on Wednesday that the Saudi embassy in Beirut increased its measures to avert any possible security threats.

“We have taken all the necessary precautions and the Lebanese state, according to norms, is responsible for the security of the embassy,” Asiri said in comments published in the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat.

Health Minister Wael Abou Faour stressed on Wednesday that the signature of the doctor cannot be forged on any unified prescription form as there are three copies of it, despite claims by the Order of Physicians that the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) isn't abiding by the ministry's decision.

“The health ministry examines generic drugs to make sure they apply to the adopted standards,” Abou Faour said in comments published in As Safir newspaper.

Speaker Nabih Berri has said that he would hold talks with Prime Minister Tammam Salam soon to discuss the decision-making mechanism adopted by the government to function in the absence of a president.

Berri told his visitors that the opening of an extraordinary session would also be on the agenda of their talks.

Journalist Firas Hatoum and his colleague Rony Rmaity were temporarily detained by Turkish authorities on Tuesday for illegally entering the embattled Syrian town of Kobane, reported al-Akhbar daily.

It said that the LBCI television journalist was seeking to film a report for the channel from Kobane, but the advances made by the Islamic State group in the area forced him to alter his plans.

The Kataeb Party announced Tuesday that it “categorically rejects” remarks voiced Sunday by al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Khaled al-Daher, which were deemed insulting to Christian symbols.

“We categorically reject these extremist and irresponsible remarks that harm coexistence,” the party said in a statement issued after the weekly meeting of its political bureau.

Lebanon's Hizbullah has taken the lead role on a key frontline in southern Syria near the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, a monitoring group said Tuesday.

A Syrian military source confirmed Hizbullah was engaged in fighting in Quneitra and Daraa provinces as part of efforts to stop rebels advancing in the area.

The Change and Reform bloc demanded on Tuesday that the dispute over the presidential elections be resolved through Lebanese channels.

MP Ibrahim Kanaan said after the bloc's weekly meeting: “We should adhere to the Lebanese will and constitutional means to solve this issue.”