King Abdullah II of Jordan expressed readiness to aid and train the Lebanese army as Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq began an official visit to Amman.

“We are one... Jordan is ready to offer the Lebanese army all its needs of arms and military equipment, including free training at all our bases,” sources quoted King Abdullah II as saying in comments in al-Mustaqbal newspaper on Thursday.

The members of the committee tasked with following up on the dialogue between Bkirki and Hizbullah met for the first time since Hizbullah politburo Hajj Mahmoud Qmati assumed the tasks of his predecessor Ghaleb Abou Zaynab.

According to al-Joumhouria newspaper, the committee's meeting, which was held on Wednesday night at the seat of the Maronite church in Bkirki, aims at activating the dialogue between Bkirki and Hizbullah.

Head of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri will not appear in person at Saturday's ceremony marking the tenth anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri over security concerns, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Thursday.

Mustaqbal sources told the daily: “Security fears will thwart his personal participation at the event.”

The Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc voiced on Wednesday its support for the dialogue between Hizbullah and the Mustaqbal Movement and its decision to remove political banners in some regions of the country, hoping for “better” measures that would further ease tensions.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “We hope for more comprehensive and tangible measures that would tackle the spread of illegitimate weapons and armed groups in residential areas.”

MP Khaled al-Daher on Wednesday announced the suspension of his membership in the al-Mustaqbal bloc, following a wave of controversy stirred by remarks he made about some Christian symbols.

“In the face of the current uproar, and in order not to embarrass the al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc, I announce the suspension of my membership in the bloc,” Daher said in a statement, amid media reports claiming that he has been “expelled” from the bloc.

The Lebanese Army's mobile application was on Wednesday announced one of the winners at an awards ceremony at the Dubai Government Summit 2015.

“LAF Shield” was the winner in the “Arab level-Safety & Security sector.”

Prime Minister Tammam Salam stressed on Wednesday that Lebanon is passing through a political crisis, pointing out that the nation will not heal without its head.

“We are still amid a political crisis and the nation will not completely heal without its head,” Salam said during a conference on the Rural Tourism Strategy for Lebanon at the Grand Serail.

Hizbullah, Syrian regime forces and Iranian officers fighting rebels in southern Syria have advanced to the edge of Israeli-occupied territory, a monitor and state media said Wednesday.

"Regime troops and their Hizbullah-led allies are advancing in the area linking Daraa, Quneitra and Damascus provinces," close to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Violent winds and what seemed to be a dust storm caused havoc in several Lebanese regions on Wednesday as storm Yohan battered the country with dust, rainy skies and thunderstorms.

However, Education Minister Elias Bou Saab announced in a statement in the evening that “schools will not be closed tomorrow, Thursday.”

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.”