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Hashish-Filled Apricots Seized at Zahle Prison

Security forces on Tuesday seized a quantity of hashish hidden inside apricots at a jail in the Bekaa city of Zahle.

"In a rigorous inspection operation, inspectors at the Zahle prison managed to seize around three kilograms of apricots that contained hashish hidden inside each piece in the form of fruit seeds,” the Internal Security Forces announced in a communique.

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Jumblat: I'll Tell Hariri We Won't Vote for Geagea or Aoun

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat announced Tuesday that he will soon inform al-Mustaqbal movement chief Saad Hariri that his Democratic Gathering bloc will neither vote for Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun nor for Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea in the presidential election.

“We're opposed to the election of Aoun as president and I will tell Saad Hariri if I met him that we will neither vote for Aoun nor for Geagea," Jumblat said in an interview on Al-Arabiya's Al-Hadath TV channel.

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Nusra Gunmen Briefly Abduct Workers in Ras Baalbek, One Still in Custody

Gunmen from the al-Qaida-linked Al Nusra Front kidnapped on Tuesday several Lebanese, Syrian and Turkmen workers in the outskirts of the Ras Baalbek region in the Bekaa.

"Ten workers, the majority of whom are Syrians, were kidnapped in the outskirts of Ras Baalbek by Nusra Front gunmen,” reported LBCI television, noting that the abduction caused tension in the region.

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Bkirki Denies Setting List of Candidates for Presidency

The Maronite Patriarchate denied on Tuesday reports claiming that Bkirki has a list of candidates for the presidential post.

The Patriarchate stressed that it didn't interfere and will not intervene in the “game of names.”

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Gemayel Slams 'Unethical' Boycott, Says Priority for Presidential Election

Phalange leader Amin Gemayel called on Tuesday for the immediate election of a new president amid an “unethical” boycott by several blocs, reiterating that parliament should not legislate in case of a vacuum at Baabda Palace.

“Parliament should only focus on electing a new president. It should not legislate in case of vacuum as the Constitution states,” Gemayel said following talks with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Bkirki.

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Two-hour Strike Delays Flights at Beirut Airport

Air traffic at Rafik Hariri International Airport was suspended for two hours on Tuesday in support of the demands of the public sector employees, delaying over a dozen arriving and departing flights, the state-run National News Agency reported.

The two-hour suspension came in light of the decision of the air traffic controllers committee to back the demands of the Syndicate Coordination Committee for the approval of the controversial pay hike.

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Syrian Regime Targets Opposition Posts in Eastern Mountain Range

Syrian warplanes carried out overnight raids on positions controlled by the opposition along the Lebanese-Syrian border, media reports said.

Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) reported on Tuesday that the raids targeted Syrian opposition posts in the Eastern Mountain range.

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Cabinet to Continue Discussing Work Mechanism

The cabinet is scheduled to meet on Thursday to continue discussions on the controversial work mechanism in the absence of President Michel Suleiman and the failure to elect a new head of state.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam invited ministers to meet at 10:00 am Thursday at the Grand Serail although differences between the cabinet's members have not been settled yet.

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Salam Denies U.S. Warning on Establishment of Refugee Camps

Prime Minister Tammam Salam denied on Tuesday that the United States warned of the repercussions of establishing Syrian refugee camps on Lebanese territories.

Sources close to the PM ruled out in comments published in the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat that the U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, informed Salam during a meeting last week that his country rejects the establishment of camps for Syrians on Lebanese territories.

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Large-Scale Security Plan in Beirut's Southern Suburbs

The Lebanese army, security forces and the union of municipalities in Beirut's southern suburbs have implemented a large-scale security plan in the area, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The plan, which was carried out on Monday, included security measures around checkpoints and inside secondary streets in the suburbs, it said.

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